Ways of Making Literature Matter : A Brief Guide

by John Schilb, John Clifford

• ISBN13: 9780312259136
• ISBN10: 0312259131
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-08-03
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Table of Contents

Preface for Instructors	v
Introduction: What Is Literature? How and Why Does It Matter?	1	(8)
Reading and Thinking	9	(32)
Reading Comparatively: Three Poems about Work	9	(5)
When I consider how my light is spent	9	(1)
John Milton
Free Labor	10	(1)
Frances E. W. Harper
To be of use	10	(2)
Marge Piercy
Literature as Social Action	12	(2)
Thinking Critically: The Value of Argument	14	(16)
Argument as Inquiry	15	(1)
The Elements of Argument	15	(1)
Issues	15	(9)
Claims	24	(1)
Persuasion	25	(1)
Audience	26	(1)
Evidence	26	(1)
Warrants	27	(2)
Literature as Argument	29	(1)
Investigating Topics of Literary Criticism	30	(11)
Night Waitress	32	(5)
Lynda Hull
The Chimney Sweeper	37	(1)
William Blake
Blackberries	38	(1)
Yusef Komunyakaa
Singapore	39	(1)
Mary Oliver
The Machinist, Teaching His Daughter to Play the Piano	40	(1)
B. H. Fairchild
Writing	41	(30)
What Work Is	41	(1)
Philip Levine
Exploring	42	(8)
Planning	50	(5)
Composing	55	(5)
Title	55	(1)
Style	55	(1)
Introduction	56	(1)
Development	57	(1)
Emphasis	58	(2)
Conclusion	60	(1)
Sample Student Paper: First Draft	60	(4)
Revising	64	(3)
Logic	65	(1)
Organization	65	(1)
Clarity	65	(1)
Emphasis	65	(1)
Style	65	(1)
Grammar	66	(1)
Physical Appearance	66	(1)
Sample Student Paper: Revised Draft	67	(4)
The Shifting Definitions of Work and Waiting in Philip Levine's ``What Work Is''	67	(4)
Theresa Gardella
Writing about Stories	71	(31)
A Visit of Charity	72	(4)
Eudora Welty
The Gift of Sweat	76	(3)
Rebecca Brown
A Student's Personal Response to the Stories	79	(3)
The Elements of Short Fiction	82	(16)
Plot and Structure	82	(4)
Point of View	86	(1)
Characters	87	(3)
Setting	90	(1)
Imagery	91	(1)
Language	92	(1)
Theme	93	(5)
Sample Student Paper: Final Draft	98	(4)
``The Gift of Sweat'' as a Story about Learning to Identify	98	(4)
Monica Albertson
Writing about Poems	102	(18)
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening	103	(1)
Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken	104	(1)
Robert Frost
Mending Wall	104	(2)
Robert Frost
Students' Personal Responses to the Poems	106	(4)
The Elements of Poetry	110	(4)
Speaker and Tone	110	(1)
Diction and Syntax	110	(1)
Figures of Speech	111	(1)
Sound	112	(1)
Rhythm and Meter	113	(1)
Theme	114	(1)
Sample Student Paper: Revised Draft	114	(6)
Robert Frost's Uncertainties: A Reading of Three Poems	115	(5)
Sophia De Puy
Writing about Plays	120	(32)
The Stronger	121	(4)
August Strindberg
Trifles	125	(10)
Susan Glaspell
A Student's Personal Response to the Plays	135	(3)
The Elements of Drama	138	(10)
Plot and Structure	138	(2)
Characters	140	(1)
Stage Directions and Setting	141	(2)
Imagery	143	(1)
Language	144	(1)
Theme	145	(3)
Sample Student Paper: Final Draft	148	(4)
Which Is the Stronger Actress in August Strindberg's Play?	148	(4)
Trish Carlisle
Writing about Essays	152	(24)
Once More to the Lake	153	(4)
E. B. White
On Going Home	157	(2)
Joan Didion
Back to School	159	(2)
Andrea Lee
A Student's Personal Response to the Essays	161	(3)
The Elements of Essays	164	(7)
Voice	165	(1)
Style	166	(2)
Structure	168	(1)
Ideas	169	(2)
Sample Student Paper: Final Draft	171	(5)
The Return of the Past	171	(5)
Stevie Goronski
Writing a Research Paper	176	(31)
Identifying an Issue and a Tentative Claim	176	(5)
``Desiree's Baby''	177	(4)
Kate Chopin
Finding and Using Secondary Sources	181	(3)
Finding Sources in the Library	182	(1)
Evaluating Sources	183	(1)
Finding Sources with a Computer	183	(1)
Taking Notes: Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Avoiding Plagiarism	184	(2)
Writing the Paper: Integrating Sources	186	(2)
Documenting Sources: MLA Format	188	(7)
MLA In-Text Citation	189	(1)
MLA Works Cited	190	(1)
Books	190	(1)
Short Works from Collections and Anthologies	191	(1)
Works in Periodicals	192	(1)
CD-ROMs	193	(1)
The Internet	194	(1)
Personal Communication	194	(1)
Multiple Works by the Same Author	195	(1)
Sample Student Research Paper	195	(12)
Racial Disharmony and ``Desiree's Baby''	196	(11)
Rebecca Stanley
Index of Authors, Titles, and Terms	207