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Tips for Writing College Papers
Know the Literary Theories & Criticism
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: When writing about literature (or any course topic), one must
write with a purpose
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Theories give us frameworks for talking about literature
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Each theory creates a different kind of
question
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These contexts are not considered simply
as “background” but as integral parts of a text
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**
 New Historicism argues that there is no one unified version of history
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(Example:
Fifteenth-century Spaniards believe that Columbus discovered America
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)
 The history on which you choose to write about is colored by your own present
circumstances
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 Marxism allows one to study what a novel does not say, what its ideology (the views of
the dominant class) does not permit it to express
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o These characteristics adjust over time periods and vary from culture to culture
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 Allows one to study the gendered politics of language, form, representation, and literary
production, and the social, cultural, and historical processes in gender human identity
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Sexuality Criticism:
 Examine the ways in which desire manifests itself in literature and culture
 Categories of sexual identity: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual
o These categories do not exist in all cultures of the world
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In doing so, they reveal the codes that a
society constructs in order to make sense out of experience
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o Principles of this Theory: 1) Racist behavior is not an anomaly; it is
unfortunately normal practice; 2) Race is a social construct, not a biological one;
3) Characteristics ascribed to a particular race change over time and in different
cultures; 4) People have intersecting identities (i
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they belong to more than one
demographic group)
o Key Concepts:
 Diaspora
 Any people/ethnic population forced to leave their traditional
ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other parts of the
world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture

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

Eurocentrism
 The practice on European (and generally Western) concerns,
culture, and values at the expense of those of other cultures
Hybridity
 Important concept in post-colonial theory
 Refers to integration (or mingling) of cultural signs and practices
from the colonizing and colonized cultures

 Sub-Fields
o Latino Critical Race Studies
o Critical White Studies
o Asian American Critical Race Studies
o American Indian Critical Race Studies
o Black Critical Race Studies

Formalism/New Formalism:
 An emphasis on form over content or meaning in literature
 Focuses on artistic or literary techniques in themselves
 Formalists pay special attention to diction, irony, paradox, metaphor, and symbol, as well
as larger elements such as plot, characterization, and narrative technique
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Psychoanalytic:
 How the concepts of fear and desire are presented in a literary work
 Example: a psychoanalytic approach may consider how these instincts lead the
characters to act in certain ways
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Introduce
2
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Cite (both in-text and on the Works Cited)

In-Text Citations:
 (Example) John Kosik maintains that “pushing back the age at which the widespread
form of Alzheimer’s strikes…would be nearly tantamount to a cure” (17)
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You MUST give a page number when
working with print and peer-reviewed sources
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Title of Book
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Print
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=editor)

Author last name, first name
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” Book Title
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First and Last Name
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Pages of the article
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 Journal Article

Author last name, first name
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” Journal Title volume
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Print
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EXAMPLE USED BY PROFESSOR:
Although most people want to believe in the goodness of humanity, Wiesel’s novel exposes the
depths of evil in the human heart and warns people to remain vigilant and to beware of
complacency in the face of evil
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After following the professor’s guidelines and writing the essay, answer this question:
What truth about life does the author reveal?
2
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TIPS:
Do not write clichés
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Be sure your statement is connected to the world (or mankind) and that it is easy to prove
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Procrastination is what I do best
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Step 1: Pick a Topic
 Make sure your topic is narrow enough so that you can complete your thought process
within the required number of pages
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 The question will NOT be your thesis statement nor the title of your paper
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 Example: How does Alan Moore deconstruct the myth of the superhero?
Step 3: Re-read (or review) the Novel or Novels
 Review the novel closely, looking for anything related to your topic, specifically for
information that helps you answer the question
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 The answer to your question will be your thesis statement
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Supporting evidence should also be noted in the outline
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 *You can skip this step if need be
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 All you need to do with this version is get your ideas down on paper in sentence and
paragraph form
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Step 7: Revise, then Edit the Paper

 Look at the big picture: Do your main points support your thesis? Is there clear,
compelling evidence to back up each point? Do you use specific evidence? Do you need
to delete or alter any sentences or paragraphs? Have you made quotations?
 I recommend having one or two other people read your draft to help you answer these
questions
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Make sure you
have followed MLA format correctly
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Check all grammar (NO GRAMMAR CHECK EITHER!)
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You may make minor corrections by pen on the
final paper
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 Heading on left of first page: your name, professor’s name, course, date (on separate
lines)
 Heading in top right corner of every page: your last name and page number (Example:
Thompson 2)
 Title centered with no quotation marks around it or underlining or italics
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) The title should not be the title of the novel
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After
the first mention, refer to the author by last name only
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 Use the present tense when discussing events in a novel
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Using Quotations as Evidence:
 Quotes must be word for word as they appear in the book
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 Always use a page number at the end of a quotation
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Otherwise, use a comma to introduce a complete quote
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They are set off by an indentation (10 spaces or 1
inch) with no quotation marks unless someone is talking
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Page number
after closing punctuation
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 Avoid “I
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Other Tips
 Be confident in your writing skills
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The professors will catch it, and you will be humiliated
in front of everyone in the class
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 When constructing an analysis paper: come up with something new (a new
topic or perspective on the novel)

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