You have been asked to write a 5-8 page paper (typed, double-spaced, with 1 1/4" margins on both sides). Since I own no stock in antacid manufacturers, paper factories, or firms specializing in stress management, my motives for making such an assignment may seem somewhat obscure, if not downright perverse. (And, in fact, you may continue to feel that way even after reading my explanation for the assignment!) Partly, of course, papers simply give me another way to determine your grade. But I really do believe that I assign papers more for your benefit than for mine. For one thing, the paper gives you a chance to express yourself without the time pressures of an exam. Moreover, if you've been thinking or wondering about something you've read, the paper provides an opportunity for you to work out and explain your idea. And even if you'd happily pass up such an opportunity, chances are that you'll benefit from writing a paper. You'll benefit by improving your ability to express yourself in writing and by experiencing the satisfaction of discovering and clarifying new ideas. Of course, your satisfaction will probably be greater if your paper receives a high grade. The following pages contain bits of advice designed to help you get such a grade.

I believe strongly that much of what you learn in writing a literature paper results from the thinking you do in coming up with a topic. If you simply pick a topic from a list, you avoid having to do a lot of valuable thinking. Thus, in upper-level literature courses, I do not provide such a list (though from time to time I may offer suggestions in class); finding a topic is up to you. The possibilities are vast: I'm open to a variety of approaches. I ask only that the topic be relevant to the course and that you deal with a book on the reading list, either by itself or in conjunction with another work (which need not be on our list). You need not read outside literary criticism, but you may if you wish. Just be absolutely sure to give credit for all ideas you've gotten from outside reading, even if you've put these ideas into your own words. Failure to give proper credit for words or ideas found elsewhere is plagiarism,, a very serious offense about which I'll have more to say in class. ALL PAPER TOPICS MUST BE APPROVED BY ME NO LATER THAN ONE FULL WEEK BEFORE THE PAPER IS DUE, and preferably much earlier than that.

No matter what you write about, please bear in mind that a successful paper must have not just a topic but also a thesis--a statement about the topic that gives it focus and makes the reader want to see what you have to say. "Hamlet's Relationship to Horatio" is a topic; "Although Hamlet admires Horatio's stoic temperament, Hamlet's temperament is the more heroic" is one of many possible thesis statements about the topic.

Because literature is complex and because it can be perceived in different ways, papers about literature are often arguments. That is, the writer offers an opinion (the thesis) and, in the body of the paper, tries to persuade his or her readers to accept it.

What makes for a good topic? First of all, a good topic is one worth discussing. Stating the obvious is unlikely to result in a successful paper. If I read a thesis statement such as "Jane Eyre has an unhappy childhood" or "Léonce Pontellier is not sensitive to his wife's needs," I'll probably fall asleep before reaching page two (and so would you). A good paper should provoke thought, not sleep.You should also avoid merely rehashing ideas discussed in class. "Bird Imagery in The Awakening" and "The Use of the Spinster Stereotype in 'A New England Nun'" are both good topics, but unless you have a lot to add to what was said in class (or you wish to take issue with that discussion), you should avoid these topics.

A paper on literature is an attempt to help your readers see the work as you see it. Although in reality your instructor may be the only person to read your paper, you are likely to write a better paper if you think of your audience as including your classmates as well as the instructor. You may find it useful to picture your audience as being physically present when you write. These "listeners" will need to know certain things, will have questions that need to be answered, and will want complex points clarified. Try to anticipate your audience's needs.

Bear in mind that your audience needs a full and clear explanation of the points you are making about a work of literature. Students often ignore this need, especially when they assume that they're writing only for the instructor. But, in fact, you need to explain fully, completely, and clearly what you think and why you think it. Your readers--including the instructor--cannot read you mind. Assume that they have already read the work being discussed but that they do not have the work beside them and therefore will need to be reminded of selected details and quotations from the work that support your assertions.

One more point: if your paper argues for a particular position (as many literature papers do), try to anticipate arguments a reader might offer AGAINST your position. For example (taken from another course), if you are writing a paper on the portrayal of women in Willa Cather's The Professor's House and your thesis asserts that the author portrays women as grasping and materialistic, you should acknowledge that Augusta is a striking exception to your claim and go on to explain why, in spite of that exception, you believe your claim is valid. Don't ignore Augusta in the hope that the reader will, too! You should acknowledge the opposing side and either demonstrate that the opposition's arguments are misguided or that they're valid but not as compelling as yours. No matter how compelling the arguments for your position, if you ignore the opposition you will seem not to have thought very deeply about your subject.

A paper's opening paragraph is often the most difficult to write, but it is also perhaps the most important. A successful opening paragraph will arouse the reader's interest and give her or him a clear idea of you paper's central idea or argument. If you don't capture the reader's interest at the start, she or he may never read far enough to appreciate your brilliant insights (or, if the reader is your instructor and hence must continue reading, she may do so with a low grade already in mind). Similarly, if your thesis is unclear or misleading, the reader may have difficulty following your train of thought in the rest of the paper and, again, fail to appreciate your brilliant insights (or fail to see why your confusing paper deserves a passing grade).

In a 5-8 page paper, the clearest and most effective place for your thesis statement is at the end of the first (or, on occasion, the second) paragraph. The thesis statement not only lets your readers know what your paper's central idea is but also serves as a map to help guide readers through your discussion. To arrive at a destination, it's helpful for readers to know where they're going before they start out. Don't wait until the reader's journey is over to provide the map!

Several good writing textbooks recommend that you think of your opening paragraph as a funnel. Start broad and end narrow:

One writer, Ray Kytle, explains the introductory paragraph this way:

You've probably had the experience of being shaken out of a sound sleep by someone who just couldn't wait to tell you something, and who rushed into his story as soon as he saw your eyelids flicker open. Unless you're more alert than most, your reaction was probably of this order: "Huh? What time is it? What's happening?" And the person who awakened you had to go back and start his story all over again.

To understand, we need a context. We need to know the larger issue or consideration of which a particular subject is one aspect. The function of the first part of your introduction paragraph is to establish this context. You should familiarize the reader with the surroundings so that, by the time he comes to your thesis at the end of the paragraph, he will be oriented and paying attention to what you are saying instead of looking around trying to figure out where he is and what is happening. (49) 1 [Include page number for ALL quotations.]

Notice how Kytle's paragraphs exemplify what he's saying. They begin with a general experience designed to involve the reader and gradually make the connection between that experience and the thesis, which appears at the end of the second paragraph.

You may find it helpful to see a few more examples of good opening paragraphs. The next section contains four, all drawn from literature papers. Some of these papers were considerably longer than 5-8 pages and were not written for 300-level literature courses. Nonetheless, all illustrate effective opening paragraphs that end with the thesis statement (the last two have thesis statements that extend over more than one sentence).

A. Symbolism in "The Portable Phonograph" [the paper's title]

To read Walter Van Tilburg Clark's "The Portable Phonograph" as a sort of science fiction vision of life after the "final" war is to overlook its deeper and more serious meaning. This meaning is only revealed when the story's pervasive symbolism is recognized. For in this story Clark uses symbolism to state and underscore his belief that mankind is doomed to destruction by the innate human impulses of selfishness and greed and by the willingness to use violence to protect valued possessions.

B. Gatsby and the Blacks

"'We're all white here,'" Jordan Baker observes during a tense moment in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (130). Her words hold true not just for the novel's main characters but for almost all the minor figures as well. Even the domestic servants are white. The novel does, however, contain several passing references to blacks. What makes these references interesting is that, in each case, the blacks offer a parallel to Jay Gatsby.

C. "Only Her Hairdresser . . .": Another Look at Daisy Buchanan

In a 1972 newspaper article, Hollywood columnist and Fitzgerald intimate Sheilah Graham complained that Ali MacGraw was not an appropriate choice to play Daisy Buchanan in the forthcoming Paramount film of The Great Gatsby because the actress is "dark, olive complexioned, and with the look of an Indian," while Fitzgerald's character is "blonde, blue-eyed, feminine, and frivolous" (Graham B-7). Interestingly, the novel both supports Graham and refutes her; Fitzgerald describes Daisy in contradictory ways. This contradiction can be partially explained by an examination of Daisy's dual origin. In part, too, the discrepancy reflects a fundamental duality in Daisy herself, her simultaneous embodiment of traits associated with the fair and the dark women of romantic literature.

D. Mourning Becomes Typee

In Mourning Becomes Electra, Orin Mannon asks his mother, "Have you ever read a book called Typee--about the South Sea Islands?" He goes on to tell her about it: "I read it and reread it until finally those Islands came to mean everything that wasn't war, everything that was peace and warmth and security" (O'Neill 107). Several critics have noted O'Neill's mention of Melville's first novel, and a few have discussed affinities between the two writers. None of these critics--indeed, not even O'Neill himself--seems aware of the ambiguous nature of the island paradise Melville depicts. Melville's Typee is not the sinless Garden of Eden described in O'Neill's play: it offers savagery and deceit as well as innocence. The Mannons' Puritan heritage was Melville's, too.