Short Guide to Writing About Literature, A

by Barnet, Sylvan; Cain, William E.

• ISBN13: 9780205602957
• ISBN10: 0205602959
• Edition: 11th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

Part of Longman's successful Short Guide Series,A Short Guide to Writing about Literature,11/e, emphasizes writing as a process and incorporates new critical approaches to writing about literature. The eleventh 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 emphasized.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiv
Letter to Students	p. xvii
Jumping In
Writing About Literature: A Crash Course	p. 3
The Pleasures of Reading and of Writing about Literature	p. 3
The Writing Process	p. 5
A Checklist of Basic Matters	p. 9
The Writer as Reader: Reading and Responding	p. 10
Kate Chopin, Ripe Figs	p. 10
The Act of Reading	p. 11
Reading with a Pen in Hand	p. 13
Recording Your First Responses	p. 14
Audience and Purpose	p. 15
A Writing Assignment on Ripe Figs	p. 16
The Assignment	p. 16
A Sample Essay: Images of Ripening in Kate Chopin s Ripe Figs	p. 16
The Student s Analysis Analyzed	p. 18
Critical Thinking and the Study of Literature	p. 19
The Reader as Writer: Drafting and Writing	p. 21
Pre-writing: Getting Ideas	p. 21
Annotating a Text	p. 21
More about Getting Ideas: A Second Story by Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour	p. 22
Kate Chopin: The Story of an Hour	p. 22
Brainstorming for Ideas for Writing	p. 24
Focused Free Writing	p. 25
Listing	p. 26
Asking Questions	p. 27
Keeping a Journal	p. 28
Critical Thinking: Arguing with Yourself	p. 29
Arriving at a Thesis and Arguing It	p. 31
Writing a Draft	p. 33
A Sample Draft: Ironies in an Hour	p. 33
Revising a Draft	p. 35
A Checklist for Revising for Clarity	p. 36
Two Ways of Outlining a Draft	p. 37
A Checklist for Reviewing a Revised Draft	p. 38
Peer Review	p. 39
The Final Version	p. 41
Sample Essay: Ironies of Life in Kate Chopin s The Story of an Hour	p. 41
The Analysis Analyzed	p. 43
Quick Review	p. 44
From First Responses to Final Version: Writing an Essay about a Literary Work	p. 44
Two Forms of Criticism: Explication and Analysis	p. 45
Explication	p. 45
A Sample Explication: Langston Hughes s Harlem	p. 45
Working toward an Explication of Harlem	p. 46
Some Journal Entries	p. 48
The Final Draft: Langston Hughes s Harlem	p. 50
The Analysis Analyzed	p. 51
Checklist: Drafting an Explication	p. 52
Analysis: The Judgment of Solomon	p. 52
Thinking about Form	p. 54
Thinking about Character	p. 55
Thoughts about Other Possibilities	p. 55
Comparison: An Analytic Tool	p. 57
A Checklist: Revising a Comparison	p. 60
Finding a Topic	p. 60
Considering the Evidence	p. 61
Organizing the Material	p. 61
Communicating Judgments	p. 62
Review: How to Write an Effective Essay	p. 63
Pre-writing	p. 63
Drafting	p. 64
Revising	p. 65
Editing	p. 66
Editing Checklist: Questions to Ask Yourself When Editing	p. 67
Other Kinds of Writing About Literature	p. 69
A Summary	p. 69
A Paraphrase	p. 71
A Review	p. 72
A Review of a Dramatic Production	p. 73
A Sample Review: An Effective Macbeth	p. 74
Standing Back: Thinking Critically about Literature	p. 2
Literature, Form, and Meaning	p. 81
Literature and Form	p. 81
Literature and Meaning	p. 84
Arguing about Meaning	p. 84
Form and Meaning	p. 85
Robert Frost, The Span of Life	p. 85
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 88
What is Interpretation?	p. 90
Interpretation and Meaning	p. 90
Is the Author s Intention a Guide to Meaning?	p. 91
Characteristics of a Good Interpretation	p. 92
An Example: Interpreting Pat Mora s Immigrants	p. 93
Thinking Critically about Literature	p. 95
A Student Interpretation of Robert Frost s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening	p. 96
Sample Essay: Stopping by Woods and Going On	p. 97
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 100
What is Evaluation?	p. 101
Criticism and Evaluation	p. 101
Are There Critical Standards?	p. 102
Morality and Truth as Standards	p. 103
Other Ways to Think about Truth and Realism	p. 105
Suggestions for Further Reading	p. 107
Writing About Literature: An Overview	p. 108
Th
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.