Acknowledgements Note to Instructors Part One: Basic Assumptions 1. Why We're Here: The Art of the Essay 2. What Is an Argument? 3. Your Reader: Not Just Your Professor, but Also Your Roommate Part Two: Kick-Starting the Writing Process Keywords: Defining the Paper's Themes and Sub-Themes 5. Close-Reading: The Power of a Single Word 6. Drafting: A Few Techniques for Assembling Your Paper Part Three: How to Analyze Stuff in the Humanities 7. How to Analyze a Novel 8. How to Analyze a Poem 9.

How to Analyze a Play 10. How to Analyze a Film 11. How to Analyze Historical Documents 12. How to Analyze a Work of Visual Art Part Four: Heart of the Paper: Argument and Structure 13. The Introduction: The Most Important Thing You Will Ever Write 14. Thesis Statement: Make Us Care 15. Structure I: Ordering Your Ideas 16. Structure II: Ordering Compare/Contrast and Research Papers Part Five: Paragraphs and What Goes in Them 17.

Paragraph: Chiseling the Paper's Building Blocks 18. Quotation: Managing Other People's Words 19. Evidence: What to Put Inside Your Paragraphs Part Six: Finesse, Voice, Revision, and Style 20. Counter-Argument: Finessing Your Analysis 21. Diction and Tone: Creating Your Persona as a Writer 22. Revision: Don't Be Afraid to Tear it All Up 23. Style: Sentences of Force and Beauty Part Seven: Final Touches 24. Paper Title: Surprisingly Important 25.

The Conclusion: Making It Memorable 26. A Sample Essay, Dissected Permissions Acknowledgments Index.