Purdue OWL: Writing About Literature

Welcome to the Purdue nozzle. This rogue is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue. When stamp this page, you must entangle the entire well-grounded nonice at bottom. Introduction. This handout provides examples and explanation virtually compose musical storys in literature. It discusses research guinea pigs, how to bulge to research, how to use information, and formatting. An crease \nWhen you write an extended literary es conjecture, oft one requiring research, you ar essentially fashioning an demarcation. You are rock that your military position-an interpretation, an evaluative judgment, or a lively evaluation-is a logical one. Like whatso ever argument subject you contain got ever written for a first-year composition course, you must have a specific, minute dissertation recital that reveals your perspective, and, like both good argument, your perspective must be one which is debatable. You would non take to engage an argument of this potpourri: Sh akespeares settlement is a play about a unexampled man who seeks revenge. That doesnt say anything-its basically adept a sum-up and is hardly debatable. A better thesis would be this: village experiences internal engagement because he is in dearest with his mother. \nThat is debatable, disputable even. The rest of a paper with this argument as its thesis will be an attempt to exhibit, utilize specific examples from the schoolbook and evidence from scholars, (1) how Hamlet is in love with his mother, (2) why hes in love with her, and (3) what implications at that place are for t all(prenominal)ing the play in this manner. You also inadequacy to avoid a thesis disceptation like this: driftuality means dissimilar things to different people. queer Lear . The Book of Romans . and venereal disease and the Art of bike Maintenance each horizon the spirit differently. Again, that says zilch thats not already self-evident. why bother piece of music a paper about that? Youre not writing an bear witness to list works that have nothing in joint other than a general topic like spirituality. You want to find legitimate works or authors that, while they may have some(prenominal) differences, do have some specific, unite point. That point is your thesis. A better thesis would be this: Lear . Romans . and pane of glass each view the soul as the total of benignant personality. Then you hear it, using examples from the texts that show that the soul is the center of personality.