1. WRITING THE ESSAY MONSTER ARCHETYPES OF LITERATURE

2. ELIMINATING THE TEACHER GUESSING GAME: What does the teacher want? How long? Typed? Grammar? Quotes? Format? Plagiarism? Content? Funky Fonts?

3. WHAT DO I WRITE FIRST? Your thesis! Why? It controls the flow of ideas in your essay. You must discuss something inherently arguable to develop your thoughts on paper. But….what am I supposed to write about?

4. WELL? Think Now: What topic were you most interested in while reading the novel? What did it make you think about? What do you want to know more about? Write down your topic in general terms. List everything you know and want to know. Find quotes from the novel that will support/exemplify your ideas.

5. THEN? What were the themes? What questions are still nagging? What connections are there to now? Relevance? The “so what?” factor.

6. TAKE NOTES This does not mean copying. This does not mean copy and paste. This does not mean “hunt down a paper online.” This does not mean “get a friend to give me theirs.” It does mean: Find information that supports my thoughts Find sources that will help me understand Find solid research to foster a synthesis of my thoughts. Have my own ideas.

7. HAVE NOTES ~ WILL WRITE! Make a draft! Ask for feedback. Be specific ~ tell the reader what you are looking for Have a dialog: Do not be mean Be supportive Constructive ideas Proofread. Ask someone to proofread. Make sure you have formatted the paper correctly.

8. PAGE 1 FORMAT

9. SHORT QUOTES According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree. According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184). Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?

10. LONGER QUOTES When citing more than four lines of prose, use the following example: Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her narration: They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)

11. WORKS CITED

12. FORMATTING QUESTIONS??? http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

13. REQUIREMENTS Length ~ 2-4 pages typed New Times Roman Double Spaced MLA Format An Original Title A Thesis ~ Your Choice! Intro, Body, Conclusion Paragraphs Quotes Uploaded to turnitin.com on time Paper copy to teacher by due date