Writing and Punctuation

Many literary critics are partial to essay titles with colons. They employ a catchy initial title followed by a more informative subtitle.

Notice that the final punctuation comes within the quotation marks that emphasize "lifelike," not outside. Periods and commas are formatted in this way; formatting around question marks and exclamation points depends on whether the point is part of the original quotation. The following does not conform to American usage: "lifelike".

Semi-colons are grammatical equal signs. What goes on one side of a semi-colon must be grammatically equal to what goes on the other side. Typically they join two independent clauses. To the right see incorrect usage: a semi-colon is trying to join an independent clause and a phrase.

So many words; so little said. This paragraph asserts many things in perhaps a loosely coherent way, but there is too much here for one paragraph. Focus your ideas around an aspect of the literary work you wish to explain or discuss. Don't tell your readers what happens, show them! Provide logical, in-depth explanations.

This paragraph is not too bad. It has some good ideas about narrative theory and ties them with Boswell's work. It should be followed by a clear explication of these ideas with examples drawn from various texts to make specific points.

Capturing Life in Print:

James Boswell´s Verisimilitude

In his biographies of Samuel Johnson--Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785) and The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1791)--James Boswell has presented a portrait of Samuel Johnson that contemporary audiences found compellingly realistic and that modern audiences continue to find "lifelike." I propose in this current study to study the narrative structure of Boswell's work, examining the elements of story and discourse that make up his his florid yet mild, his outdated but effective, in short, his successful technique. In a careful, comparitive analysis of several works, fiction and non-fictional, I will search for the elusive ingredient that makes Boswell's work "real." The works to be discussed including three by Boswell and one by Henry Fielding.

Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785);

The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1791);

The London Journal: 1762-63 (1950);

Joseph Andrews, by Henry Fielding (1742).

These four works present a serviceable cross-section of fiction vs. non-fiction; biography for an audience vs. autobiography for self.Joseph Andrews is a work that contains enjoyable plotting, edifying moralizing, plenty of raucus fun, some chilling moments pus some less chilling, and characters who are round but static, and characters who are round and dynamic.