How To Write A Literature Essay


Content of this article

  1. How to write a literature essay
  2. Structure elements
  3. Finalizing
  4. Topic choice

1. How To Write A Literature Essay

Literature is pleasurable and at the same time entertaining. Literature analysis, therefore, gives you the chance to escape from the real world and venture into a zone that is free of stress and sadness. Literature essay writing provokes the thoughts of the readers and turns them intellectually. Experiences are imparted to the readers through literature analysis. An excellent way how to write a literature essay is by focusing on the elements that are fundamental to the topic of the essay. Literature essay writing also needs to be unique so as to stand out. There are various types of literature essays.

They include:

  • Novel essay: this kind of genre deals with the analysis of novels. The primary purpose of the novel essay is to evaluate as well as examine the elements used. Such elements include symbolism, characterization, and theme. Analysis of a novel gives a writer a good understanding of the novel being discussed.
  • Drama Essay: drama essay deals with plays and anything that is aimed at being performed. This kind of literature essay writing helps in giving a detailed understanding of the play to the reader.
  • Poetry Essay: this is the literary genre that is most common. The poetry essays are short compared to other types and use devices such as hyperbole, simile, alliteration, and onomatopoeia among other figurative languages.

The world is going digital, and anything can be accessed on the internet. If writing proves difficult, you can turn to the internet and search for a literature essay tutorial that will give you a detailed guideline on how to go about writing the article.

2. Literature Essay Structure

The structure of a literature essay will give you clear instructions on how to go about writing the literature essay.  The literature essay structure can be divided into the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The literature essay draft should go in line with the topic which the writer has chosen. The literature essay outline is as illustrated below:

Outline sample

The introduction

The literature essay introduction is the most crucial part of the article, as it will determine whether the readers will want to read more about the piece or not read it. The introduction for a literature essay should illustrate what is being argued in the essay. For an introduction to be successful, the contents need to be brief and accurate. Another professional way how to start a literature essay introduction is by including the names of the authors, the texts, the performance, and publications as well as the explanations of the contents. You can also highlight the book or piece that you intend to deal with.

Literature essay thesis

The thesis should be structured in a succinct and brief style. The original idea of writing the thesis is to provide the reader with a summary that is general and at the same time engaging. Introduce the main ideas you want to discuss and highlight in the organization as well. The thesis writing for a literature essay needs to be refined so as to support the introduction of the article. The core purpose of the thesis is to give the reader a trailer of the literary piece.

A literature thesis example:

Through the contrasting shore and river scene, Twain of Huckleberry and Finn proposes that to find the American ideals, you need to abandon the civilized society and return to nature.

The body paragraphs

The body is the main part of the literature essay. The body covers most of the article. A common way how to write a literature essay body is by using at least three paragraphs.

  • The literature essay ideas need to be relevant to the thesis and topic being discussed.
  • The points should also give assertion to the reader.
  • Highlight the theme and setting as well. Elaborate on how the elements have been used to support the theme in the literature essay.
  • For effective literature essay writing, discuss each point in its paragraph. This technique will give you the chance of exhausting the points.
  • Use transition words to make the points flow in the essay without losing the meaning.
  • Ensure the language used can be comprehended by everyone. It should not be for only a few.

Literature essay conclusion

The conclusion of the essay should be firm and sum up the whole article. The conclusion is a formal way how to end a literature essay. The conclusion restates the points for emphasis and makes the final argument clear. This section also gives you the chance of drawing connections between the context and the genre. The conclusion for a literature essay also gives room for you to show your engagement with the literature on a personal ground.

The structure of a literature essay can, therefore, be summarized as:

  • The topic
  • The introduction
  • The thesis
  • The body paragraphs
  • The conclusion

3. Finalizing literature essay

Do a revision once the article writing is complete. Revising gives you the chance of identifying spelling and grammatical errors that can be avoided. There is nothing as bad as spelling mistakes and errors. Proofreading, therefore, gives you the chance to go through the work and correct mistakes left behind. Such errors can make ‘literature essay writing look unprofessional. You can also give the article to another person to go through the work. A friend will identify the areas that don’t rhyme and can assist in making the piece exemplary.  Revision gives you the chance to check if the article is in line with the literature essay writing guide assigned.

4. Topic choice

The topic of an article determines the points that will be used. This, therefore, means the ideas for a literature essay are dependent on the topic selected. Ensure that you fully understand what the topic expects of you and create a literature essay checklist that will assist you in preparing an excellent piece. If the topic selection becomes difficult, you can create a literature essay topic list that will assist in settling on the most suitable topic to tackle.

Below is a list of good literature essay topics that can be used:

  • Select any modern novel dealing with children’s literature and illustrate all the various elements that make it different from past stories.
  • Can the concerns of the young generation be connected to the violence in the stories of Hunger Games and the Divergent series?
  • Identify and illustrate a symbol used in a novel that you like and show the relevance to the theme.
  • Identify two books that major in current politics and relate them to the contemporary world.
  • Choose a character that depicts supernatural associations and elaborates on the elements used.
  • Discuss the transformation of a character in a novel that you have read exhaustively.
  • Carefully identify the most common themes depicted in books in this new century.
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