How Do You Write a Literature Paper?

There are many ways to write a literature paper, but none of them involves merely summarizing what occurred in a literary work. Literary criticism involves interpreting a poem, essay, short story, novel, or other literary work and usually highlights particular aspects of the literary work rather than focusing on interpreting the entire text. In upper level English courses, students employ various critical methodologies for analyzing a literary text. They might examine the text from a sociological perspective and analyze the cultural constructions operative in the literary work. For instance, in the Black Arts era, Mari Evans represents black female identity through various metaphors and images in her poem "Status Symbol." Langston Hughes represents working class African American identity in his poems about everyday life in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. The issue of representation is often an important topic in literary criticism. I could easily imagine the titles for these two potential literature papers:Representing Black Femininity in Mari Evans' Status Symbol and The Dynamics of Class Exploitation in the Poetry of Langston Hughes.

An effective literature paper should have a focused title. The titles mentioned above directly address one aspect of a writer's work. It is assumed that the rest of the paper will deal with the topic in the title, so be careful when you choose your title. Some writers write their title after they have written their first draft of their essay, while others start off with an interesting title. Your title should be original and should focus one aspect of the literary work you are analyzing.

If you are experiencing difficulty choosing a topic, you can always select from the traditional approaches to analyzing literature. For instance, you could deal with the theme of a literary work. A comparative approach is often very fruitful because the comparisons will give you a considerable amount of material to write about. For instance, in a paper comparing the Black Arts Movement to the Harlem Renaissance, this writer chose the following topic. Notice how the title of the paper is general, but in the introduction, the writer specifically addresses the works she will analyze:

The Quest for Identity in the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement

During the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement, African American writers sought to define themselves according to their own standards rather than by the standards of the white mainstream. Two writers in particular highlighted the quest for identity during these periods: Alain Locke in his landmark essay "The New Negro" and Hoyt Fuller in "Towards A Black Aesthetic." While these writers wrote in entirely different time periods, their missions were similar. They wanted to define the contours of a new approach to literature based on an Afrocentric rather than Eurocentric perspective.

You can see that in this introduction, the student employs a general title to give the reader a clear idea of her purpose. She then poses a particular problem that writers during the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement tried to solve. Most African American writers during these time periods were taught to imitate white writers instead of being encouraged to create literary works from their unique cultural and historical heritage. During both of these movements, these writers gave a new voice to the aspirations of African American writers seeking to represent their cultural heritage. The introduction should give the reader some specific information, but it should not be too specific. This writer left out quotes from the introduction because it is usually better to incorporate quotes into the body paragraphs of the paper. There is a clear, identifiable thesis in this introductory paragraph. The reader is aware of what the writer's goal is: to address the quest for identity in the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. The reader will expect the writer to describe what the Afrocentric perspective was during the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. Also, the reader will want to know how Alain Locke's mission and Hoyt Fuller's mission were similar when they wrote their essays on African American literature and art.

       An effective introduction introduces the main argument in a literature paper. The rest of the paper should defend the argument constructed in the introductory paragraph. It is important to find quotes that support your argument. For example, the writer who wrote this paper should find several quotes from Alain Locke's essay "The New Negro" in which Locke describes the quest for African American identity. She should also find several quotes from Hoyt Fuller's essay. These quotes should be relevant to the thesis in the introduction. The writer should prove to the reader that they are Afrocentric rather than Eurocentric.

       Another way to analyze a literature paper is to examine the claims that are made in the literature paper. The aim of literary criticism is to interpret, or to analyze the language used in a literary work while making certain claims about the literary work. In this introduction, the writer claims that Harlem Renaissance writers and writers in the Black Arts Movement shared similar views. Some readers might object to that statement--some might believe that the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement were separate movements with little in common. A good writer will always defend the claims he or she makes in the introduction of her/his essay by making references to specific quotes and evidence from the literary texts being analyzed.

For instance, in the comparative paper above, the writer chooses to support her argument by quoting Alain Locke.

Alain Locke imagined that the Afrocentric perspectives of African Americans would enrich America as a nation. In "the New Negro," he emphasizes how the African American writer's quest for identity would enrich American democracy:

               The Negro mind reaches out as yet to nothing but American wants,

               American ideas.... The racialism of the Negro is no limitation or                                reservation with respect to American life... (Locke 990)

Locke believes that the African American quest for identity during the Harlem Renaissance would revitalize American democracy because America as a nation is founded on the idea of opportunity for all ethnicities to pursue the American dream. Locke uses the term "racialism" to describe how African American writers have touched upon the theme of racial heritage during the Harlem Renaissance; he views "racialism" as an asset for African American writers because it encourages pride in African American culture and it acts as an antidote to the attitude that literature must be based on the standards of write writers.

In this paragraph, the writer uses a block quote to prove his argument that Locke was interested in developing a more complex view of race. In a subsequent paragraph, she compares Locke's views to Fuller's views on African American literature:

On the surface, it would appear that Locke and Fuller possessed different views because Fuller was more concerned with highlighting the separate status of African American literature. However, Locke promoted the idea that African American writers should explore the richness of their ethnic heritage. While Fuller elaborates on Locke's initial idea that the African American writer should explore her ethnic heritage in a different, much more politicized historical context, his ideas share many similarities with Locke's. For instance, he states that young African American writers during the Black Arts Movement have "turned their back on the old 'certainties' and struck out in new, if uncharted directions" and addresses their "journey toward a black aesthetic" (1854). Both Locke and Fuller encouraged the younger generation of African American writers to break away from the past and to explore the richness of a "black aesthetic."

Notice that this writer refers back to Locke while comparing Locke's ideas with Fuller's ideas. She keeps her argument consistent and emphasizes both Locke's and Fuller's interest in documenting a new period in African American literature. The issue of identity is critical in both of these paragraphs. Each of these body paragraphs have well integrated quotes that support the writer's thesis statement.

In the final paragraph, you should conclude. An effective conclusion might be a restatement of a particular problem addressed in the introduction. In the conclusion, you should not introduce new material. New material belongs in the body paragraphs of your paper. The conclusion should restate the thesis in your introduction. You should draw some conclusions based on the interpretation you made in your paper. You should emphasize the significance of your argument to your audience. Lastly, the conclusion is your last chance to make a final impression on your audience, so you should tie all of your points together in your concluding paragraph.

Usually, most essays move from general statements made in the introductory paragraph, to more specific statements made in the body paragraphs of your essay (these should always relate to your stated goal in your introductory paragraph), and back to some general conclusions at the end of your paper.

Lastly, you should use MLA format throughout your paper. That means that you should have a works cited page at the end of your paper, and you should quote sources according to MLA format. For more information about MLA format, see the link above MLA FORMAT.