Section H. WRITING TO LITERATURE
WRITING
TO AND ABOUT LITERATURE
This
"Writing to Literature" section of
Writing for College is a smaller handbook of
its own. It shows you how to
write to and about literature in a variety of
ways in a literature course, or in a writing
course that has literary readings.
The phrase "write
to literature" means you are not just
writing about something in the content of the
literature (such as a person, a culture, or an
event), but instead, or also, you are responding to
the literature itself using specific literary
methods of talking about it: for example, a
review or an analysis. You may even learn
to create your own stories as you "write to
literature" so that you better understand the
elements of a story.
Some of the methods taught in these seven
chapters are relatively informal (rough or
casual drafts). Others are semiformal (more
finished, or perhaps casual graded papers).
Still others are formal, the type presented for
grading in most literature courses. In
these chapters, you will learn how to identify
the elements of literature, critically analyze a
literary work, interpret it using a literary
thesis, and review
literature, and write a story. Each chapter
about a method of writing to literature also
includes one or more samples.
Many of these methods work for
examining--and writing about--other art forms,
as well. For example, the chapter on the
"Literary Review" also works for reviewing a
play, an exhibition of paintings, a dance
performance, et al. Each art form has its
own particular elements that are important to
it; once you know those elements, you are
speaking the "language" of the art form, and you
can then analyze, interpret, and review by using
those elements.
H. "Writing to Literature" Chapters:
43.
What Is
"Writing to Literature"?
44.
How To Read Literature
45 .
Analysis
of Literary Elements
(w/Sample)
46.
Critical or Interpretive Analysis
(w/Sample)
47.
Interpretive Thesis
(w/Sample Paper)
48.
Literary Review
(w/Sample Paper)
53: Story Writing
(w/Sample
Paper)
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