Laurie G. Kirszner is a nationally known, best-selling author. Kirszner and coauthor Stephen R. Mandell have written best sellers for nearly every English market. They have the deepest publishing record of any literature anthology author team and have successfully published up and down the curriculum from developmental to literature. Stephen R. Mandell is a nationally known, best-selling author. Mandell and coauthor Laurie G. Kirszner have written best sellers for nearly every English market. They have the deepest publishing record of any literature anthology author team and have successfully published up and down the curriculum from developmental to literature.

• Part 1: A GUIDE TO WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE.1. Understanding Literature.Imaginative Literature. Conventional Themes. The Literary Canon. Luisa Valenzuela, "All about Suicide." Interpreting Literature. Robert Frost, "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening." Evaluating Literature. Using Literary Criticism. CHECKLIST: Evaluating Literary Criticism."2. Reading and Writing about Literature.Reading Literature. CHECKLIST: Using Highlighting Symbols. Writing about Literature. CHECKLIST: Using Sources. CHECKLIST: Conventions of Writing about Literature. Exercise: Three Model Student Essays.3. Writing Literary Arguments.Planning a Literary Argument. CHECKLIST: Developing an Argument Thesis. Using Evidence Effectively. Organizing a Literary Argument.4. Using Sources in Your WritingChoosing a Topic. Doing Exploratory Research. Narrowing Your Topic. Doing Focused Research. CHECKLIST: Evaluating Library Sources. CHECKLIST: Evaluating Websites. Taking Notes. Integrating Sources. EXERCISE: Integrating Quotations. Developing a Thesis Statement. Constructing a Formal Outline. Drafting Your Essay. Model Essay with MLA Documentation.5. Documenting Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism.Avoiding Plagiarism. CHECKLIST: Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism. Documenting Sources. CHECKLIST: Guidelines for Punctuating In-Text Citations.Part 2: FICTION.6. Understanding Fiction.Origins of Modern Fiction. Defining the Short Story. Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Boundaries of Fiction.7. Fiction Sampler: The Short-Short Story.Sandra Cisneros, "Geraldo No Last Name." Dave Eggers, “Accident.” Bret Anthony Johnston, "Encounters with Unexpected Animals." Stephen Graham Jones, "Discovering America." Jamaica Kincaid, "Girl." Ed Park, "Slides to Unlock." George Saunders, "Sticks." 8. Fiction Sampler: Graphic Fiction.Franz Kafka, "A Hunger Artist." R. Crumb, "A Hunger Artist." 9. Plot.Conflict. Stages of Plot. Order and Sequence. CHECKLIST: Writing about Plot. Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour." Neil Gaiman, "How to Talk to Girls at Parties." William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily." 10. Character.Round and Flat Characters. Dynamic and Static Characters. Motivation. CHECKLIST: Writing about Character. John Updike, "A&P." Katherine Mansfield, "Miss Brill." Charles Baxter, "Gryphon." Zadie Smith, "The Girl with Bangs."11. Setting.Historical Setting. Geographical Setting. Physical Setting. CHECKLIST: Writing about Setting. Kate Chopin, "The Storm." Alberto Alvaro Rios, “The Secret Lion.” Tillie Olsen, "I Stand Here Ironing."12. Point of View.First-Person Narrators. Third-Person Narrators. Selecting an Appropriate Point of View. CHECKLIST: Selecting an Appropriate Point of View: Review. CHECKLIST: Writing about Point of View. Richard Wright, "Big Black Good Man." Edgar Allan Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado." William Faulkner, "Barn Burning." Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, "The Disappearance."13. Style, Tone, and Language.Style and Tone. The Uses of Language. Formal and Informal Diction. Imagery. Figures of Speech. CHECKLIST: Writing about Style, Tone, and Language. James Joyce, "Araby." (Mary) Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper."14. Symbol, Allegory, and Myth.Symbol. Allegory. Myth. CHECKLIST: Writing about Symbol, Allegory, and Myth. Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery." Alice Walker, "Everyday Use." Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown."15. Theme.Interpreting Themes. Identifying Themes. CHECKLIST: Writing about Theme. Eudora Welty, "A Worn Path." David Michael Kaplan, "Doe Season." Stephen Crane, "The Open Boat." Robert Huff, "Rainbow."14. Fiction for Further Reading.Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” T. Coraghessan Boyle, "Greasy Lake." Junot Diaz, "No Face." Louise Erdrich, "The Red Convertible." Zora Neale Hurston, "Sweat." Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Edgar Allan Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart." John Steinbeck, “The Chrysan