Visit Diana Hacker 's web page to take advantage of more advice and exercises to improve your writing.  These exercises were designed in conjunction with Hacker's Rules for Writers.

WRITING ABOUT AMERICAN STUDIES--SOME GUIDANCE

A well-organized paragraph guides the reader from beginning to end.  It follows the lead of its topic sentence and turns from that lead only after giving a clear signal.  To write a well-organized paragraph, therefore, forecast your main point and signal your turns .  Forecast your paragraph's main idea with a topic sentence that points to the main idea the paragraph will pursue.

Consider the following.  The paragraph leads the reader toward its conclusion:

Self-interest is frowned upon throughout Chandler's story .  After the murder of the stranger, the barman remarks that the killing is bad for business.  The police arrive to investigate, empty the dead man's wallet and inform the witnesses, “we didn't touch him, see?”  Later, Marlowe encounters more corruption and self-interest as he volunteers to help Lola reclaim a stolen necklace the stranger had been using to blackmail her.  In an act opposed to self-interest , Marlowe recovers the lost necklace.  Rather than ask for a reward, Marlowe makes sure Lola will never know that her one true love had given her false pearls.  Marlowe does not act for money, love, truth, or even self-interest, but for order.

The paragraph begins and ends with references to “self-interest,” and the body of the paragraph gives examples of the concept in the story being discussed.  The reader never loses the thread of the paragraph's main idea.

WRITING PARAGRAPHS--IN BRIEF

TO DIRECT EACH PARAGRAPH

Forecast your main point with a lead sentence that tells the reader where you are headed.  Signal each turn of you thought with an apt word or phrase.

TO ENSURE COHERENCE

Use a sequence of sentences with the same basic pattern ( list structure ).

Two characters stand out in this short story.  The Captain stands out because of his wound.  He is marked by the accident the ship has encountered.  Billie the oiler stands out because he has been given a name.  He is marked by this humanizing gesture . . . .

OR

Link each new sentence to the sentence before it ( chain structure ).

In every work of fiction, there are characters who attract our notice .  “The Open Boat” is no exception .  Here, these characters are The Captain and Billie the Oiler.  These two characters catch our attention for two different reasons.  We are drawn to The Captain because of his wound and Billie the oiler because he alone has been given a name . . . .

TO EMPHASIZE THE MAIN POINT

Repeat key words or phrases, (or use related terms).

Poe's detective Dupin explores human identity, while Chandler's private eye Marlowe explores human society.  Marlowe does not match wits with his opponent to restore order .  In fact, he has no opponent , as such.  There are two murders in “Red Wind”: a couple of two-bit hoods kill each other and are forgotten by the story's end.  How different Marlowe is from Dupin.  Marlowe is a man of action who thrusts himself into the chaotic society about him and roughly, almost brutishly restores order .   Dupin serenely sits in his Paris apartments and with the help of his colleague coolly recounts his exploits. For him, his intellect is enough to restore order .  Marlowe's world is filled with more chaos than even Dupin faces.  Dupin understands individual human beings ; Marlowe understands society.

TO LINK EACH NEW PARAGRAPH TO THE ONE BEFORE

Start with a transitional word or phrase

 . . . . Dupin is interested in the money and in the personal satisfaction the exercise of his mind brings.         

However , the tale of Marie Roget underscores at least one parallel between these two detectives. . . . 

OR

Start by answering questions raised in the previous paragraph.

 . . . Poe's first detective story is filled with terrible violence .  However, it is not as unsettling as some of his terror stories that contain far less violence.  How can that be?

Poe can still allow for closure in this violent story .  Regardless of his Gothic trappings, in his detective fiction, Poe sought order, and Dupin is the embodiment of that order. 

OR

Start by echoing a key word or recalling a key idea from the previous paragraph.

Ultimately, Marlowe's goal is the reestablishment of an order that he can at least tolerate in the “mean streets” of his Los Angeles. 

Although informed by Poe and Chandler, Auster's City of Glass never allows for achievable order.  This Postmodern anti-detective novel argues for a world incapable of sustaining order.

Some ideas & phrases borrowed from Writing: A  College Handbook   by Jams Heffernan, Norton, 1994.

USING TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES

Within the paragraph, you may want to use TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES to link ideas together.                                                                                  

TRANSITIONAL WORDS Showing Chronological Order

TRANSITIONAL WORDS Showing Addition

TRANSITIONAL WORDS Showing Cause and Effect

TRANSITIONAL WORDS Showing Numerical Order

TRANSITIONAL WORDS Showing Comparison

TRANSITIONAL WORDS Showing Conflict or Contrast

still

instead

Look at the following, from an essay on Woody Guthrie's Bound for Glory .  See how the writer uses transition words to link the paragraphs:

The scene just described has its roots in an actual audition that Guthrie made with his group, The Almanac Singers.  Rather than present something so mundane as what actually happened that day, Guthrie uses the tale to develop his legend as a loner, rebel, and anti-capitalist.  This portrayal is in keeping with his democratic politics and allows him to indulge in a “realistic” everyman fantasy. Bound for Glory 's protagonist is a dialect-speaking common man whom Guthrie identifies with the underclass. 

Guthrie does not merely extol the hero of the book as a unique individual, however .  Rather than ending the book by depicting himself as a radio performer and recording artist about to write his autobiography for a major publisher, this Woody is presented as penniless.  When asked if he has any money, he responds, “Mornin' comes I'll feel in my pockets and see.”  Guthrie imagines himself as a man at odds with money and disdainful of fame and status.  While the real Woody Guthrie often abandoned employment and responsibility, he was also very serious about pursuing fame and especially recognition for his songs.  He fantasized about the wealth his songwriting would bring.  Eventually , Guthrie's dreams came true when “every singer in America recorded ‘This Land is Your Land.'”  If, however , Bound for Glory presents Woody as unemployed and oppressed, we can say its author has “assert[ed] the right of autobiographers to present themselves in whatever form they may find appropriate and necessary.” 

And although he may well have been regularly unemployed, Woody Guthrie did not come to this condition through oppression, exactly . . . .

The writer uses phrases to refer to events previously discussed ( “ This scene just described,” “does not merely” ), he also uses familiar transition words ( “eventually,”  “however,” “although” ) to link his ideas together.

Some ideas & phrases borrowed from Writing: A  College Handbook   by Jams Heffernan, Norton, 1994.

From: Dr. Shannon

WRITING INTENSIVE CLASS EXERCISE

BUILDING STRONGER PARAGRAPHS

Often, when composing an essay of literary analysis, a student can feel lost if he or she has no ideas for a paper.  Sometimes, however, the opposite situation can be the bigger problem.  Sometimes a student sits down to begin writing confident that her head full of ideas will see her through the paper.  So, the student concludes, no outline is necessary.  Lack of planning can lead to paragraphs over burdened by ideas and under supported with facts and supporting details.  Consider the following paragraph, from an essay examining Walt Whitman's reputation in nineteenth century England.

The thesis statement reads:

The story of Whitman's acceptance by his British peers bears exploration. 

The first body paragraph reads:

In some ways, the story of Whitman's acceptance during his lifetime by the British Poet Laureate reads something like a Horatio Alger history of American letters.  In the context of Whitman's familiarity with popular forms, such as journalism and reform novels, it is perhaps not surprising that Bram Stoker was fond of Whitman and in fact paid the the poet "three visits between 1884 and 1887" (Perry 29).  An extreme example of Whitman's popularity among a distinct British subculture who venerated him for his social difference rather than his poetic ability can be found in the aristocratic male homosexuals of Nineteenth century England.  Interestingly enough, even Whitman's connection with the homosexual British subculture seems to resonate with a wider British flirtation with democratic principles.  Whitman the political representative of change supersedes Whitman the poet. 

What questions does this paragraph answer for the reader of the essay?  What questions is the reader left with?  

While each sentence in this paragraph is about Whitman's reputation in England, each sentence actually broaches a new idea.  In one paragraph we sample a variety of tantalizing ideas: Horatio Alger and Walt Whitman?  Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula , knew Walt Whitman?  Sexual preference, is always an issue in Whitman's poetry, but was there really a “ distinct British subculture [ . . . of ] aristocratic male homosexuals of Nineteenth century England ”?  What are the “politics of change” in Whitman's poetry?

Could you write an outline that can help this writer?

From: Dr. Shannon

QUOTING : Keep several general rules of thumb in mind regarding quoting: 

Quote often. If you are making a literary argument, you need to refer to the text frequently to demonstrate that you have a valuable, compelling point. These quotes are your major evidence. If you do not tell us which lines are important, you cannot be sure that we will remember them.  Avoid stand-alone quotes. You do not want sentences in your paper that are entirely made up of quoted material. You are assuming your audience will remember who said this and when. They may not. You are assuming that your audience will assign to these quotes the same significance you do. They may not. Consider the following example: 

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe is a latter day knight who embodies all the best qualities of man in a corrupt world. "He must be . . . a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it." Chandler imbues all of the knightly virtues into Marlowe.

Who is the speaker of this quote? Chandler? A critic? Marlowe? Another character in the novel? Is the quote an example of the idea just introduced or is it a refutation of it? Consider the following revision: 

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe is a latter day knight who embodies all the best qualities of man in a corrupt world. To emphasize this point, Chandler says in his essay "The Simple Art of Murder," "[The hero] must be . . . a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it." Chandler transfers all of the knightly virtues onto Marlowe.

With this little phrase all of our questions are answered. We know who is responsible for the phrase and why it appears in this essay. 

Explain the context of your quotes. If you quote 5 words from a text, give us at least 5 of your own words to explain why the quote appears in your paper. If you quote 20 word, use 20 of your words to explain your reading of the text. Do not just drop in long (or short) quoted passages with no context. Consider the following example: 

Chandler's hero is a man of honor. Chandler discusses this in his essay, "The Simple Art of Murder":

Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.  The detective . . . must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man  and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. . . . He will take no man's money dishonestly and no man's insolence without a due and dispassionate revenge. He is a lonely man, and his pride is that you will treat him as a proud man or be very sorry you ever saw him.

Here we see Chandler's vision of the detective as honorable man.

Who are we kidding? The quote does nothing here but stretch out the paper. We need to trim the quote and introduce it with enough of our own language to insure that the text will become an integral part of our own argument. Look at this revision: 

Although the detective genre is often thought of as base and even inherently decadent and corrupt, Chandler's novels are ultimately about honor. Marlowe may live in a corrupt world, but he is not a corrupt man. In "The Simple Art of Murder," Chandler describes his honorable hero with language that emphasizes both the corruption of the world and the incorruptibility of the man. "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid," Chandler writes. Yes, the world of his books may be corrupt, but the hero is not. Chandler says of this hero, "He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. . . . " Chandler's hero stands in opposition to the decadent twentieth century world in which he finds himself.

In the revised passage, we have a paragraph of about equal length, but we use only a small portion of the quote. However, we have bracketed the quote with our commentary of it. In the first passage, we leave ourselves open to accusations of laziness and unoriginal thinking. In the revision, we have taken a few minutes to make sure that the reader will see in Chandler's comments what we want them to see. End your discussion on your words, not theirs. It is your job to make your argument. Quoted passages will shore up your argument, but they will not be able to emphasize them like your own words. I ended the above paragraph on my own words. If I leave out that last comment, I weaken my observation: 

Yes, the world of his books may be corrupt, but the hero is not. Chandler says of this hero, "He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. . . . "

If I had left off the last sentence, I would be counting on Chandler to make my argument for me. But Chandler was not writing about Chandler, he was writing about Marlowe. Since I have a different argument than Chandler did, I need a different conclusion: 

Yes, the world of his books may be corrupt, but the hero is not. Chandler says of this hero, "He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any  world. . . . " Chandler's hero stands in opposition to the decadent twentieth century world in which he finds himself.

Maybe my reader would get the idea anyway, but I do not want to take any chances, so I conclude my paragraph with MY commentary on the source material.

***

Audience 

When writing about literature, especially when writing literary argument or literary analysis, we make several assumptions about our audience. 

First, we assume that our audience is familiar with the text. If we write a paper about As I Lay Dying, we assume our audience has read the novel. Therefor, it is not necessary for us to summarize the novel for the audience. Of course, your
real, primary audience is your professor. Since this person assigned the novel, it is safe to assume he or she has read it.  Moreover, if you are making an argument concerning a fuller understanding of a literary work, you must be talking to someone who knows the book. Otherwise, why would this person seek a fuller understanding? 

However, we still quote the text. Why bother if the audience has read the work? Two reasons: 

One, we assume the audience has read the work. We do not assume they have memorized it. Selective use of quoted passages reminds the reader of our paper of important events or comments made in the work. Also, since we are explaining OUR view of the work, it is possible that we considered important passages our readers simply glossed. It is our job to shed light on those passages which lead to our fuller understanding.  

Two, we want to display our expertise. Frequent quoting shows the reader that we are familiar with the works we are discussing. 

While we assume our audience knows the text we discuss, we do not assume that they came to the same conclusions about it that we did. In fact, it is likely that our readers never considered our position or that they did consider our position, only to dismiss it. It is likely we are dealing with an opposition audience whom we must convince to accept our views. Hence, our paper will make reference to and defeat counter arguments, or positions contrary to our own. 

We should also assume that we are addressing an audience greater than simply our professor or our class. Hence, we refrain from referring to the classroom context of our reading unless such references strongly support our position. It is counter productive to include a phrase like "Our class has read three Faulkner novels so far . . . ." Or, "As we said in class . . . . " Try to write as if you were addressing someone you had not met. Take a professional tone and avoid personal references unless they help you support your argument.

***

Personal Pronouns. 

It is not wrong to refer to yourself in a literary analysis, but it is often counterproductive. Your audience assumes that the paper is your opinion of the work. You do not need to remind them of that with phrasing like "I think" or "In my opinion." Use a more remote voice and generally discuss your topic as if it were absolutely true, and not just an opinion you formed.  If your experience of the work is significant, though, go ahead and use it. There's a difference between "It seems to me that Ironweed is a sad book, in my opinion." and "I wept when Gerald died." The first emphasizes the subjectivity of the writer's opinion, the second emphasizes the power if the scene in question.

From:Dr. Shannon