Short Guide to Writing about Literature, A Pearson New International Edition
Produktdetaljer
A Short Guide to Writing about Literature emphasises writing as a process and incorporates new critical approaches to writing about literature.
This edition continues to offer students sound advice on how to become critical thinkers and enrich their reading response through accessible, step-by-step instruction. This highly respected text is ideal as a supplement to any course where writing about literature or literary studies is emphasised.
PREFACE
LETTER TO STUDENTS
PART 1
Jumping In
2—THE WRITER AS READER: READING AND RESPONDING
Kate Chopin, “Ripe Figs”
The Act of Reading
Reading with a Pen in Hand
Recording Your First Responses
Audience and Purpose
A Writing Assignment on “Ripe Figs”
The Assignment
A Sample Essay: “Images of Ripening in Kate Chopin’s ‘Ripe Figs’ ”
The Student’s Analysis Analyzed
Critical Thinking and the Study of Literature
3—THE READER AS WRITER: DRAFTING AND WRITING
Pre-writing: Getting Ideas
Annotating a Text
More about Getting Ideas: A Second Story by Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”
Kate Chopin: “The Story of an Hour”
Brainstorming for Ideas for Writing
Focused Free Writing
Listing
Asking Questions
Keeping a Journal
Critical Thinking: Arguing with Yourself
Arriving at a Thesis and Arguing It
Writing a Draft
A Sample Draft: “Ironies in an Hour”
Revising a Draft
A Checklist for Revising for Clarity
Two Ways of Outlining a Draft
A Checklist for Reviewing a Revised Draft
Peer Review
The Final Version
Sample Essay: “Ironies of Life in Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’ ”
The Analysis Analyzed
Quick Review: From First Response to Final Version: Writing an Essay about a Literary Work
4—TWO FORMS OF CRITICISM: EXPLICATION AND ANALYSIS
Explication
A Sample Explication: Langston Hughes’s “Harlem”
Working toward an Explication of “Harlem”
Some Journal Entries
The Final Draft: “Langston Hughes’s ‘Harlem’ ”
The Analysis Analyzed
A Checklist: Drafting an Explication
Analysis: The Judgment of Solomon
Thinking about Form
Thinking about Character
Thoughts about Other Possibilities
For Further reading and Analysis: The Parable of the Prodigal Son NEW
Comparison: An Analytic Tool
A Checklist: Revising a Comparison
For Further Reading and Comparison: Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool” NEW
Finding a Topic
Considering the Evidence
Organizing the Material
Communicating Judgments
Review: How to Write an Effective Essay
1. Pre-writing
2. Drafting
3. Revising
4. Editing
An Editing Checklist: Questions to Ask Yourself When Editing
For Further Reading, Explication, and Comparison: William Blake’s “The Tyger” NEW
5–OTHER KINDS OF WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE
A Summary
A Paraphrase
A Review
A Review of a Dramatic Production
A Sample Review: “An Effective Macbeth”
PART 2
Standing Back: Thinking Critically about Literature
- Part I emphasises the close connections between reading and writing, reflecting the need for good writers to be effective, analytic readers.
- Part II offers strategies and practical guidelines for understanding how literature "works" (form and meaning), and for understanding the differences between interpretation and evaluation.
- Part III explores the differences between writing about fiction, drama, and poetry, and includes an in-depth look at the writing of a single author (Langston Hughes).
- Part IV offers guidance for writing academic papers including research and formatting.
- Appendices include two stories that are the subjects of student essays in the book, a glossary of literary terms, and a quick review quiz.
- A wealth of student papers, including preliminary notes, drafts, and revisions of drafts appear throughout the book.
- Checklists on a variety of topics offer brief, effective guidelines.
- A new chapter on graphic novels (Ch. 11) offers guidance for writing about a fast-emerging genre.
- A new chapter on writing about poems and pictures (Ch. 14) lexplores the challenges of assignments that ask for comparisons of these two genres.
- New selections include works by Gwendolyn Brooks, William Blake, Robert Frost, and Anne Sexton, as well as the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
- Several new sample texts for analysis and interpretation appear throughout (see particularly Chs. 4 and 7).
- A new section on synthesis (Ch. 17) encourages students to understand and practice this critical skill.
- A new appendix on plagiarism--including a quick self-review quiz--enables student to test themselves on their use of sources.