Varieties of Literary Utopia or Utopianism — What Are They?”
1. The first of my two ambitions is to impart what have always been to me the three most infallible and indispensable elements to all excellent scholarly essays, all scholarly writing.
I will elaborate on the function/purpose of each element further down below. But here they are in short-form:
(a) a Title Question- TQ
(b) a Thesis Response- TR
(c) Evidence Subsections- ESSs
(d) a fourth element is optional: Conclusion (C).
So each of your essays should include a TA, a TR, and at least 4 titled ESSs.
2. The second of my ambitions is to highlight the process by which one may write an essay on the subject of “variety,” in particular “Varieties of Literary Utopianism.”
Why are we writing on “variety”?
Because to explore “variety” is to explore “distinctions” — it is to explore what distinctly makes, say, book A uniquely book A and not book B? And to explore “distinctions” is to explore the ways in which one universal form or theme – for example, the theme or urge for “utopia in persons and in the world” as found in literature– may be comprehended and imaginatively expressed in a variety of unique and distinct ways.
3. What is the function/purpose of each of our 3 (potentially 4) essay elements?
(a) Title Question – TQ
With regard to all essay writing in general, you should understand your essay as:
Therefore, it’s very wise essay-writing practice to get in the habit of always titling your essay with a Title Question in boldface font.
For example – “Varieties of Literary Utopia or Utopian-ism — What Are They?”
For your mini-essays, you may either use this above Title Question (TQ) as it is; or you may paraphrase it; or you may think up a title question that communicates the same essential meaning in your own words.
(b) Title Response – TR
With regard to all essay writing in general, you should understand your thesis as a “TR,” a Thesis Response — a response to your TQ, your Title Question.
