The papers in this course are designed to be challenging; they will require you to think about the subject matter deeply and seriously, to generate your own ideas in your writing, and to organize your ideas in a clear and creative way.  As a result, at least one of these papers will probably be difficult for you.  While I want you to develop your own approach to thinking and writing in this course, I also am here to help you in any way I can.  Please feel free to ask questions about any aspect of the assignments in class and during my office hours.  Asking questions is not a sign of ignorance, but of your willingness and desire to learn.

First, you need to know that these are the directions for my courses.  Other professors may have different preferences, and you should always inquire of the professor teaching your course if you're unsure.  In this class, students will receive a detailed discussion of each paper assignment well in advance of the paper's due date.  This assignment will specify the required length for each individual paper.  Papers should conform to my format guidelines; click on this link to download an example of a properly formatted document . 

For the most part, your papers in this class should reflect your critical reading and writing abilities, not your synthesis of other interpretations.  While we will use source material at various points in the semester, you should always use such materials to support your own arguments; don't allow your papers to become a summary of other people's arguments.

• Keep in mind that a list of questions within a topic or an assignment is a suggested list to help you start writing, not an organizing structure for your paper.  You may use all or none of the questions in your final paper, but in any event the paper must be organized around its thesis, not a list of questions.
• A thesis doesn't have to be limited to a one-sentence statement at the end of your first paragraph; your paper should have a strong and apparent purpose.  How you express that purpose will vary from paper to paper, sometimes being a more traditional thesis, and other times perhaps not appearing explicitly at all.
• Choose a strong title that will interest your reader and describe the subject of your paper.  Do not title your paper the name of the work you are studying; rather than calling your paper "My Last Duchess," instead title it "The Duke in Browning's 'My Last Duchess':  Villain or Loving Husband?"  You do not need to put your paper's title in quotation marks.
• Remember that the author of a work of literature is not the same as the narrator, even in cases where the narrator speaks in a first-person voice.  In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tale-Tell Heart," Poe does not bury any body parts under his floor; the narrator does. 
• Unless directed otherwise, assume your audience is a reader on the college sophomore level--essentially your colleagues in the class.
• With this audience, then, you can assume they know the plot of any of our class readings you're discussing, so you need not summarize it.  Provide only the details you need to analyze to convince the audience of your reading.  Summarizing readings is one sure route to a poorly written paper.
• Be careful to sufficiently analyze any quoted materials; "don't expect the quote to explain itself--you must show how it fits in with what you're trying to prove" (Hammond 42).  In other words, Hammond argues that you need to explicate the material and show that it does help support your thesis.
• "Compare" in a paper assignment can mean either compare only, contrast only, or some combination of comparison and contrast.
• Identify author(s) and work(s) of any source material cited in your paper on the first reference to such work.

For most student writers, one of the most difficult aspects of writing papers about literature is understanding the difference between a plot summary and a critical comment.  We will spend considerable time in class discussing these terms, but essentially you should remember that a plot summary simply restates what happened in the work, without interpreting the text.  Plot statements aren't in dispute; they are factual comments on the work.  An interpretation or a critical comment, however, goes beyond simply stating the facts and offers an explanation of what is important about those facts.  Critical comments are arguable--someone might reasonably disagree with your interpretation.  Thesis and topic sentences in your paper should be critical comments, not plot statements. 

Plot statement
In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," the Duke explains why his last wife didn’t measure up to his expectations.

Critical comment
In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," the Duke displays his art collection to a visitor, in the process revealing his possessive attitude about women.

Generally speaking, you should write in the present tense when discussing literature.  When an event takes place in the historical past or outside the time frame of the story, then you would use the past tense.  This is not tense-switching, but necessary (although sometimes awkward!).

Historical past tense
Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter in 1850. 
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the founders of the early feminist movement.

Literary present tense
Hawthorne describes Hester and Pearl in vivid detail. 
Hester refuses to identify the father of her child.
I n "The Declaration of Sentiments," Stanton and her co-authors argue that equality should apply to women as well as men.

Outside the frame of the story (past tense)
Hester was born in England and arrived in America as an adult.