Page 6 - Aldi Lukman Nurhakim_How to Write Critical Esays: A Guide for Students of Literature

C ontents

Introduction 9

1 Facing the question 13
Decode the question systematically 13
Key-term queries 15
Helpful hint queries 16
Terms of approach 18
Some problems of value and meaning 21
Titles may imply premises which you should question 24
Short titles may require long and complex answers 25
Titles may tell you how much you need to read 27

2 Researching an answer 31
Read the whole of each set text 31
Read again 31
Reading aloud 32
Read with your dictionary readily at hand 32
Leave each bout of reading memorizing a specific 33
Make notes 33
Secondary sources and some problems in literary
theory 36
Literary history and biography 45
Published criticism 48
Discuss your essay subject with friends or relatives 51

3 Planning an argument 53
Narrowing the scope 55
Weighing the proportions 56