Criteria for a Good Author Essay

 Okay!  So!  For your American Lit class this year, to finish up, you're writing essays on authors.  Here's some of what I'm looking for.

TOPIC:

• Author name, vitals (date of birth, where they were born, grew up)
• Author's life story.  Who are they?  What did they do that was remarkable or interesting before becoming an author?  What gave them the history that helped them be an author.  Do you see any of the author in the book you read?
• Author Themes. Why did they become an author? What inspired them?  Did they write a variety of books? Or did they write on a similar theme or topic?
• Interesting Stuff. If there's anything interesting, include it!

FORMAT:

• One page, double-spaced, 12pt Garamond or Times New Roman.  If you go over two pages, you'll need to be more selective about what to include and shorten the essay.
• Use reliable sources, NOT Wikipedia
• Be sure to have a Works Cited page.  
• Use MLA formatting.  Here's a GREAT place with examples on how to do that.  It's the site I used all through high school and college, and they keep everything up-to-date.  In addition, they have videos.