Note:
While puzzling over how to articulate the difference between an "A" and a "B" paper I remembered a handout one of my instructors uses in both her graduate and undergraduate classes. In this handout she outlines many of the small differences between an average paper and an excellent paper. I remember finding it very helpful so I asked her for a copy. In it she refers to writing about Shakespeare and using quotes--you don't need quotations (necessarily) in this paper and you're not writing about Shakespeare but I think a lot of the information is still applicable--particularly if you're striving for an "A" level paper.
"A" level papers will treat your visual examples as Professor Shenk suggests you use quotes: by providing a visual example then spending several sentences analyzing its significance before going onto the next visual example. They will use a clear argumentative title, a decisive thesis, and a thorough analysis of each example used, and they will use clear concise language, linguistic keywords, and varied sentence structure. "A" level papers will not use a string of unanalyzed examples, summarize, use "to-be" verbs and passive language, use second person or informal language, or make grammatical mistakes.
This may not be applicable to all of you--"A"s are difficult to come by in college courses and many of you may be striving to simply write a competent paper rather than an excellent one. However, those of you striving for a "B+" or above may want to check out Professor Shenk's very helpful list of paper writing tips.
All the best,
Rachael
Linda Shenk’s Helpful Hints to Writing about Shakespeare
Because writing good papers involves a few techniques that often are not difficult to execute and yet make a world of difference, I have provided the following helpful hints.
Showing off your analysis
1. Make a good first impression with a good title: The title is the first aspect of your paper that the reader encounters, so make a good first impression. Although your title might be witty or creative, above all, it should be specific about what exactly your analysis reveals.
Lifeless, overly general titles:
An Analysis of Katherine and Petruchio’s Shared Language in The Taming of the Shrew An Analysis of Iago in Othello
Informative, specific titles:
“I am your own forever”: Iago as Othello’s Obedient Spouse
“So may you lose your arms”: Katherine and Petruchio’s Shared Language of Violence
As I did for the second set of titles, you might want to incorporate a striking phrase from the text itself (one that is particularly important in your argument), OR you could echo a line from the text but reshape it to indicate your own interpretation. In all titles, make sure you include the name of the character(s) you are analyzing. Note: Only the quoted part of the title goes in quotation marks. Do not put the title of your own paper in quotation marks.
2. Have an identifiable thesis statement at the end of a one-paragraph introduction: At the end of your introductory paragraph, provide a thesis statement that explains what your attention to the language brings to light—an idea that should more be complex than what you thought about your character(s)/topic before you started working on the paper. Also, think about how your introductory paragraph overall lays out all the keywords of your topic so that, by the time you get to your thesis, you have already introduced the key ideas that you will examine in your essay. If you have trouble writing good introductions & thesis statements, make yourself write a conclusion for your first draft. This paragraph often contains many perfect keywords/phrases as well as a far better statement of your argument. Cut and paste.
3. Do NOT include “life lessons” or “scholars have often interpreted” in your introduction or conclusion: You may find it tempting to begin or conclude a paper with statements about how one of Shakespeare’s plays demonstrates some eternal truth (i.e. we are all searching for our identity or reasons for existence) or how your idea differs from notions scholars have long used to interpret the work. Avoid such generalizations because, for the first technique, these ideas never do justice to the complexity of your observations, and for the second technique, you would need to include research to prove your claim. Get right to your specific argument in the paper’s first sentence—that swift specificity is most impressive.
4. Provide a BRIEF quotation in each paragraph: The passage does “double duty”: it provides tangible support that your ideas are indeed evident in the text, and it shows off that you are a careful reader who notices detail. Keep the quote to about one sentence or 1-3 verse-lines in length. By providing brief quotes, you include only what is the most important language for your reader, which keeps the focus tight and does not allow the quote to take too much “air time” away from your own commentary.
5. Speak your own language by using keywords: One of the simplest ways to show that all your ideas work well together is if you devise keywords and phrases for your topic and then use these words lightly throughout your paper, particularly in your title, your introduction, the first few sentences of each paragraph, and your conclusion. As you read over your first draft, look for words/phrases that nicely encapsulate your point. Then graft those words (and sometimes synonyms to avoid being too repetitive) back into the places I mention in this suggestion.
*6*. The secret to successful papers is consistent, well-structured paragraphs that provide an abundance of your own COMMENTARY. Although it seems formulaic, follow this sequence in every paragraph of analysis:
1.) Provide an opening sentence that shows how the idea of the previous paragraph is related to the idea you will discuss in this new paragraph. Hint: Use an introductory phrase that summarizes the previous paragraph’s topic, and then have the main part of the sentence introduce the idea for the new paragraph. Examples of beginnings to introductory phrases: Just as, Because, Although, Even though, When, After, In addition to, etc.).
2.) Include a second sentence that describes the topic that underlies the specific idea your quote will demonstrate. For this sentence (or the previous one), use some of the keywords from your thesis.
3.) Provide a brief quote (usually a sentence long, not just one or two words).
4.) In several subsequent sentences, explain how the passage is significant by referring directly to at least two specific words and ideas in that quote—ideally ones that work together to emphasize your point. By providing a passage from the text, you indicate that those exact words are important; therefore, use your commentary to show just how important they truly are. Think about explaining the significance of what you have noticed to the point that you think you are stating the obvious. By providing full commentary, you are not treating your readers as dim-witted, you are simply doing all the thinking-work for them. This last step of explanation separates an outstanding analysis from an average one. You would be amazed at how many academic papers and job-related documents falter because the writers left the importance of their ideas implied rather than stated outright.
7. Keep your commentary focused on the literal meaning of the words. Many people have the misconception that literary scholars seek to expose the “hidden meaning” of a text. Indeed, good scholarship does reveal interpretations that have gone hitherto unnoticed because, for example, the traditions or historical context may have been insufficiently considered in the past. Once we know these traditions or this context, however, it becomes clear that this meaning is evident all along. For your work in this class, focus firstly on the literal meaning of the words before you move on to any other meaning. What you should avoid is taking some metaphor or minute reference and trying to make a case that the whole play should be read through the lens of that one detail or abstract idea. I am most impressed by a careful reader who notices how larger ideas and patterns operate on the smaller level of individual moments in the text.
8. Do not begin or end a paragraph with a quotation: If you introduce and explain each quote, then you will never begin or end a paragraph with a quotation. By framing each passage with your own explanation, you are providing the interpretation and significance of each quote. Just like the person who has most powerful position in a discussion, you always get the first and the last word.
9. Do not paraphrase or provide plot summary: Write for readers who have read the play already and who understand the basic meaning of the lines.
10. No need to compliment Shakespeare: Do not dilute your work by saying that Shakespeare did a good job writing some aspect of the play or used such vivid imagery that readers can picture the scene or its characters in their minds. These comments are too general and never lead to sophisticated analyses.
11. Avoid describing the characters as if they are real people: Although you can describe characteristics of personality and relationship, do not hypothesize about a character’s inner feelings. To this end, eliminate such phrases as “truly feel/believe,” and every so often, make Shakespeare the subject of the sentence (i.e. Shakespeare creates/depicts) to acknowledge that he has created the figures you discuss.
12. If you incorporate material from secondary sources (i.e. research), see me to go over documentation.
13. Proofread your essays: To catch mistakes, read your papers sentence-by-sentence backwards.
Small items that add that last layer of polish to a formal paper
1. Handling titles: Italicize the titles of plays: The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet.
Remember: Do NOT underline the title of your own paper, or enclose it in quotation marks.
2. Providing citations for each quote: Give the act, scene, and line number(s) in parentheses after each quote. If the quote is less than four lines of verse, do not indent the quote but use a slash to indicate when each line ends. (Prose has not set form; therefore, you do not put slashes in prose quotations.) Notice, also, that the period goes after the citation. The only pieces of punctuation that you include at the end of a quote are a question mark and an exclamation point—omit commas, periods, and semi-colons.
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair. / Hover through the fog and filthy air” (1.1.11-12).
If you quote more than four lines of verse (or more than 28 words in prose), then indent the quote, and do not use quotation marks. Notice that, for a quote in verse, the lines appear as they do in the text.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. (5.5.19-23)
3. Quotation marks around quoted words: When you refer to words from a quoted passage in your commentary, put those quoted words in double quotation marks (“).
4. Informal language: Although wit and humor are encouraged in class, maintain a formal and scholarly tone in your written assignments. Avoid conversational language, clichés, and contractions (can’t/won’t/shouldn’t) because they are not formal.
5. You/I/Me/We/Us: Do not use the second person (you, yours) in your paper because readers tend not to appreciate it when a writer tells them what they should do or think. I also suggest that you use the first person (I, me, my, mine; we, us, our, ours) sparingly, except in your final paper when you describe your creative choices. In this last paper, using the first person is most appropriate!
6. To be: As often as you can, avoid using the verb “to be” as your main verb. (Forms of “to be” often act as auxiliary verbs for certain tenses, so these instances are appropriate. Ex. “I was running.”) As a main verb, “to be” does not indicate any action or progression but rather sits in your sentences like an “=” sign.
In keeping with this ideas, avoid these lifeless constructions: There is/ It is/ That is.
7. The “lonely” this: Do not use the word “this” by itself. Always use it to modify a noun.
Unclear: This ensures that your reader understands what you mean.
Clear: This rule ensures that your reader understands what you mean.
8. Ellipses: DO NOT INSERT ELLIPSES AT THE BEGINNING OR END OF YOUR QUOTATIONS UNLESS ELLIPSES APPEAR IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT. You do use ellipses if you are eliminating any section out of the middle of a passage. Type ellipses as three periods.
9. Vary your sentence structure: If you begin some of your sentences with introductory phrases (Just as…, Although…, Because…, While…) rather than always with the subject, your sentences will have a lovely varied rhythm. As a result, your prose will sound like music rather than replicate the rhythm of Chinese water torture. I am serious. You would be stunned what a difference varying sentence structure does not only to the sound of one’s prose but also to the emphasis on how ideas connect.
