characteristics of an essay
relative brevity. formality. a "serious" audience. persuasiveness. give and take between authors and readers. argumentation
an essay is ______
an essay is versatile and applicable to more than just literature. example - police reports
an essay as communication
the author produces a work of literature -> sends it to other people, including you -> you read and study it -> then present an interpretation of it in an essay -> you send the essay to other people
why write about literature?
people respond powerfully to things and want to share them with others. it is an art form.
people write to accomplish certain goals. three of these goals are the basis for widely practiced kinds of essays about literature.
1) essays that advocate. urge readers to take action 2) essays that evaluate. assess the quality of literature 3) essays that illuminate. it helps people understand literature by all means discussed in chapter one by showing how each key element works together, addressing questions through context, explore possible meanings. changes the way readers interpret the novel
stages of the writing process
when we write essays, we typically think and write in stages. writers rarely follow this process rigidly - first one step, then the next, and so on. rather, they go back and forth between stages and do many tasks simultaneously.
first stage: inventing
studying the subject/work. deciding the purpose of the essay. identify audience (needs and interests). recognizing limitations. generating topics
second stage: drafting
determine thesis and supporting claims. gathering facts. plan of organization for the first draft. write draft
third stage: revising
read drafts critically (get others to read). rethink topic, organization, and reasoning. gather support for claims. write further drafts
fourth stage: editing
producing final draft in the format expected by the audience. publishing essay