What should be avoided in literary analysis

However, when Cinderella hears the bells strike twelve, she runs away, leaving behind a glass slipper. The next day, the Prince searches all throughout the kingdom looking for the maiden who fits the shoe.

It fits and she shows the Prince the other slipper too. The Prince marries Cinderella and they live happily ever after. Cinderella is patient, hardworking, and kind, while the stepsisters are selfish, lazy, and cruel. Through this magical character, the author demonstrates that higher powers are with those who are mistreated and will step in to ensure that the virtuous are rescued and the unjust are punished.

It teaches its readers to be patient and retain their integrity during times of mistreatment because the world will avenge and reward them for their righteousness. A thesis statement is one or two sentences usually near the end of an introduction that communicates the main argument of the essay. The absence of a thesis can make the remaining paragraphs confusing and unclear. If a student is given an essay prompt, his answer to the question s is usually the thesis statement.

If a student has, instead, a more general assignment from the teacher, they can still easily create a thesis statement by considering the main theme, characters, or literary devices of the author. From there, they can write a clear thesis statement:.

This makes for a weak and misleading thesis. Both thesis statements are clear arguable statements, but only one answers the essay prompt question and is aligned with what the rest of the essay will cover.

Writing a narrowly-focused literature review — Too many doctoral students write their literature reviews in terms of general categories instead of writing on focused topics and subtopics sufficiently narrowed down. This results in a literature review that is too general and not directly related to their research questions.

Thus, you should avoid topics or categories that would require an entire book to sufficiently cover. In addition, as previously discussed, you must make sure that the studies you include in your review are framed in terms of their relation to your research question s. Finally, make good use of subheadings in your literature review and make sure these subheadings and their respective content are relevant to your research question s as well.

Relying on direct quotations — Another bad habit commonly found in doctoral students working on their dissertations involves the insertion of too many direct quotations.

Although it is ok to insert direct quotations in your study, you should not rely on them too much. Doing so will prevent you from using your critical thinking skills and applying them to appropriately analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the studies you include. Using non-scholarly sources — Something I see too often is doctoral students relying too much on professional opinion articles rather than searching for more authoritative or scholarly sources.

They tend to avoid authoritative sources because these sources are usually the most arduous to read. Do not take shortcuts or what seem like shortcuts. Spend quality time reading authoritative sources, no matter how much effort this requires. Doing so will make your literature review sparkle and compelling to read. It will also give you extremely valuable insight into appropriately conducting the rest of your study, making the long road ahead so much easier.

You must remember that your dissertation committee fully anticipates opposing opinions to exist in your literature review and they expect you to discuss them. Understand that citing dissenting opinions will only strengthen your argument, not weaken it.

Although it is not necessary to focus too much on them, it is vital that you mention some dissenting studies and explain why they depart from your own thinking. Following the aforementioned guidelines to avoid common errors in the literature review will go a long way to help you create an awesome chapter. However, no matter how much you try to do so, you may still find yourself frustrated. Your dissertation advisor or mentor may be unwilling, or unable, to give you the help you need.

If you refer to your colleagues, you may find them unable to explain the process appropriately or, if they can explain it to you, their process may not work for you, since there is no one single strategy to write a literature review. You can find the dissertation help you need. Just contact a dissertation consultant who can give you the expert help you need, or at least guide you far enough to do it on your own.

Remember, your doctoral dissertation is not only a precursor for your PhD, but it is also a key that can open many doors for you. Frankenstein and his monster alike? Elements of Story These are the whats of the work—what happens, where it happens, and to whom it happens.

Plot All of the events and actions of the work. Character The people who act and are acted upon in a literary work. The main character of a work is known as the protagonist. Conflict The central tension in the work. Setting When and where the work takes place.

Elements of setting include location, time period, time of day, weather, social atmosphere, and economic conditions. Narrator The person telling the story.

The narrator may straightforwardly report what happens, convey the subjective opinions and perceptions of one or more characters, or provide commentary and opinion in his or her own voice. Themes The main ideas or messages of the work—usually abstract ideas about people, society, or life in general.

A work may have many themes, which may be in tension with one another. Elements of Style These are the hows —how the characters speak, how the story is constructed, and how language is used throughout the work.

Structure and organization How the parts of the work are assembled. Some novels are narrated in a linear, chronological fashion, while others skip around in time. Some plays follow a traditional three-or five-act structure, while others are a series of loosely connected scenes.

Some authors deliberately leave gaps in their works, leaving readers to puzzle out the missing information. Point of view The perspective from which a story is told.

In first-person point of view , the narrator involves him or herself in the story. In third-person point of view , the narrator does not participate in the story. Omniscient narrators see and know all: they can witness any event in any time or place and are privy to the inner thoughts and feelings of all characters.

Remember that the narrator and the author are not the same thing! Diction Word choice. Whether a character uses dry, clinical language or flowery prose with lots of exclamation points can tell you a lot about his or her attitude and personality. Syntax Word order and sentence construction. Ernest Hemingway, for example, is known for writing in very short, straightforward sentences, while James Joyce characteristically wrote in long, incredibly complicated lines. Tone The mood or feeling of the text.

Diction and syntax often contribute to the tone of a work. A novel written in short, clipped sentences that use small, simple words might feel brusque, cold, or matter-of-fact. Imagery Language that appeals to the senses, representing things that can be seen, smelled, heard, tasted, or touched. Figurative language Language that is not meant to be interpreted literally. A good thesis will be: Arguable. Provable through textual evidence. Trace Choose an image—for example, birds, knives, or eyes—and trace that image throughout Macbeth.

Debate Is the society depicted in good for its citizens? However long it is, your introduction needs to: Provide any necessary context. Present your thesis. This usually happens at or very near the end of your introduction.

Indicate the shape of the essay to come. Your introduction should not: Be vague. Open with any grandiose assertions. Wildly praise the work. Go off-topic. The organization of this middle section of your essay will largely be determined by the argumentative strategy you use, but no matter how you arrange your thoughts, your body paragraphs need to do the following: Begin with a strong topic sentence. Fully and completely develop a single thought. Use transitions effectively.

A good conclusion will: Do more than simply restate the thesis. Synthesize the arguments, not summarize them. Move from the specific to the general. Stay relevant. Avoid making overblown closing statements.