Tanya Said:

Help with writing a literature essay?

We Answered:

a. Intro
-Hook
-BROADLY what is similar, what is different (aka, showing that there is something to be compared)
-If it truly will help your argument, you can use relevant background info. Otherwise, don't bother.
-Thesis, incl. 2 things being compared, what you're proving from that/why, and reasoning

b.The body paragraphs (option 1)
-part 1
*discuss first text you're comparing. You can have multiple paragraphs, one for each point.
-part 2
*same as part 1, but with the second text
-part 3
*synthesis. In other words, actually comparing first and second texts. Synthesis is ESSENTIAL for a comparison essay, because otherwise you aren't comparing.

b. The body paragraphs (option 2--this one is better)
-point 1
*discuss first text
*discuss second text
*synthesize
-point 2
*same as point 1
etc.

c. Conclusion
-restate thesis
-try to draw some further conclusion. Don't present new evidence, because your evidence belongs in the body. You can explain the significance of the comparison or present an answer to the question, "so why do we care?" Leave the reader with something to think about, if possible, but don't leave them confused.
-concluding sentence. If you can tie it to your hook, your first sentence, it brings the essay full circle and is really cool

Wade Said:

Automated essay/literature review writing?

We Answered:

Technology exists to perform some analyses on the text of technical articles. An example is what Google does to decide how relevant a particular article is to your query. Another is citation counts, considering an article more important if many other articles cite it as a reference. I don't know if has been done yet, but straightforward extensions of this technology could analyze an article and find the top hundred articles most closely related to it by keyword analysis.

But there has been no success in having a computer understand an article and the concepts behind it, or composing a creative expression. Perhaps in a few more decades they'll do it well enough to fool a casual reader. Meanwhile, you'll need to do your own homework ...

Bonnie Said:

When writing an essay and referencing a story in a book of literature, how to cite in text?

We Answered:

(author's last name page number) no comma in between
If there is no author given, use the first word of the title.
Leave a page number out if none are given or if it is a digital source.

Pedro Said:

I was wondering how to use tenses when writing an essay about literature.?

We Answered:

The re-write that greengo offers is good, but your rule about writing in the present tense is not true.

When writing of the author writing the novel or poem, this is almost always past tense since you are writing of someone, say, Poe, who WROTE in the 1800s. Try not to shift tenses indiscriminately from past to present, although there are exceptions (Greengo's re-write, for example has pas tense when he WAS in highh school in the past but she shifts to present tense REALIZES when that occurs later. One rule you can employ: most composition teachers ask that you write in the ACTIVE VOICE ("Poe WROTE "The Raven") but in writing about literature it is ok to say "The Raven" WAS WRITTEN by Poe"

Tyrone Said:

I need a good topic for my extended essay in World Literature. Any suggestions?

We Answered:

I suggest
Terrorism
Global warming
etc.
general topics heard on daily i the news....
i do not have any experience btw....

Terri Said:

im writing an essay for literature class?

We Answered:

Good idea for an essay :]

Um... just some ideas:

- "Forbidden Love"
- "Love is Blind"