Writing About Lit Study Guide

When is a secondary source of information necessary to support a thesis statement?

• when the student wishes to make the literary analysis essay more interesting

• when the student wishes to find additional information about the characters

• when the student wants to ensure that the sources used in the essay are reliable

• when the student wants to explore outside influences on a literary work

choose the correct type of citation for the description below:

The writer is quoting from the story using more than one

source of information.

• Scott shows his kind side when he says that

  what White Fang needs "is some show of

  human kindness” (London 200).

• Critic Frieda Jones notes that Scott shows his own kind

  side when he notes White Fang's need to see a sign of

  human kindness (Jones 35).

• Scott’s kindness comes through in his

  belief that all White Fang needs is some

  human kindness (200).

• In White Fang by Jack London, Scott says that

  “What he needs is some show of human kindness.”

choose the correct type of citation for the description below:

The writer is using information from an outside source.

• Scott shows his kind side when he says that

  what White Fang needs "is some show of

  human kindness” (London 200).

• Critic Frieda Jones notes that Scott shows his own kind

  side when he notes White Fang's need to see a sign of

  human kindness (Jones 35).

• In White Fang by Jack London, Scott says that

  “What he needs is some show of human kindness.”

• Scott’s kindness comes through in his

  belief that all White Fang needs is some

  human kindness (200).

choose the correct type of citation for the description below:

The writer is quoting from one source—a web version of the story.

• Scott shows his kind side when he says that

  what White Fang needs "is some show of

  human kindness” (London 200).

• In White Fang by Jack London, Scott says that

  “What he needs is some show of human kindness.”

• Critic Frieda Jones notes that Scott shows his own kind

  side when he notes White Fang's need to see a sign of

  human kindness (Jones 35).

• Scott’s kindness comes through in his

  belief that all White Fang needs is some

  human kindness (200).

choose the correct type of citation for the description below:

The writer is paraphrasing information from one source

only.

• Scott shows his kind side when he says that

  what White Fang needs "is some show of

  human kindness” (London 200).

• Critic Frieda Jones notes that Scott shows his own kind

  side when he notes White Fang's need to see a sign of

  human kindness (Jones 35).

• In White Fang by Jack London, Scott says that

  “What he needs is some show of human kindness.”

• Scott’s kindness comes through in his belief that all White Fang needs is some human kindness (200).

Claire is using several sources for evidence in her literary analysis essay. She wants to use a direct quotation from Jack London's The Call of the Wild. The quotation is from page 6 of the book. What is the correct method for citing the quotation?

• The text demonstrates a man's power by stating that "a man with a club was a lawgiver, a master to be obeyed, though not necessarily conciliated."

• The author demonstrates a man's power by stating that "a man with a club was a lawgiver, a master to be obeyed, though not necessarily conciliated" (6).

• On page 6 of The Call of the Wild, Jack London demonstrates a man's power by stating that "a man with a club was a lawgiver, a master to be obeyed, though not necessarily conciliated" (The Call of the Wild 6).

• The author demonstrates a man's power by stating that "a man with a club was a lawgiver, a master to be obeyed, though not necessarily conciliated" (London 6).

A student plans to write a literary analysis about “Saved by a Seal” by Theodore A. Cutting. The essay will focus on how the main character’s experience with Nab affected him. Which two sentences from the story give information that will help the student form a thesis statement for the essay? (Two correct answers! Pick both!)

The liveliest seal that father and I ever caught, and the only one that ever got away from us after we had housed it, was Nab. Although father has been catching seals for zoological gardens and circuses almost as long as I can remember, and knows all their tricks both in water and on land, yet Nab was too sharp for him.

It was my vain attempt to recapture him that terminated in the most exciting experience I ever had with a seal.

Our seal-shed, which stood at the edge of the rocks fifteen feet above the surf, held in Nab's day eight occupants, all nearly full-grown.

The circus seals, which are caught and trained while young, had all been sold; and these we expected to place in the zoological gardens at Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Nab had not been in our possession long, however, before he demonstrated his exceptional abilities, and was straightway singled out to be trained, since a clever circus seal is usually worth twice as much as a mere menagerie animal.

Father generally takes the training into his own hands and sends me out for the daily supply of fish; but I took such a liking to Nab that I spent every evening teaching him.

He first drew attention to himself by his skill in stealing fish from the others. Although I always gave him the first mouthful, to keep him quiet, he would swallow it and be ready for the next before I could get a second fish from the sack. He would eye a shad in my hand as closely as he had once watched the young salmon darting about in the waters of Monterey Bay. And the instant I let go of it, intending to drop it into the open mouth of the next seal, Nab would snap it as it fell.

• The liveliest seal that father and I ever caught, and the only one that ever got away from us after we had housed it, was Nab.

• It was my vain attempt to recapture him that terminated in the most exciting experience I ever had with a seal.

• Our seal-shed, which stood at the edge of the rocks fifteen feet above the surf, held in Nab's day eight occupants, all nearly full-grown.

• He would eye a shad in my hand as closely as he had once watched the young salmon darting about in the waters of Monterey Bay.

Hannah is writing a literary analysis essay about The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She is including a direct quotation from the book. The quotation comes from page 1. What type of in-text citation should Hannah add to the following sentence in her essay?

In The Secret Garden, Hodgson describes Mary Lennox as having "a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression."

• In The Secret Garden, Hodgson describes Mary Lennox as having "a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression" (The Secret Garden 1).

• In The Secret Garden, Hodgson describes Mary Lennox as having "a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression" (1).

• In The Secret Garden, Hodgson describes Mary Lennox as having "a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression" (Hodgson).

• In The Secret Garden, Hodgson describes Mary Lennox as having "a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression" (Frances).