Essay tips

• Be as detailed and specific as possible: close reading

rather than summary
• You can assume that your reader has knowledge of the
texts at hand, so there is no need to describe the plot,
etc., unless it is pertinent to your argument
• Watch for informal language:
- “one thing that the book skimps on”
- “the male characters give off a negative vibe”
- “these are not the actions of a classy lady”
 Essay tips
• Avoid vague language, or sentences that convey little
information:
- “Sonnets explores the deeper meaning of
desire”
- “These words give the line a real sense of flow”
- “This moment helps to aid interpretation”
• Avoid unnecessary or ostentatious words:
“Shakespeare, the preeminent and renowned Elizabethan
wordsmith, is unmatched in his peerless capacity to utilize
and invigorate all the five senses to supremely capture the
height of all human perceptions.”
 Essay tips
• Often, in high school, you are taught to write a 5-
paragraph essay for an English class
• Introduction that looks like a funnel (starting broad, then
narrowing to your thesis statement)
• Three body paragraphs + conclusion

YOU DO NOT NEED TO STICK TO THIS FORMULA IN A

UNIVERSITY ENGLISH CLASS!
 Thesis statement
Effective thesis statements are not observations:

Eg. In Paradise Lost and “Howl,” John Milton and

Allen Ginsberg both break with traditional poetic form.
• This is merely an observation; it is a good observation,
but it is one that most readers can easily recognize on
their own
• It is descriptive rather than analytical; it leads to an
essay full of summary and description
• Think of your essay as a teaching tool that will help to
illuminate the literary works in some way (it will help to
reveal something that is not immediately evident)
 Thesis statement
• Should be detailed and substantive
• Should introduce a level of complexity that elevates the
assertion beyond simple observation
• Can be comprised of more than one sentence

In Paradise Lost and “Howl,” John Milton and Allen

Ginsberg demonstrate patterns of rebellion in their
poetic style. In particular, Milton and Ginsberg use
long poetic lines, enjambment, and unusual syntax in
order to break with traditional poetic form. In this way,
the style of their respective poems reflects the theme
of rebellion.
Do you see the difference here?
 Thesis statement

• Does it go beyond simple observation to make an

assertion about your topic?
• Does it convey your purpose and your opinion?
• Is it specific and detailed?

If the answer to all of the above questions is YES,

then you are on the right track.
Outline of an English essay
Argument and analysis are key:
• You have something interesting to say [an argument]
• You organize your essay around a series of points that
support your argument
• You illustrate your points using effective proof from the
literary works
• You analyze this proof, and describe how it supports your
guiding argument

GUIDING ARGUMENT (made clear in introduction):

Make a Point  Proof  Provide Analysis
 Introductions
• We are often taught to structure an introductory paragraph
like a funnel (move from broad and general to specific)
• No need to do this! Jump right into your topic instead

Since the dawn of time, humankind has struggled with

rebellion.
In many works of literature, characters have conflicts.

These are empty sentences that do not convey anything

meaningful.
 Introductions
All sentences should have significance (rather
than act as filler):
• They may provide context or introduce
background
• They may introduce concepts and definitions
• They may provide facts
• They may introduce quotations
 Introductions
• An effectively written and well-organized introductory
paragraph will provide the blueprint for the rest of the
paper
• Be sure to discuss your points in the same order that you
bring them up in your introduction

In Paradise Lost and “Howl,” John Milton and Allen

Ginsberg demonstrate patterns of rebellion in their
poetic style. In particular, Milton and Ginsberg use
long poetic lines, unusual syntax, and startling
imagery in order to break with traditional poetic form.
In this way, the style of these poems reflects their
theme of rebellion.
 Explain & Analyze Quotations
WEAK: In “Howl,” Ginsberg uses religious language to
combat the marginalization of social outsiders: “… and
blew the suffering of America’s naked mind for love into an
eli eli lamma lamma sabachthani saxophone cry that
shivered the cities down to the last radio.” (42)

• Here, the passage is left to “speak for itself”; the links

between religious language and marginalization remain
unexplained.
Explain & Analyze Quotations
BETTER: In “Howl,” Ginsberg uses religious language to
combat the marginalization of social outsiders: “… and blew the
suffering of America’s naked mind for love into an eli eli lamma
lamma sabachthani saxophone cry that shivered the cities down
to the last radio” (42). Here, Ginsberg uses the phrase “eli eli
lamma lamma sabachthani,” traditionally ascribed to Christ
on the cross and translated as “My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?” By applying these words to people
who are typically viewed as outcasts – “the madman bum”
and other voiceless inhabitants of the “cities” of America –
Ginsberg equates these marginalized people with Christ,
and suggests that they too are subject to great suffering
and worthy of sympathy and love.
Plagiarism: not worth it!
Internet source (Wikipedia):
The narrator becomes embroiled with Durden and a
dissolute woman, Marla Singer.

Student paper:
The narrator becomes embroiled with characters like
the reactive Tyler Durden and the dissolute Marla
Singer.

This is plagiarism; it is clear that Wikipedia has

been consulted but not acknowledged.
Plagiarism: not worth it!
Internet source (shakespeares-sonnets.com):
Although I know my yeares be past the best. In both cases
the meaning is clear, and the poet acknowledges that the
days of his youth are past. In the Q version the emphasis
is on the woman's complicity in pretending not to know his
age.

Student paper:
The poet/narrator admits that he is no longer youthful. The
woman also plays along by pretending not to notice that
he is old.

This is plagiarism; it is clear that the source has been

consulted but not acknowledged.
Plagiarism: not worth it!
• If I find plagiarism: you must meet with me;
your grade is placed ‘Under Review’; you
must meet with the Dean of the faculty in
which you are enrolled
• Essays that contain even one plagiarized
element will receive a grade of zero (and often
the student is penalized an additional 5% off
their final grade in the course)
• Typically, then, this means that students who
plagiarize fail the course