Writing on Literature: Some Basic Advice

When choosing a thesis, you want to avoid stating the self-evident. To argue, for example, that "Young Goodman Brown" is about faith would be pointless. That much is obvious. As we have seen, however, many things about a text invite explanation or debate. In "Goodman Brown," for example, one could argue that Brown was tricked by the devil into losing his faith and that the price he pays is a living hell. Or one could argue that the story shows that it's better not to look too closely at human character, for you might not like what you see. These are just two examples of several possible readings of the story.

Your main concerns should be a clearly defined thesis (claim about meaning) and persuasive explanation. The latter depends on a judicious use of textual evidence to support a logically organized progression of explanatory main points. Thus, although you want to avoid plot summary, you must use specific events, episodes, descriptive passages, dialogue, etc. to illustrate and support the points of your argument.

Other readers may not interpret the work exactly the way you do and, in any case, never know what you are thinking. You must therefore make each stage of your argument altogether clear and point out specific places in the text that illustrate each point, explaining as you go.  Remember to remind the reader of how each point is relevant to your argument as a whole.

You can use specific examples from the text AND avoid plot summary if you:

A. Present examples from the text in your own order, not the order in which they occur. Your paper should be organized around your ideas, the steps of your argument, not around the events of the plot. Decide on a series of points you want to make (outlines help tremendously) and select examples to illustrate them.

B. Assume that the person reading your paper has read the text in question and doesn't need to be filled in on the plot.

C. Explain everything you quote from the text. Don't expect your reader to see the same thing in a quote that you do. And it's almost always best to explain the point the passage or phrase is meant to illustrates before you quote it.

Additional suggestions:

Although you want to keep your thesis firmly in mind as you outline and write, do not hesitate to modify or even discard the thesis if your search for evidence and/or further contemplation should indicate you're on the wrong track. Writing should be discovery; it should help you clarify what you think. This may lead you to change your mind. That's one reason why good writing takes much longer than we like.

It's sometimes better to postpone writing the introduction until after you have completed the body of your essay. Once you know what your ideas actually are, it's easier to introduce them. If you write the introduction first, you may want to revise it later, perhaps to fashion a better fit with your conclusion.  Remember that a good introduction gets the reader's attention and smoothly leads into your thesis. (Only very accomplished writers should merely imply rather than explicitly state the thesis.)

Don't forget a title. The title should not only reflect your essay's contents but also forecast its argumentative thrust. Thus, "Yielding to Temptation in 'Young Goodman Brown'" or "Goodman Brown's Journey from Innocence to Knowledge" are better titles than "Young Goodman Brown and Faith."

Finally, use the "historical present" when writing about literature. Think of it this way: The events in the book, poem, etc. are always going on in the text, so use the present tense when discussing what happens or what people say. For example: "Granny Weatherall dies with her pride intact but her soul in jeopardy."