For the most part, readers react to literature quickly based on what entertains them or what bores them. They neglect to delve de

For the most part, readers react to literature quickly based on what entertains them or what bores them. They neglect to delve deeply and look at the work from many perspectives. The critical strategies (explained in one of our lessons on literary theory) help readers to expand their ideas and approach literary works from various angles. This also helps to keep writers focused on critical thought and away from simple plot summary.

The Assignment:
       Choose an author from one of the books for the class and write an analysis of one or two pieces of their work from the perspective of one of the critical strategies of literary theory. You must choose a work from our textbook (not a book you read in high school two years ago). The research paper must follow MLA format and include in-text citations and a works cited page. It needs to be typed, double-spaced, and 6-8 pages in length (the minimum of 6 pages is not counting the works cited page). You should have several outside sources (3-4), two of which need to be from EBSCO-host. You may not write on an author you have already written an essay on this semester (or recycle a paper from another class). Choose someone new. This assignment is one of the two major essays and due on Nov. 28th

Points to Remember:

• You are not writing the author’s biography. You are focusing on their work. However, if you want to demonstrate how aspects of their lives effect their work, you may. Just be sure your focus is analysis, not biography.
• Use brief examples (quotes) from the text to support your ideas.
• You may reupload to Turnitin severally, until the final day of submission when your work will be checked for plagiarism.  
• I want to read your words more than other people’s words from secondary sources. This means that you may quote briefly from outside sources, but use summary/paraphrase when appropriate as well.

 Literary analysis is called criticism, and to find it on EBSCO Discovery, you need to access the AVC Library:

• Id and password: avcebsco and library2016
• You may want to click "Literary Reference Center" on the left margin to help limit your sources
• A library hint: if you do a general search of the library database (not EBSCO-Discovery), look the author up under "subject," not "author," when looking for criticism. Under "author" you will only get what he/she wrote. Under "subject" you will get what others have written about the author.