Literary criticism DOs and DONTs

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

The goal is

To help a reader see the texts in a new way. You shouldn't write a mere summary. Avoid the obvious themes a reader could glean on a first reading.

Thesis statement

Detailed Debatable & Evidence supporting this perspective.

The general pattern of discussion

Present argument Provide textual support Discuss the argument Present the next argument Etc.

Your lens should...

reveal something about the book which is not obvious at first glance.

The interpretation

of a book is always a combination of historical, social, and/or political influences.

DOs

•   spend time with the text – read and re-read. 

• focus on some important aspect of the text.

• discover notable details that may hold significance for readers.

• develop questions about the significance of those details – ask how and why a text does or suggests something.

DOs

• refine and focus your questions until you have a single critical question.

• develop a thesis that answers your question and teaches readers something they may not otherwise have noticed.

• identify textual evidence in support of your thesis

DONTs

Don’t discuss your personal response or reflections on the text

When writing about literature, no personal experiences or responses should be included. Focus only on the text you are writing about–read between the lines, look for subtext–not the way you felt about the story. Basically, in a literature class, we don’t care how you felt. We are looking for how you think or interpret the text.

DONTs

What should you avoid when you do your research?

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Spark notes

Plagiarism

Attempting to present your theory before you truly understand the content

DONTs

Don’t default to organizing your paper in chronological order

It feels logical to use the plot of a story as a way to organize a paper about said story, but in fact, this should be avoided. Why? For the simple fact that it is all too easy to fall into summarizing the plot instead of analysing and interpreting literature.