Preface
    
  Introduction
    
  1. The Role of Good Reading
    Active Reading: Annotating, Note Taking, Journal Keeping
    Asking Critical Questions of Literature
       Ben Jonson, "On My First Son"
       Questions about the Text
       Questions about the Author
       Questions about the Reader
       Questions about the Cultural Context
    
  2. The Writing Process
    Choosing a Topic
    Developing a Thesis
    Gathering and Organizing Support for Your Thesis
    Drafting, Revising, and Editing
       Peer Editing and Workshops
       Trouble Spots: Introductions, Conclusions, and Transitions
    Tips for Writing about Literature
    Using Quotations Effectively
    A Checklist for Quotations
    Manuscript Form
    
  3. Some Common Types of Writing Assignments
    Summary
    Explication and Close Reading
    Analysis
    Comparison and Contrast
    Literary Criticism and Literary Theory
       Formalism and New Criticism
       Feminist and Gender Criticism
       Marxist Criticism
       Cultural Studies
       Historical Criticism and New Historicism
       Psychological Theories
       Reader Response Theories
       Structuralism
       Post-Structuralism and Deconstruction
    Taking Essay Exams
    
  4. Writing about Stories
    Elements of Fiction
    Quoting Stories
    Two Stories for Analysis
       Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour"
       Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper"
    A Sample Paper
       Melanie Smith, "Good Husbands and Bad Marriages"
    
  5. Writing about Poems
    Elements of Poetry
    Quoting Poetry
    A Poem for Analysis
       William Shakespeare, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds"
    A Sample Paper
       Patrick McCorkle, "Shakespeare Defines Love"
    
  6. Writing about Plays
    Elements of Drama
    Quoting Drama
    A Play for Analysis
       Susan Glaspell, "Trifles"
    A Sample Paper
       Sarah Johnson, "Moral Ambiguity and Character Development in Trifles"
    
  7. Writing a Literary Research Paper
    Finding and Evaluating Sources
    Taking Notes: Quoting, Summarizing, and Commenting
    Writing the Paper: Integrating Sources
    Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism
    What to Document and What Not to Document
    Documenting Sources: MLA Format
    Preparing the Works Cited List
    A Sample Research Paper
       Jarrad Nunes, "Why Emily Dickinson Could Not Stop for Death"
    
  Index of Terms