Researching+Reading+Writing=Paper

Researching + Reading + Writing =
Literary Analysis Paper

Introduction

Everyone has heard the words Opinion, Criticism, and Analysis and may even know the meanings. Take time to read what the definition of each of the words mean, even if you already know them.

Opinon - n 1: a personal belief that is not founded on proof or certainty; "my opinion differs from yours"; "what are your thoughts on Haiti?" [syn: sentiment, persuasion, view, thought] 2: a belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people; "he asked for a poll of public opinion" [syn: public opinion, popular opinion] 3: a message expressing a belief about something; "his opinions appeared frequently on the editorial page" [syn: view]

Criticism - n 1: disapproval expressed by pointing out faults or shortcomings; "the senator received severe criticism from his opponent" [syn: unfavorable judgment] 2: a serious examination and judgment of something; "constructive criticism is always appreciated" [syn: critique] 3: a written evaluation of a work of literature [syn: literary criticism]

Analysis - n 1: an investigation of the component parts of a whole 2: the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts for study [syn: analytic thinking] [ant: synthesis] 3: a form of literary criticism in which the structure of a piece of writing is analyzed

As you can see, Opinion, Criticism, and Analysis are similar, but still different. If someone is talking or writing about you and giving their view only - then it would definitely be considered an opinion, but if someone is writing about a book, short story, movie, or play and generalizing the work - it would be considered a criticism / analysis.

Think of your favorite book or movie, you liked it for a reason and probably told other people about it - well that is your opinion. Someone else may have read the same book or saw the same movie and may have hated it - that is his/her opinion. You are now learning that what one person loves, another may hate. It is just an opinion. To make it a criticism / analysis, you need to leave your personal opinion out of it and make it general, such as the audience laughed a lot - not I laughed a lot. Sometimes by listening or reading someone else's view that differs from yours, you may actually learn something new.

Remember this:

An opinion is just that, an opinion - no real thought was put into it. Everybody has an opinion on one topic or another.

A criticism doesn't always have to be negative - there can be positive criticism.

The Task

Since many people do not understand the difference between an analysis / criticism and an opinion, your English teacher has given the entire class an assignment on looking at other people's written analysis on a specific work. Depending upon the teacher, you are to pick an author and his / her works, book, short story, or poem and read it. Then you are to write a paper using professional literary analysis / criticism and include your opinion of the author's works or story / poem you read.

The Process

Pick an author, book, short story or poem depending upon the assignment.
Read a summary of the book or short story by using the Cherokee Library Media Collection, NoveList, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon to see if you really want to read it. It is easier if you like the book you have to write about.
Find out how much information and/or criticisms are out there about the author or story / poem you plan on researching. Use Gale's Literary Index, which is very helpful.
READ! If you have picked an author, READ some of his or her works. If you have picked a book, short story, or poem, READ it. You won't be able to write this paper if you haven't read the book, short story, or poem first.
Take notes on your story about characters, setting, theme(s), plot, symbols, and anything else you think is interesting.
Start your Search! Use the resources that are listed for you, they were put there for a reason. All the electronic resources listed are from the Cherokee Virtual Library. If you don't understand how to do a search or use the electronic resources, look at the Pathfinder, Finding Literary Criticism for Literature Research Papers. If you are still having trouble finding information, please see a librarian or your teacher.
Create a thesis. Remember you need to be able to prove your thesis.
Create notecards or a list with some interesting facts to use for the project.
Document all the resources used for the paper.
Write an outline of what you want to say in your paper.
Write a rough draft and if possible have someone read over it.
Use the Cherokee High School Research Booklet for your works cited page.
After you go over your rough draft with all the edits, write your final paper. If possible have someone else read over it before you turn it in.

Resources

These Research Databases, Search Engines, and Books (Reference & Circulating) should help you with this project.

Research Databases

Use Cherokee High Schools Virtual Library web page for these text databases: Discovering Collection, Scribner Writers, Twayne Authors, EBSCOhost, Magill On Literature, bigchalk Library, World's Best Poetry, Essay Finder, and Story Finder. Remember if you want to use these reseach databases from home, you must pick up a bookmark with the passwords on it in the library. Research Databases are not the Internet, these items were once (and some still are) in print form.

Search Engines

Google is good for almost any search. However, by putting "quotations" around your search string, it makes it even better. By the way, Yahoo is powered by Google.

Librarian's Index to the Internet is a great search engine because actual librarians have already looked over the web sites and deemed them good to use.

Remember, have a librarian or teacher check the web page you may want to use for your paper. Some web pages look great, but really aren't.

Reference Books

Location of Book		Title of Book(s)
REF 028.1 BOOKS REF 809 CON REF 809 NIN REF 809 TWE REF 809.3 BEACHAMS REF 809.3 SHORT REF 809.89 MAS REF 809.894 EUR REF 809.93 MOSS REF 810.8 AFR REF 810.8 BLACK REF 810.9 AME REF 810.9 AME REF 810.9 AME REF 810.9928 MOD REF 820.9 BRI REF 822.33 SHA REF 822.33 SHAKES REF 920.03 KUN REF 973 REA	North Library North Library North Library North Library North Library South Library North Library North Library North Library North Library North Library South Library North Library North Library North Library North Library North Library North Library North Library North Library	Books of the Century Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) up to vol. 100 Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism (NCLC) up to vol. 54 Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) up to vol. 69 Beacham’s Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction Short Story Criticism (SSC) up to vol. 35 Masterworks of Children's Literature European Writers Literature and Its Times African American Women Writers Black Writers American Writers American Women Writers American Writers before 1800 Modern American Women Writers British Writers Shakespearean Criticism (SC) up to vol. 17 Shakespeare for Students Twentieth Century Authors Reader’s Companion to American History

The analysis / criticism in these books have appeared elsewhere. Make sure if you use a quote from one of these books, write down the author and where the original analysis / criticism was written. You will need the information for your works cited page.

Circulating Books

Believe it or not, there are many books that the Cherokee Libraries do own that can assist you with this assignment. If you would like to see if we own a book, go to the Cherokee Library Media Collection. If you want to find a book about a specific author and his/her works, type the Author's Lastname in the SUBJECT LINE and click on search. When a book appears that you may want, make sure you click on details to see which library has it or if it is checked out. Remember, literary books are generally located in the 800's section; books located in the 920's & 921's are biographies. Also, you need your Cherokee School ID to check out a book - no exceptions.

Learning Advice

Librarians and teachers are here to help you with this assignment. If you have a question, just ask!

All information used for this assignment must be put into your own words. You must document all the information you find. Plagiarism will not be tolerated; you will receive a zero for the assignment. If you do not know how to do a works cited page, please consult the Cherokee High School Research Booklet.

You may think this assignment is pointless and that is your opinion. However, this assignment was given to teach you how to be more organized; how to do proper research with computers and books; and how to write a clear and concise paper.

Grading

Your teacher will let you know how she/he will grade this assignment.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have just completed a literary analysis paper, just one of many you will do in your high school career. Because you had to do in-depth research work, you will now be more prepared for the next literary analysis project that you will be assigned. By doing this literary analysis paper, you have just strengthened your reading, researching, and writing skills. These are important skills that you should possess.

Credits

This page written by Ms. A. Czop, Education Media Specialist
Last updated: 23 November 2003

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