ENGL 102 - Stewart - Spring 2024

Get Background on Your Literary Theory

• Start by using the encyclopedias and resources below to look up terms or thinkers that have caught your attention. For example, you could look up “feminist theory,” “reader-response criticism”, or “postcolonial theory.” Or try using well known theorists like “Edward W. Said”, “Norman Holland”, or "Hortense Spillers".
• Remember that using quotations around your terms tells the search to find that exact word or name only. 

Adapted from UW Libraries Guide.

Drawing Conclusions from Your Research

Researching a specific piece of literature can sometimes be overwhelming. A simple keyword search can yield thousands of results. Review relevant information and select the BEST sources by:

1. Critically select relevant sources by skim reading the title, Google the author (are they known for their work with this theory?), read the table of contents for key terms, and reading the abstract or summary. Your job is to select the sources that BEST discuss your theory/novel/author. 
2. Focus on the main points of your sources. Figure out what the author's main idea and find what evidence they use the support their claim. This may be another theory, citation to another scholar, or examples from the text.
3. Found a relevant article with good main points? Read the whole source. Highly important ideas, things you agree with or learned something, and things you don't understand. You can track your reactions using a system (emoji, plus/minus, etc.) so you can come back later for a deeper reading.
4. Use the references and indexes to find related and relevant information. When you’re done reading, make sure you read any footnotes or endnotes that you may have skipped, and also carefully examine the works cited or references or bibliography at the end. Search around the index for words that are the same or similar to your topic then check out the pages wherein those words appear. Read the paragraph or paragraphs surrounding the word to get an idea of how connected the passage is to your own work.

A Worksheet for You to Read Literary Criticism. Write Down: 

1. Vital Stats: List Author, Title, Publication Date, Year
2. Abstract/Introduction/Conclusion: Rank usefulness to your project on a scale: 1= least useful 5= most useful
3. Index: List page numbers with keywords having to do with your project: Keyword #1:, Keyword #2:, Keyword #3:
4. Footnotes: Check around your keywords in the text for useful footnotes: Footnote #1:, Footnote #2:, Footnote #3:
5. Decision: Is it worth reading the whole article, chapter, or book? Yes/No
6. Main points, Disagreements, Confusions and General Notes:

Adapted from Purdue Owl Reading Criticism, Reading and Incorporating Literary Criticism Lumen Learning, 

Books to Help You Read Literature

Your paper will probably include a summary, quote, or paraphrase from your novel, author, or a related source. Remember that any source you use that is not your own words or common knowledge needs a MLA citation. 

Quoting

• WHAT IS QUOTING: Quoting is when you "reproduce word for word materials directly from another author's work" (APA Manual, 170). 
• WHEN TO QUOTE: The phrasing of the quote is compelling or very effective, the quote clearly express an idea in the author's own words, or analyze the author's words directly.
• HOW CAN I QUOTE: Use quotations marks ("") around the borrowed words and give credit using an in-text MLA citation. Explain why this quote is relevant to your point. For example: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Austen 1).

Paraphrasing

• WHAT IS PARAPHRASING: A paraphrase is information that you have learned from an outside source that you put in your own words. It should convey meaning of the quote without using the exact same words made by the source.
• WHEN TO PARAPHRASE: To maintain "your voice" while demonstrating your understanding of the source; it also allows you to condense long ideas or arguments using your own sentence structure.
• HOW CAN I PARAPHRASE: Focus on main points and meaning then from memory use your own words to describe those ideas. Re-read and make sure you did not miss anything important. Compare your summary to the original source and check that it is accurate and IN YOUR VOICE. Cite the original source. Example: 
  • Original: If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists (Davis 26).
  • Paraphrase: Davis observed both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise upon learning of an ape’s ability to use sign language (26).

Summarizing

• WHAT IS SUMMARIZING: A short version of a source in your own words.
• WHEN TO SUMMARIZE: When you want to talk about more than one main idea from a source; when you want to condense a source's main ideas in fewer words.
• HOW CAN I SUMMARIZE: Read the section you want to summarize. Without looking at the original, write an overview of what you read in your words. Read the original section a second time to check the accuracy of your summary. Cite the original source. Example Summary from Purdue Owl.