"Cnut the Great" by Timothy Bolton Literature Essay (Essay Sample)

DO NOT INCLUDE A COVER SHEET, OR HEADING! No title, name, etc. Just the essay.
DO NOT REFERENCE OTHER SOURCES!
DO NOT INCLUDE A REFERENCE SHEET!
DO NOT LABEL THE SECTIONS!
From syllabus:
Format:
Book reviews should be three (3) double-spaced, typewritten pages.
The font must be comparable in size to Microsoft Word Times 12 point. All pages must have one-inch margins.
The font must be comparable in size to Microsoft Word Times 12 point. All pages must have one-inch margins.
Summary portion of reviews (1½ pages): Summarize the essential points. Be sure that you your coverage is
even. Avoid the common error of giving too much space to early chapters and not enough to later ones. Include
as much explanatory detail as possible.
Critical analysis (1½ pages): Critique the book as a work of history. Useprofessional language. Note the author’s
credentials. Identify the author’s argument(s). Point out what evidence/sources the author uses. Comment on the
writing style and supplementary materials (maps, tables, bibliography, index, etc.). Indicate whether you agree
with the author’s viewpoint and use of evidence, explain your opinion, and provide as much evidence as possible
to support your position. Note that you do not have to agree with the author or with the instructor. What matters
is how well you argue your position. Avoid juvenile criticism (boring, too hard, too long, too many names, etc.).
Style tip 1: Avoid using passive voice, which is wordy (thus wasting space) and often fails to identify the actor,
which is important in analyzing works of history. An example of passive voice that fails to identify the actor is
“Richard III was defeated at Bosworth.” An example of passive voice that identifies the actor but is too wordy is
“Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor at Bosworth.” An example of active voice is “Henry Tudor defeated
Richard III at Bosworth.”
Style tip 2: Avoid wordiness and unnecessarily flowery language. If an adjective will say the same thing as a
prepositional phrase or a dependent clause, use the adjective. The more succinct your sentences are, the more
you can say and the better your grade is likely to be. Make every word count. A splendid essay on how to do this
right is Mark Twain, “Cooper’s Prose Style.”
Style tip 3: Avoid repetition. This is not a freshman English paper where you need a thesis statement, three
paragraphs that explain the thesis statement, and a conclusion that sums up the three paragraphs. If you make a
point once, that is sufficient.
Style tip 4: Be specific. Identify individuals, institutions, and events that are not universally known. Explain
specialized terminology. Use dates and pay attention to chronology. Avoid the plague of vague.
Style tip 5: Use correct tenses. Use past tense when talking about events in the past, e.g., “Henry VIII was king
of England from 1509 to 1547.” Use present tense when talking about the author/book even if the author is
deceased, e.g., “Professor Elton says that Henry VIII preferred pleasure to work.”
Style tip 6: Avoid misspellings. While these may cause the instructor mirth, they will result in a lower grade.
Some common mirth-worthy errors involve confusing “Calvary” (place of Christ’s crucifixion) and “cavalry”
(horse soldiers); “led” (past-tense of “to lead,” pre-fix to “Zeppelin”) and “lead” (a heavy metal when pronounced like “led”); “thrown” (past tense of throw) and “throne” (the monarch’s chair); “Wales” (the place)
and “whales” (the big aquatic mammal)