Writing Topic Summary for Writing About Literature

Literature Summary

Writing a paper is usually about making an argument for or against something. Your thesis statement needs to be specific and debatable. The paper that follows has to give evidence that supports your thesis with examples that make your side of the argument. If you are using quotes it is important to explain the quote and show how it relates to your thesis.
Picking a topic is an important part of writing a paper, as is the research. When doing research the internet and the library are good resources. These are places to start but, your thoughts on the topic are the most important part of any paper you write. The other resources are gathered to support and back your thoughts up.
For research papers the MLA format is used. This is the universal citation method for the field of literary studies. I have used the MLA format but, always need to revisit the information pages provided before I start.
I think the points made in this article, about making an argument and the debatable thesis statement, will be helpful to me in my writing. Gathering sources for a paper can be hard, there is so much information out there. Finding specific material that supports your thesis is time consuming. I think I will be able to use some of the tips given.