Writing an analytical paper: If you have not taken many English classes at Miami or advanced writing
composition; are not an English major and/or have not taken 298; or have not written an analytical paper in
some time—or even if you have done these things—please feel free to check in with me about making sure
you are familiar with writing a thesis-driven paper that offers an argument and draws some kind of
conclusion, even for the “review” option below. Topics are intentionally broad to allow you to refine your
own argument/ interpretation. Consequently, the paper/review must be an analysis, with a reasonable
thesis and/or points supported by sufficient, well-chosen textual evidence (even reviews must do this: see
below). Papers composed of vague observations that do not develop into a detailed analysis cannot earn
grades much higher than a C+. Please see syllabus, the syllabus rubrics further under “grading”
components, and the “thesis writing” document on Canvas.
I always encourage you to show me your opening paragraph/thesis statement, either by email (remember,
not the day before) or in office hours so that we can discuss it and troubleshoot ahead of time. This is a
good way to revise as you’re developing the paper or writing drafts, since I can usually predict much about
the whole paper from the opening and advise you how to improve it.
• Course readings and papers: I expect that your papers will reflect knowledge that you will have gained
from reading all of the material assigned, including critical essays and from our discussions in class: do you
need to get any notes for any missed classes? Catch up on anything?
• Citing your sources: Do not do outside research for your paper; instead, do use assigned readings/
material to provide context, additional information, or commentary. If you refer to any reading, you must
cite your debt to that source. If you feel compelled to use any other outside sources, you must provide me
with a PDF of the essay or webpages you are working from and attach them to the end of your paper. Even
(terrible) websites count: if you read LitCharts, SparkNotes, etc. and think that these sites offer you
something beyond colorful graphics and bland analysis, your responsibility is still to cite the source. A
general rule of thumb is if you’re looking at any source, online or print, and typing away, you usually need
to cite the source. If you are confused about what to do, please ask me—I am always happy to talk over
these questions with you. All papers are checked for plagiarism and about once a semester, someone’s
papers gets flagged. Don’t get into a world of trouble just for not asking a question; it’s never worth it.
• Works Cited: All FILMS and plays you discuss must be cited according to MLA procedures: see the
Canvas OWL link to help you do citations correctly—the OWL site has every possible permutation of
citation format: scroll down to “Book/Work Prepared by an Editor,” for selections contained in longer
books/collections. If you use any assigned materials, be absolutely certain to include that in the WC.
“Works Cited” refers to sources you quote from; a “Bibliography” refers to things you read to build
knowledge but don’t cite. All papers must contain quotations from the text to support your argument and
claims: papers cannot achieve their goals without this crucial element nor receive higher grades without it.
Single-space all block quotes and limit these, trimming them down to essential lines you discuss in detail—
no large blocks, please; they don’t go towards page length. Short story titles are identified by quote marks:
“title,” whereas longer works get italicized: ToS. Please abbreviate titles: (“Scandal” etc.). WC don’t need a
separate page.
In the event a citation is missing from an item in the course pack, cite the source in the packet as if it were
an anthology text for the class (no need to cite the publication place, just the name of the selection, the
course packet name, class name, and page numbers the selection occupies). For info about films, use the
IMDB site.
• Format: Papers should be double-spaced with 1” margins all around, in a regular 10-12 font (Times,
Helvetica, etc.), and meet the length requirement, give or take a paragraph. Do not “justify” or align right
margins. Use paragraph indents, not extra spaces/lines between paragraphs. Number your pages so I can
refer to them in my comments. Do not include a separate cover page. Do not repeat the paper headings
after p.1, just your last name on subsequent pages. Create your own title for the essay that suggests the
upshot of your subject/topic.
• Proofread: Proofread for spelling, typos, grammar/usage/punctuation errors: your whole effort is what gets
graded along with content, and this includes mechanics, neatness of presentation, correctly documented
citations, works cited, etc. See the syllabus.
Paper Topics: Please note that these topics may apply to specific works named or be expanded or
abstracted to include other works as well as we go along. Write about any work that you have not
already covered in the midterm You may use any of these topics again for the final paper but aim tocover post-midterm works unless you clear a different pairing/focus by me in advance.
1) Create your own topic: sleuthed out something that interests you? I’d recommend running this by me
first, either over email or come by to chat/brainstorm about it, by December 1. Note: If you did the creative
option for the midterm, you must do an analytical paper for the final.
2) “Locked rooms”/Gothic houses: Authors seek innovative ways to refashion the “locked room” mystery
or the decaying Gothic house setting because of the interesting constraints created by these setting: from
the classic examples of “Rue Morgue” and “The Speckled Band,” to Poe’s many stories and “Yellow
Wallpaper” and Bly country estates, to more abstract examples you might argue for. How does the
restricted setting of the story complicate it or illuminate it to interesting effect?
3) Quirky detectives: What is the relationship between a detective’s quirks and his/her successful analysis
and solving of crimes/mysteries? Is the detective a skillful actor him/herself and to what purpose? How
does his/her qualities, experiences, specialized knowledge in particular allow the detective or investigator
to investigate his/her culture, foreign or very familiar? How have various critics we’ve read perceived Dupin,
the “ratiocinator” with the creative/criminal imagination; Holmes, the cold, calculating logic machine; Poirot,
the Belgian “foreigner”; Miss Marple, the harmless “surplus” spinster with dispensary/medical knowledge,
etc.? In ToS, are the governess’ quirks what make her an atypical, both good and bad sleuth? How does
Mr. Mayherne’s solicitor (lawyer) role affect his detection?
4) Female culprits/“The Woman”: Discuss the representation of Holmes’ female challenger Irene Adler in
the episode Sherlock: Scandal in Belgravia and Conan Doyle’s “Scandal in Bohemia”; Mme. Deroulard in
Poirot’s case of “The Chocolate Box”; and/or in “Witness for the Prosecution.” How exactly does Irene
Adler (not) outwit and/or present specific challenges to Holmes’ (and Mycroft’s) detection, etc., or Mme.
Deroulard serve as a check to Poirot’s reputation or Mr. Mayherne, the solicitor (lawyer)? With a female
governess (ToS) or characters (“YW”) in the role of chief or assistant investigator (Miss Marple), how does
this affect the “case”? What weaknesses in the male investigators do the women exploit and what do the
detectives admire about the women characters? In what sense does who defeat whom?
5) “Fantastic,” “terror,” “horror,” the “Gothic”: Do a close reading of a specific passage in any story
(such as various Poe stories, especially “William Wilson,” “The Oval Portrait,” etc. or the famous
identification of Peter Quint’s “ghost” by Mrs. G in ToS) and explain how we’re in the presence of the
“Fantastic” as defined by Todorov: suspended between two possible explanations for phenomena without
being able to decide discern (yet) what exactly those phenomena are. [Note: Make sure to distinguish
between Todorov’s definition and the merely “fantastic(al),” which are different things. Use the handout and
quote from Todorov to support your case] You can also explore Radcliffe’s distinction between tales of
“horror” and “terror.” Using the handout’s/BL’s definitions of the “Gothic,” how does an author reshape
conventions to particular new effects?
6) Motives: What exactly motivates a person to commit a crime and what relationship does this have to the
actual crime and the story’s outcome? If the perpetrator confesses to the crime, what further does s/he
reveal or claim or deny—or remain unaware of? What of crimes that lack real motives? Do the crime and
the perpetrator’s motives align? How does the motive and/or crime fit into the story’s world picture?
7) TV/film, theatrical adaptations: How do fictional narratives become fundamentally altered once they
are dramatized for the visual medium of film or TV? Focusing on one or two very specific examples, explain
how a particular moment or element or larger framing creates a shift from a reader’s experience to a
viewer’s point of view. In detail, what are the bigger implications of that shift?
8) Criminals/victims: Is it always obvious who or what defines a crime or a criminal? a victim? At what
point might a victim and a murderer become similarly identified? Does Dupin become similar to the Minister
by the end of “Purloined Letter” or Montresor to Fortunato? William Wilson and “William Wilson”? Are
characters such as the governess in ToS, Mme. Deroulard, Romaine Vole, etc. in any story a victim, or a
criminal, or both? What does this show us about the crime or infraction at stake?
9) Fascinating criminals: DeQuincey was one of the first authors to point out that criminals are more
fascinating to us than their victims, from Romaine Vole, ToS’s governess, to Poe’s many protagonists, and
so on. Why is this specifically true for the particular figures or character(s) you choose? 10) Justice/punishment: How and why does a detective handle the punishment of a perpetrator in the
particular way s/he does or decline to do so, and what constitutes justice? Does formal or typical
punishment of the crime present a unique problem for the detective, investigator, or judge-like figure who
becomes judge, jury, and executioner? When or why might a crime be unpunishable? What does this show
us about the crime or infraction at stake as well as about the detective figure him/herself?
11) The “Rules”: Identify a key rule that a writer sees as important to the framing of crime fiction: does one
of the works we’ve read follow this rule and what is gained or lost by not/adhering to this rule? “playing
fair” or not? giving the reader a “shocker” at the end? How does a story’s clues or the train of logic (or
“ratiocination”) work allow or fail to allow a reader to arrive at the detective’s conclusion (and is that the
point)? Similarly, why might a detective figure refuse to follow the rules and not identify a perpetrator for
punishment or decide his own form of justice fitting for a crime? Slightly differently, what rules do writers
such as Poe or O’Connor stress as being important to their crafting of short stories as a genre? Be careful:
do not stop with deciding whether a story simply follows a rule or not: this is not an argument, merely a
starting point for explaining why the rule is important for a particular story.
12) Red Herrings: How does an author skillfully utilize the special detective/mystery-genre device of the
red herring to mislead readers into drawing incorrect conclusions or to create erroneous assumptions or
impressions? Why is the red herring especially effective given the culture or expectations of the characters
and/or readers? When is a red herring a red herring (a double bluff, really something important or
incriminating?
13) Animal culprits: Is Dupin’s unveiling of the “Rue Morgue” perpetrator (un)satisfying and specifically
why or why not? Similarly, you might consider the perpetrators in Conan Doyle’s “Silver Blaze” and
“Speckled Band,” a horse and a snake, respectively. What is the role of animals in the murders vs. their
human counterparts? What character or identities are the animals given, implicitly and explicitly? What do
animals tell us or show us about crime, murderers, heroism, the “natural,” social behavior, nation,