Writing about literature often seems like a mystery to students. Many believe that all they need to do is summarize what they have read, but that is a fast ticket to a failing grade unless specifically told to write a summary. Most of the time, when writing about literature, you will need to make some point about the work that goes beyond a simple summary. You will also need to back up your point with evidence from the text. These web sites offer useful information that will help the student new to this type of writing sort out what needs to be done. 

Writing about Literature: The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has put together this handout to help take some of the mystery out of writing about literature. The site will take you through the writing process step-by-step.

Writing a Literature Paper Want to know what a literature paper is supposed to do? This site from the Writing Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign can help you answer that question.

Writing About Literature: Some Helpful Things to Know This useful site from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University can help you learn how to develop a good topic and many other useful lessons. 

Writing a Literature Paper: Guidelines, Suggestions, Strategies: The University of Michigan offers a detailed overview of the writing process for any literary analysis paper, including how to handle textual evidence.

Basic Steps in Writing a Literature Paper: Dr. Tina Hanlong of Ferrum College has developed this overview of the writing process. She has also included a worksheet that may be useful as you develop your own paper.

Verb Tense Use When Discussion Literature: Verb tenses can be confusing when writing about literature. This web site can help you clear up that confusion.