English 152 Literature Writing Guidelines

First Draft: “The Story of an Hour tells about a woman’s reaction to her husband’s death.

Revised Thesis: Louise Mallard’s reaction to the news of her husband’s death reflects her changing attitude about her role as a proper wife.

Explanation: The first draft thesis shown above is only a plot summary. The improved version makes a thematic assertion that the writer can explain and support in the essay.

Example 1:

First Draft: “Richard Cory” tells about a wealthy man who lives in a small town and commits suicide.

Revised Thesis: Edward Arlington Robinson contrasts the apparent glitter of Richard Cory’s social status with the reality of his troubled existence.

Explanation: Although the draft thesis provides some information about Richard Cory, it lacks specific direction for the essay’s development. The revised thesis contrasts Richard Cory’s outward appearance with his inner conflicts.

Example 2:

First Draft (Poetry): In this essay, I will analyze the poem “Richard Cory” for its interesting images and characterization.

Revised Thesis: Robinson’s “Richard Cory” presents a series of memorable images that contrast the affluence of Cory with the poverty of his envious audience.

Explanation: The draft thesis shown above begins with an unnecessary “I will analyze” statement and concludes with a vague statement of the essay’s goals. The improved thesis offers a more direct and concise opening, followed by specific goals for the essay’s development.

1. Whenever possible, introduce the quotation with a coherent introductory phrase.

Example: Nora explains to Christine that eventually she may tell Helmer about the money she borrowed from Krogstad: “Yes – some time, perhaps. Years from now, when I am no longer pretty” (Ibsen 1305). Note: Quotations from “A Doll’s House” and from critic Michael Meyer can be found in An Introduction to Literature (Twelfth Edition) by Sylvia Barnet et al., published by Longman, New York, 2001.

Explanation: The introductory phrase describes the context for a particular line of dialogue.

2. Enclose the quotation in quotation marks. A brief explanatory word or phrase may be enclosed in brackets.

Example: Nora: “When a wife leaves her husband’s house, as I’m doing now, I’m told that according to the law [in nineteenth-century Denmark] he is freed of any obligations towards her” (Ibsen 1347).

Explanation: The explanatory phrase shown in brackets briefly clarifies Nora’s reference to laws of nineteenth-century Denmark. Note that squared brackets, not parentheses, are used to enclose the added information.

3. Follow the quotation with a parenthetical citation identifying the author, if his or her name is not included in the introductory phrase and the exact page location of the quotation.

Example: The author emphasizes Dr. Rank’s desire to live despite his deteriorating health: “However miserable I sometimes feel, I still want to go on being tortured for as long as possible” (Ibsen 1307).

Explanation: Note that the period at the end of the sentence follows the parenthetical citation.

4. If you omit a portion of the original text, use an ellipsis (i.e., three dots) to indicate the omission.

Example: Nora explains to Christine that because Helmer is jealous of her mentioning “any of my old friends back home…” (Ibsen 1319).

Explanation: Be sure that the words you retain from the author’s original sentence read coherently and help create a complete and grammatical sentence. Note that if the text omission occurs at the end of the sentence, as shown here, the final period is placed in its standard end position – after the parenthetical citation.

5. If an error exists in the quoted text, you must still quote accurately, but you should indicate the error with the Latin word “sic” (thus) in brackets immediately after the error.

Example: Krogstad: “Are you aware that this is a dangerous [sic] confession?” (Ibsen 1347).

Explanation: The bracketed “sic” indicates that “dangerous” is misspelled.

6. Short quotations can be incorporated into the text of your essay.

Example: Nora: “When a wife leaves her husband’s house, as I’m doing now, I’m told that according to the law he is freed of any obligations towards her” (Ibsen 1347).

Explanation: When a quoted passage involves one character’s relatively brief dialogue, there is no need to separate the quotation from the normal paragraph structure of your essay.

7. Long quotations (i.e., quotations that are more than three or four lines long) should be presented in the indented form.

Example:

Nora’s husband chastises her for suggesting that they borrow money:

Helmer: Oh, Nora, Nora, how like a woman! No but seriously, Nora, you know how I feel about this. No debts! Never borrow! A home that is founded on debts can never be a place of freedom and beauty. We two have stuck it out bravely up to now; and we shall continue to do so for the short time we still have to. (Ibsen 1298)

Explanation: Note that the final period in an indented quotation precedes the parenthetical citation.

8. Quotations from poetic dramas should be presented in a slightly different format from the format shown above. Some dramas, particularly those of ancient Greece (e.g., Oedipus the King) and medieval or Renaissance Europe (e.g., Hamlet) are written in poetic format. Like all plays, poetic dramas present characters speaking and interacting; however, the dialogue is shaped into poetic lines that contain figurative and metrical devices. When quoting lines from poetic dramas, follow the principles for quoting from dramatic literature shown above; however, in the parenthetical citation, instead of a page number, show the play section (act and/or scene number, if shown in the text) and the line number(s) for each quoted passage.

Example 1: When Oedipus discovers his true identity, he laments, “I stand revealed at last/cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage,/cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!” (Sophocles, lines 1308-10).

Explanation: In this passage from Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King, cite the line numbers in Arabic numerals. Note that when a play contains no sections and you cite only line numbers, in the first such citation, use the word line(s) to define the meaning of the numbers. Punctuate with a comma, as shown. In subsequent citations, you can omit both the name of the author and the word line(s), showing only the line numbers themselves, e.g. (1316-20), if you are certain that there would be no confusion with nearby citations for other sources.

Example 2: The ghost addresses Hamlet with the immediate assurance of its identity: “I am thy father’s spirit/Doomed for a certain term to walk the night…” (Shakespeare 1.5.9-10).

Explanation: In this passage from Shakespeare’s Renaissance tragedy, Hamlet, the act number (1), the scene number (5), and the line numbers (9-10) are shown. Note that when you include standard items, such as these, in the citation, periods, not commas, are used to separate the items.

Example: Daniel P. Deneau points out that Mrs. Mallard emerges from her bedroom “with a totally new perspective on… her place in the scheme of things” (2).

Explanation: In this introductory phrase, the author’s name and a specific connection of the quoted passage to the story are provided. The ellipsis (i.e., three dots) indicates that some words from the original text have been omitted because they are not essential to the meaning of the passage. Be sure that when you omit words from a quotation, the remaining text reads coherently and creates a complete and grammatical sentence.

Example: In Louise Dauner’s reconsideration of Robinson’s poetic reputation, she notes that Richard Cory’s “value lies in the fact that he is a prototype… for those protagonists in the long poems [Robinson’s] who come to tragedy because of spiritual blindness…” (7).

Explanation: This important quotation from Dauner’ critical article focuses on Robinson’s innovative psychological portrayal of his character, Richard Cory.

Example: In a biography of Ibsen, Michael Meyer notes that “the play is not so much about women’s rights as about the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is, and to strive to become that person” (qtd. in Barnet et al 1348).

Example: One critic emphasizes that Mrs. Mallard develops a new attitude about her changed status (Deneau 2).

Explanation: The introductory phrase and the parenthetical citation show your reader where the paraphrased information begins and ends. Without this framework, paraphrased ideas will be difficult for your reader to identify. Note that paraphrased passages are note enclosed in quotation marks; only word-for-word quotations are placed in quotation marks.

Example: Louise Dauner explains that the importance of Richard Cory comes from innovative characterization, not from the poem’s ” ‘shock’ ending” (7).

Explanation: The introductory phrase and the parenthetical citation show your reader where the paraphrased information begins and ends. Without this framework, paraphrased ideas will be difficult for your reader to identify. Not that paraphrased passages are note enclosed in quotation marks; only word-forword quotations are placed in quotation marks.

Example: Michael Meyer emphasizes that Ibsen is primarily concerned about the rights of each person to find his or her individuality, rather than about faminist issues (1348).

Explanation: The introductory phrase and the parenthetical citation show your reader where the paraphrased information begins and ends. Without this framework, paraphrased ideas will be difficult for your reader to identify. Note that paraphrased passages are not enclosed in quotation marks; only word-forword quotations are placed in quotation marks.

Example: One critic emphasizes that Robinson’s reputation as a major poet can be established by a careful study of characterizations in several key poems, including “Richard Cory” (Dauner 7).

Explanation: Note that even though Dauner’s name is not shown until the parenthetical citation, there is an appropriate lead-in phrase, “One critic emphasizes that…” to mark the beginning of the paraphrase.

Example: One critic emphasizes that in A Doll’s House, Ibsen is primarily concerned about the rights of each person to find his or her individuality, rather than about feminist issues (Meyer 1348).

Explanation: Note that even though Meyer’s name is not shown until the parenthetical citation, there is an appropriate lead-in phrase, “One critic emphasizes that…” to mark the beginning of the paraphrase.

Example: Critic Daniel Deneau traces Louise Mallard’s transformation from bereaved widow to liberated woman to a precise moment in Chopin’s story (2).

Explanation: Although Deneau pinpoints the exact time of Mrs. Mallard’s transformation, he does not take a position on her new situation. To say that he “celebrates” her change would misrepresent Deneau’s perspective; the verb “traces” in the example above offers a more neutral assessment of Deneau’s statement about Mrs. Mallard’s development.

Example: Critic Louise Dauner steers us away from focusing single-mindedly on the dramatic ending of “Richard Cory” (7).

Explanation: In a summary of Dauner’s idea, it’s important to convey the author’s neutral tone. Offering a summary in which we say that Dauner asks us to “ignore” the ending would be a distortion of her critical analysis of the poem.

Example: One critic emphasizes that in A Doll’s House, Ibsen is primarily concerned with human rights, rather than strictly feminist issues (Meyer 1348).

Explanation: In a summary of Meyer’s idea, it’s important to convey the author’s neutral tone. Offering a summary that implies that Meyer is making an anti-feminist statement (“One critic emphasizes that in A Doll’s House, Ibsen rejects Nora’s feminist actions but applauds her human rights struggle” would be a distortion of both his words and intentions.

Example: One critic emphasizes that Mrs. Mallard’s new attitude about her changed status overtakes her with little warning (Deneau 2). Although she seems unlikely to recover easily from the shock of her husband’s untimely death, in less than an hour an unidentified “something” envelops her, transforming grief into joy. Deneau not only describes Louise Mallard’s transformation from bereaved widow to liberated woman but also connects it to a precise moment in Chopin’s story (2).

Explanation: In this example of a paraphrase, related points from Deneau’s article are connected by an interpretive statement. Note that each paraphrased idea requires a separate parenthetical citation, as shown above.

Example: According to Louise Dauner, the “shock” ending of “Richard Cory” possesses minimal long-term literary significance (7). The critic focuses instead on Robinson’s psychological profile of the poem’s mysteriously trouble protagonist (Dauner 7).

Explanation: Even though the two paraphrased ideas from Dauner are presented consecutively, for the sake of clarity, it is best to cite each one separately, as shown.

Example: According to Michael Meyer, Nora should be perceived not as a feminist but rather as a human being searching for her identity (1348). Thus, her decision to leave her husband and family becomes a fundamental human rights issue instead of a somewhat focused gender struggle (Meyer 1348).

Explanation: Even though the two paraphrased ideas from Meyer are presented consecutively, for the sake of clarity, it is best to cite each one separately, as shown.

For “The Story of an Hour”:

How much change can actually be depicted in a very brief story about only one hour in the life of the protagonist? Surprisingly, Kate Chopin reveals a great deal about the inner psychological life of the protagonist, Louise Mallard, in “The Story of an Hour.” Louise Mallard’s reaction to the news of her husband’s accident reflects her changing attitude about her role as a proper wife.

Explanation: The introduction begins with a provocative question for capturing the reader’s interest, followed with a general overview of the essay’s content in the second sentence. The thesis statement, which is effectively placed at the end of this introductory paragraph, suggests that the essay will develop a comparison/contrast emotions she experiences as she begins to appreciate her new social status.

For “Richard Cory”:

In “Richard Cory,” his narrative poem about an affluent citizen of a small town, Edward Arlington Robinson describes Cory’s appearance and explains the role that this wealthy man plays in the community. Of course, there is dramatic irony in the difference between the truth of Cory’s existence and the town’s attitude toward that existence. The thesis emphasizes this contrast and suggests the troubling aspects of the contrast.

Explanation: The introduction begins with an overview of the poem’s content and theme — the dramatic difference between Richard Cory’s existence and the town’s attitude toward that existence. The thesis emphasizes the contrast and suggests the emotionally troubling aspects of the contrast.

From A Doll’s House:

How can a young wife and mother possibly consider abandoningher husband and children in order to find herself? Surely, nothing could be more important to her than her responsibility to her family. Yet, in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, that is precisely what the heroine must do. (Thesis) Although Nora Helmer suffers severe emotional turmoil and financial deprivation by leaving Torvald and the children, she must separate herself from them in order to become a mature, independent woman.

Explanation: The introduction begins with a provocative question to stimulate the reader’s interest about what is to follow. In addition, in order to interest the reader even further, it presents a contrast between Nora’s actual behavior and the expectations of scoiety. The two openting sentences of the introduction lead naturally to a statement of the thesis, the main idea to be developed in the body of the essay.

After the opening paragraph, including the thesis statement, has been presented, body paragraphs, such as the ones below, develop the essay’s argument that Louise Mallard’s attitude about her role as a woman changes in the course of the story. Note how quotations from the primary source, Chopin’s story, and from a critical source, Deneau’s article, are both synthesized into the paragraph.

First Draft: At the beginning of the story, Chopin says, “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (265). When she is told her husband is dead, she reacts tight away and weeps with “sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” (265). Later, she goes to her room, and Daniel P Deneau, a critic, says that she is affected “with a totally new perspective on… her place in the scheme of things” (265). His analysis helps explain the sudden change in Mrs. Mallard.

Revision: As the story opens, the reader learns that Louise Mallard is “afflicted with a heart trouble” (Chopin 265). Chopin’s choice of detail implies that, except for her illness, Louise Mallard is a typical nineteenth-centur wife. Thus, when her husband, Brently, is reported dead in a train disaster, the news is conveyed to Louise gently, “in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing” (265). Louise reacts immediately and openly, weeping with “sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” (265). Later, she retires to her room, to mourn her husband’s death in seclusion. At this moment of social disengagement, according to critic Daniel P. Deneau, an idea suddenly occurs to her, one that “oddly arrives from the sky, [to] exert a powerful physical influence on Louise and leave her with a totally new perspective on… her place in the scheme of things” (2). Through Deneau’s perceptive analysis, the reader watches Mrs. Mallard’s transformation from bereaved nineteenth-century widow to liberated modern woman.

Explanation: The first draft demonstrates that the writer has assembled all the necessary evidence from the text. In the revision, the writer has added the following information:

1. An explanation of the significance of the story’s first line.
2. Two additional quoted passages from the primary text to depict the situation and highlight Mrs. Mallard’s strong response.
3. A quoted passage from a secondary source, followed by an interpretation of the quotation, to introduce the story’s main conflict: Mrs. Mallard’s transformation.

After the opening paragraph, including the thesis statement, has been presented, body paragraphs, such as the ones below, develop the essay’s thesis about the contrast between Richard Cory’s appearance and the reality of his life. Note how quotations from Robinson’s poem (the primary source) and Dauner’s critical information (the secondary source) are both synthesized into this body’s paragraph.

Example: According to critic Louise Dauner, the settling for “Richard Cory,” a late nineteenth-century New England town, is modeled on Gardiner, Maine, where Edward Arlingotn Robinson actually lived for almost thirty years (1). Thus, even though relatively brief, the poet provides the reader with a realistic picture of a notable citizen, one who is admired and, indeed, envied by the ordinary people of the town. Although the townspeople believed he “glittered when he walked” (line 8), his superficial glitter concealed a troubled human being who ultimately took his own life. Dauner emphasizes that “we can only surmise that whatever Cory had, it was not enough to compensate him for what he did not have” (7).

Explanation: This body paragraph begins to develop the thesis about the difference between the reality of Richard Cory’s life and the town’s view of his life. The quotation from the primary source highlights his admirable appearance, and the information from the secondary source provides information about the town itself.

Example: In the nineteenth-century, strict social codes prohibited women from voicing their opinions, instructing them instead to defer to the “superior” intellectual abilities of their husbands and fathers. Early in the play, Torvald Helmer scolds his wife Nora when she presumes to suggest that borrowing money may provide a way out of debt: “Oh Nora, Nora, how like a woman! No, but seriously, Nora, you know how I feel about this. No debt, no borrowing” (Ibsen 1298). Torvald’s strong words echo the Victorian belief that, because women were intellectually inferior to men, a husband’s judgments were to be obeyed without question. Although Nora’s desperate struggle to free herself of such restrictive ideas often is seen as a feminist statement, critic Michael Meyer asserts that Nora’s behaviors are not as much “about women’s rights as about the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is, and to strive to become that person” (Qtd. in Barnet et al 1348). Ultimately, Meyer’s representation of Nora’s actions as a universal quest for human rights authenticates her decision to abandon home and family in search of self.

Explanation: This body paragraph begins to develop the thesis that Nora Helmer has no viable chance at self-realization unless she leaves her home and family to establish an independent personality. The paragraph’s development opens with cultural and historical information to demonstrate the position of women in Victorian society, continues with a quotation from the primary source to illustrate the presence of that historical context in the play, and concludes with a quotation from a secondary source (a critical biography) to guide readers in responding to Nora’s motives and behaviors.