Précis

The précis is a summary of your argument. It should be no longer than one double-spaced page. In the précis, you should clearly state your main argument and discuss how you will develop that argument. Doing so may involve discussing two or three points related to your central argument.

In discussing your argument, you are writing about the main points you want to address in your essay. In developing this argument, it may be helpful to consider the following questions, all of which may be addressed in your précis: What do you have to say about your book? What key scenes or evidence will you discuss? How did you arrive at your topic?

Be sure to avoid passing off the following sentence as your argument: "In my paper I will discuss the differences between Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby." As we've said from the beginning of the year, this isn't an argument. Instead, you need to make a claim about those differences: "In my paper, I will argue that the differences between Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby reveal the risks and consequences of failing to accept who you really are." Now you're saying something.

Be sure to include three sources that you will potentially use in your essay. Do not stress about the format for these sources. Simply present the following information: the author, the title of the article, the title of the publication (e.g. Time, or The Journal of Contemporary Literature), and the date of the publication. We will use these unformatted listings of the sources as a way to learn how to correctly use the MLA format, which is presented in your Pocket Style Manual.

Remember, this should not be longer than one page.