essay literature assignment

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

essay

literature assignment 2021-2022

Hand in date: Tuesday 7 June (both in print and online)

title

An essay usually has a title.

examples:

A Comparison of Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones'Diary:

Two Women Desperately Seeking a Husband

the introduction

The introduction should consist of 4 elements

• hook ( to grab readers'attention)
•  short introduction of the two books
• thesis sentence: the "red thread" in your essay (comparison)
• mini outline: what themes  you are going to discuss in the body ( in the right order). 

an example

body

There should be 3 bodyparagraphs; one for each theme

Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence. This is a statement.  You then support the statement with  arguments such as explanations, facts, examples etc. 

examples:

• There is social pressure on women to be in a relationship.
• The way women and men get to know eachother better has changed over the years.
• The reasons why Jane Austen's women were looking for a husband are dramatically different from the reasons why today's girls want to be married

body and linking words

First,                                   although

Secondly,                          because

Finally,                                so

                                              even though

                                              but

                                              for example, 

                                              for instance,

linkingwords

conclusion

• repeat your arguments in other words ( you can use the list of synonyms in Word)
• do not introduce any new ideas in your conclusion!

linking words: in conclusion, 

 

language

• formal language
• do not use contractions: don't = do not ----->
• do not words such as stuff, gonna, 'coz
• do not use  a lot of. Use much/many instead
• vary in the words you use. Do not use the same words over and over again.
• 
  
• Use Arial 12 and double line spacing --> 
  

TIP: Search for the apostrophe before handing in your work and decide whether or not it should be there.

possessive apostrophe

CORRECT

"Rousseau is"

possessive apostrophe

WRONG

CORRECT

What is a quote?

"Be the change, you wish to see in the world"

- Mahatma Ghandi

What type of sources
do you know?

Why is it necessary to
indicate a source?

Three types of using a source in your essay

1. Direct Quote

2. Long direct quote 

3. Paraphrasing

1. Direct quote

The nomad is not bound to a geographical place he calls home and shows similarities with the expatriate, as both are flexible and not bound to their birthplace. In addition, as the expatriate, the nomad “enjoys both autonomy and a direction of its own” (Deleuze and Guattari, 2010, pp. 43-4). However, unlike the traditional idea of nomadism suggests, the nomad should not be defined by movement, seeing that he “distributes himself in a smooth space” (p. 44), and in effect, he never leaves his own territory. In other words, although he “goes from one point to another” (p. 43), he is always at home. 

1. Direct quote

The nomad is not bound to a geographical place he calls home and shows similarities with the expatriate, as both are flexible and not bound to their birthplace. In addition, as the expatriate, the nomad “enjoys both autonomy and a direction of its own” (Deleuze and Guattari, 2010, pp. 43-4). However, unlike the traditional idea of nomadism suggests, the nomad should not be defined by movement, seeing that he “distributes himself in a smooth space” (p. 44), and in effect, he never leaves his own territory. In other words, although he “goes from one point to another” (p. 43), he is always at home. 

1. Put the literal text from your source between quotation marks

2. Add the last name(s) of the author followed by the publication year and the pagenumber(s) between parentheses 

3. If you use another quote from the same source in the same paragraph, then only page number(s) is enough. 

    

Unless, of course, you have used another source in between. 

2. Long direct quote 

In his journal, Crusoe describes his first attempt at domesticating a goat in December of his first year on the island:

                   … by nursing it so long it grew tame, and fed upon the little 

                  green at my door, and would not go away: This was the first 

                  time that I entertain’d a thought of breeding up some tame 

                  creatures, that I might have food when my powder and shot 

                  was all spent. (Defoe, 1719, p. 72)

After this first attempt, he does act on these thoughts, emanating from his necessity to fend for himself, after his supply of ammunition has depleted.

2. Long direct quote 

In his journal, Crusoe describes his first attempt at domesticating a goat in December of his first year on the island:

                   … by nursing it so long it grew tame, and fed upon the little 

                  green at my door, and would not go away: This was the first 

                  time that I entertain’d a thought of breeding up some tame 

                  creatures, that I might have food when my powder and shot 

                  was all spent. (Defoe, 1719, p. 72)

After this first attempt, he does act on these thoughts, emanating from his necessity to fend for himself, after his supply of ammunition has depleted.

1. A long quote is anything that’s longer than 4 typed lines. You’ll present these quotes in a block of text set off from the rest of your paragraph. Because the quote is set off in a block, you don’t need to put quotation marks around it.

2. You do need to add the last name, publication year and page number between parentheses.

3. Paraphasing

Original quote:

"Our results show that 40% of voters in the referendum election didn't make up their minds until they arrived at the polling place" (Hammersmith, 2009, p. 55).

Paraphrased quote:

Based on this study, 40% of referendum voters waited until they got to the polling location to decide how they would vote (Hammersmit, 2009, p. 55). 

3. Paraphasing

Original quote:

"Our results show that 40% of voters in the referendum election didn't make up their minds until they arrived at the polling place" (Hammersmith, 2009, p. 55).

Paraphrased quote:

Based on this study, 40% of referendum voters waited until they got to the polling location to decide how they would vote (Hammersmit, 2009, p. 55). 

1. Paraphrasing is when you restate someone else’s ideas in your own words. 

It’s a great way to incorporate evidence into your paper without using a direct quote every time. 

2. Although you don’t need to use quotes around a paraphrase, you do need to refer 

to the source.

Lead in

Critic Alex Li supports this idea as she says, "The frequent references to the color blue are used to suggest that the family is struggling to cope with the loss of their matriarch" (2016, p. 67).

This is demonstrated by McKinney’s research, which proves that "Adults who do yoga at least three times a week have lower blood pressure, better sleeping patterns, and fewer everyday frustrations" (1998, pp. 86-7).

Lead in

Critic Alex Li supports this idea as she says, "The frequent references to the color blue are used to suggest that the family is struggling to cope with the loss of their matriarch" (67).

 This is demonstrated by McKinney’s research, which proves that "Adults who do yoga at least three times a week have lower blood pressure, better sleeping patterns, and fewer everyday  

frustrations" (86-7).

1. You can also mention the source in your lead in sentence.

2. Then you only have to provide the page number(s) between parentheses.

TIP:

Please use this LessonUp-file when 

incorporating your sources in your essay.