How to Write a novel Essay
Posted in Novel Essay on 04/03/2012 01:34 am by admin1
Novel Essay as a Literature Essay Type
A powerful essay can balance a detailed and logical structure with an enthusiastic and convincing writing style. This balance will help you reach goal, which is to convey information and build an effective argument regarding the chosen subject matter. As you plan, write and edit your essay, your main argument should remain at the heart of your work.
Of course, the task of staying focused on your main idea may not be as easy as it seems. In addition, you will need to carefully handle other elements of the essay, such as the introduction, supporting evidence and conclusion.
When dealing with a literature essay, you should offer a debatable argument about a literary work. For example, simply stating that “Mark Twain’s ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ is about the adventures of a young protagonist,” will not suffice as a debatable issue. You will need to produce a more focused and opinionated topic. Your personal stance, which will appear in the form of your essay’s thesis statement, can aim to analyze character development, debate the effectiveness of writing techniques employed by the author or even draw comparisons between multiple literary works. You must be imaginative and clear when brainstorming your thesis.
After your thesis statement is in place, you will use the body of the essay to support your stance using facts and examples from the text. Direct quotes from the text can be especially useful as you try to persuade your audience.
Finally, the conclusion of the essay will bring all of your evidence and main points together. However, you will also need to proofread and edit your work in order to make a novel essay complete.

Structure of a Novel Essay
The following presents the basic structure of most essays and the functions of each section:
The introduction grabs the reader’s attention and introduces the main points of the essay. An ideal introduction will accomplish the following:
- Introduce the novel and the author of the text
- Reveal the thesis statement or stance that is being taken
- Provide a preview of the points of discussion or details supporting the thesis
The body allows you to support your thesis using at least three pieces of evidence that take the shape of paragraphs. Each individual paragraph may feature:
- A statement that supports the argument presented in your thesis
- One or more examples from the text that coincide with your paragraph’s topic sentence
- A direct quote from the text, accompanied by an in-text citation
- An analysis of the quotation and an explanation of how it lends itself to your overall body of evidence
- A transition that smoothly moves the reader to the next paragraph
The conclusion of your essay provides a strong yet brief ending to your piece. A good conclusion should encompass the following traits:
- A summary of the thesis statement and evidence
- The exclusion of new evidence or main points
- Statements that allow the subject to become significant on a broader scale

Five Steps in Writing a Novel Essay
The process of developing a thesis for your novel essay can be broken down into five steps. While that may sound simple, each step requires your utmost attention to detail.
Step 1) Give the novel an initial read. Search for its literal meaning and pay close attention to the progression of the plot and development of the characters. Become familiar with the basic aspects of the story.
Step 2) Take notes. Engage the text by highlighting important passages or details and images that capture your interest. At the bottom of each page or on a separate sheet of paper, jot down comments or questions that coincide with that most intriguing moments of the book.
Step 3) Focus on the characters by creating a character map. On one section of the chart, record how you feel about each main character at the beginning of the novel. Continue to record your reactions to the characters as you work your way through the novel. This exercise is especially useful if you were planning a character-oriented thesis statement. If your thesis focuses on a different aspect of the novel, you may want to employ a different exercise.
Step 4) Review the notes you have taken. While your initial set of notes may help you recall and analyse specific events and passages of the novel, your character map will help you review the development of the main characters.
Step 5) Based on your reading, decide which aspect of the story you have formed a strong opinion on. Use your opinion to create a thesis statement and use portions of your notes to serve as evidence to support your thesis. Aim for essay topics that capture your personal interest.
Features of an A-grade Novel Essay
If you want to obtain the highest grade, your essay will need to possess certain traits that will help it stand out. You will need to go above and beyond the minimal requirements and aim for a paper that is both informative and intriguing.
The Title:
- The title should be inciting yet brief.
- The title’s tone should match the actual paper; for example, a humorous title would not be appropriate when dealing with a serious subject.
The Thesis Statement:
- The thesis should be clearly stated and focused on a specific aspect of the book.
- The thesis should be a debatable statement , rather than a widely accepted fact.
Organization:
- The ideas presented throughout the essay should be developed according to their significance; in other words, do not spend too much time on insignificant ideas and too little time on important details.
- Paragraphs should be arranged in a logical pattern.
Content and Tone:
- The writing should not come across as pretentious.
- The content should be cohesive and flow smoothly.
- The content should be focused and irrelevant information should be trimmed.
- The novel review should be kept to a minimum when possible.
- Analyses of the text should be logical and carefully developed.

Novel Essay Format
When developing an effective analytical essay, you will need to rely on outside sources to build and support your argument. In order to avoid plagiarism, you must take the time to acknowledge the sources of borrowed information. Your essay format may take the shape of APA or MLA style citations.
APA format demands Times New Roman font with a size of 12-point. The lines of text should be double-spaced, while the pages must feature one-inch margins on all sides.
In-text citations should include the author’s last name as well as the year of publication.
On a bibliography page, an APA entry would take on this form:
Hemingway, E. (1925). In our time. New York, NY: Scribner.
MLA format is employed when dealing with humanities courses, such as literature and philosophy classes. The font type for MLA citations is flexible, as long as you choose a font type that is legible; however, the size of the font should always be 12 point. The page margins should be one-inch on every side and the lines of text should be double-spaced.
In-text citations must include the author’s last name and the number of the page that contained the borrowed information.
On a bibliography page, an MLA citation entry assumes the following basic form:
Hemingway, Ernest. In Our Time. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print.
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