Writing Effective Titles for Literary Analysis Essays: A Guide, Slides of Anatomy

Download Writing Effective Titles for Literary Analysis Essays: A Guide and more Slides Anatomy in PDF only on Docsity! Some Tips on Titling Your Critical Analysis Essay In the discipline of English, formulating an effective title for your essay matters for few reasons: • A good “working” title helps you to focus your ideas during the writing of the essay. • A good title suggests to your reader (teacher) right away that you have a clear thesis. • A good title can help another researcher locate your essay in a database if it were published. S/he would only need to key in the relevant search terms to get a “hit.” Features of a Good Title • A good title is specific and precise • A good title will include the SUBJECT and FOCUS of your essay. The SUBJECT can be the literary work and/or author that your essay deals with. The FOCUS can be the specific centre of interest of your essay (for instance, a concentration on the analysis of specific literary devices or elements). Some Possible Formulas to Try: • List your FOCUS followed by the SUBJECT: Fill in the blanks: ___________________________________ in ________________________________________________ (FOCUS) (name the author and literary work) e.g.: Darkness and Light in Anne Caston’s Narrative Poem “Anatomy” e.g.: Metaphor and Biblical Symbolism in Anne Caston’s “Anatomy” e.g. The Role of the Fool in Shakespeare’s Early Plays • Use a colon (:) to link the SUBJECT and FOCUS e.g.: Anne Caston’s “Anatomy”: An Archetypal Journey • Use a quotation (from the literary work or some other relevant source) and a colon e.g.: Approaching “the edge of knowing”: Anne Caston’s “Anatomy” e.g.: “[F]earful symmetry”: Expressive Metrical Shifts in “The Tyger”