Instructions
Using The Bennett and Royle chapter from "An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and
Theory", and "The book Theif write a 5 page double spaced paper following the following
prompt (I attached the annotated biblography that might be of us while writing the paper)"
Throughout this semester, you have read, discussed, and analyzed a variety of literary texts.
Bennett and Royle's An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory has served as an
accompanying guide to your literary texts by providing various key terms/vocabulary,
criticism, and lenses used for critical reading and literary analysis. The one-page Call and
Response papers have served as focused literary analysis exercises inspired by one part
(an epigraph) from your assigned reading that demonstrated a key point or argument you
wanted to make about the texts we've read.
In contrast, your final paper will expand on the writing exercises of your Call and Responses
by completing a multipage literary analysis that draws explicit connections between
(1) a literary term, principle, or theory from a Bennett and Royle chapter of your choice and
(2) that term's, principle's, or theory's presence and use within one or two literary texts of
your choice, at least one of which we've read together for class.
Minimum Requirements:
For your final paper, you will write a literary analysis that meets all of the following
requirements (#1-7):
Examines and evaluates one literary text or two different literary texts (primary sources) by
choosing one of the following options:
One set of novel excerpts or one short story or poem from our class's readings.
Example: Completing a literary analysis on excerpts #1 and #2 from James Weldon
Johnson's The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.
One complete novel or two short stories or poems from a larger anthology that comes from
our class readings (Important Note: purchasing texts was not required for our class, so you
will need to purchase or already have access to the complete text to choose this option).
Example: Completing a literary analysis on Markus Zusak's complete novel The Book Thief.
Comparing and contrasting (1) one set of novel excerpts, one complete novel, one short
story or one poem with (2) a different set of novel excerpts, complete novel, or short story or
poem where both literary texts (1) and (2) are from our class readings.
Example: Comparing and contrasting excerpts #1 and #2 from Margaret Atwood's The
Handmaid's Tale to George Saunders's “The Semplica Girl Diaries.”
Comparing and contrasting (1) one set of novel excerpts, one complete novel, one short
story or one poem from our class readings with (2) a different novel, short story, or poem
where the literary text is outside of our class readings.
Example: Comparing and contrasting Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing to Toni
Morrison's Beloved.
Directly apply a literary term, principle, or theory from at least one Bennett and Royle chapter
(the secondary source An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory) to your analysis of
your chosen literary text(s). It may be helpful to reference your Canvas page on Key Literary Terms when identifying
literary terms, principles, and theories featured in different Bennett and Royle chapters.
Example: Analyze Johnson's use of metafiction in excerpts #1 and #2 from The
Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.
Example: Compares and contrasts the characterization of Handmaids in Atwood's The
Handmaid's Tale with the characterization of the Semplica Girls in Saunders's The Semplica
Girl Diaries.
Include a clear, distinctive, and unique thesis statement that identifies the main argument of
your literary analysis.
Your thesis statement should be no more than two sentences.
Your thesis statement should be included in the first paragraph of your paper.
Correctly and responsibly introduce, cite, and analyze relevant textual evidence from your
chosen literary texts along with textual evidence from your Bennett and Royle chapter and (if
applicable) other secondary sources to consistently and thoroughly support your thesis
statement.
Direct quotes should make up the majority of textual evidence for your literary analysis.
Only paraphrase when prioritizing a part of the text's context over the words or phrases the
author uses.
Only summarize when a large part of a text needs to be briefly explained to understand an
important part of your analysis.
All quotes, paraphrasing, and summaries of primary and secondary sources "must be
attributed to the original author Links to an external site." (cited) to avoid plagiarism.
Use MLA Style for the paper's formatting, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.
Reference the following Canvas page and resources on MLA Style for general and
situational instructions on MLA Style: MLA Style Canvas Page.
Include a MLA Style Works Cited page that contains all of the primary and secondary
sources you use and reference to support your literary analysis.
Two sources are the minimum amount required in your completed Works Cited.
At minimum, your Works Cited will include a chosen literary text (primary source) and the
Bennett and Royle chapter (secondary source) your key term, principle, or theory is found in.
Your Works Cited will and should include more than two sources if you are
(1) comparing and contrasting two separate literary texts,
(2) using literary terms, principles, or theories found in more than one Bennett and Royle
chapter, or
(3) incorporating literary criticism or theory outside of our Bennett and Royle readings, such
as articles or book chapters.
Your completed literary analysis should be 5-6 pages (not including your Works Cited page).
Double-space your paper.
Use a consistent 12-point font (such as Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, or Georgia)
throughout every part of the paper
For visual examples of essays that use MLA Style, review the following resource:
Link for the book sak, Markus. The Book Thief. 1st American ed., Alfred A. Knopf, 2006,
and The Bennett and Royle chapter from "An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and
Theory"
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003255390/introduction-literature-cr
iticism-theory-andrew-bennett-nicholas-royle
