In 1940,Wilder's literary agent George By,wrote Wilder to tell her that he had sat up until two o'clock in the morning reading the manuscript for'The Long Winter,' and then had trouble going to sleep for thinking of the plight of the Ingalls family and that awful winter. The book was published later in 1940 to… Continue reading The Long Winter Overview and Review
Category: Literature Reviews
These Happy Golden Years: Literary Overview
Laura Ingalls Wilder considered 'These Happy Golden Years' the end of her 'Little House' series. The book was published in 1943, 14 years before her death in 1957. She submitted no more manuscripts to Harper & Brothers, nor to her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, who died in 1968, 25 years after "These Happy Golden Years'… Continue reading These Happy Golden Years: Literary Overview
Using Critical Sources and Maintaining Academic integrity
Certain literary works, because they offer intriguing difficulties, have attracted professional critics hy the score. On library shelves, great phalanxes of critical books now stand at the side of James Joyce's Ulysses and T. S. Eliot's allusive poem The Waste Land. The student who undertakes to study such works seriously is well advised to profit… Continue reading Using Critical Sources and Maintaining Academic integrity
Final Advice on Rewriting
» Whenever possible, get feedback from a trusted reader- In every project,* there comes a time when the writer has gotten so close to the work that he or she can't see it clearly. A talented roommate or a tutor in the campus writing center can tell you what isn't yet clear on the page,… Continue reading Final Advice on Rewriting
Revising
A writer rarely—if ever—achieves perfection on the first try. For most of us, good writing is largely a matter of revision. Once your first draft is done, you can—and should—turn on your analytical mind. Painstaking revision is more than just tidying up grammar and spelling. It might mean expanding your ideas or sharpening the focus… Continue reading Revising
Writing a Rough Draft
Seated at last, you prepare to write, only to find yourself besieged with petty distractions. All of a sudden you remember a friend you had promised to call, some double- A batteries you were supposed to pick up, a neglected Coke (in another room) growing warmer and flatter by the minute. If your paper is… Continue reading Writing a Rough Draft
Developing a Literary Argument
Once you have finished a rough outline of your ideas, you need to refine it into a clear and logical shape. You need to state your thesis (or basic idea) clearly and then support it with logical and accurate evidence. Here is a practical approach to this crucial stage of the writing process: Consider your… Continue reading Developing a Literary Argument
Prewriting: Discovering ideas
Topic in hand, you can begin to get your ideas on the page. To generate new ideas and clarify the thoughts you already have, try one or more of the following useful prewriting strategies: m Brainstorming- Writing quickly, list everything that comes into your mind about your subject. Set a time limit—ten or fifteen minutes—and… Continue reading Prewriting: Discovering ideas
Planning Your Essay
If you have actively reread the work you plan to write about and have made notes or annotations, you are already well on your way to writing your paper. Your mind has already begun to work through some initial impressions and ideas. Now you need to arrange those early notions into an organized and logical… Continue reading Planning Your Essay
Reading Actively
Most people read in a relaxed, almost passive way. They let the story or poem carry them along without asking too many questions. To write about literature well, however, you need to read actively, paying special attention to various aspects of the text. This special sort of attention will not only deepen your enjoyment of… Continue reading Reading Actively