Students can assume that their audience has read the play they are analyzing, so they should not simply summarize it. Instead, they should give their audience an interpretation of one of the plays major themes, an insightful explanation that will help the audience understand the plays meaning and significance. Make sure that the entire essay is well-focused on one thesis, on one main point that the writer wants to make about the story.
Most students will choose one of the many themes that exist within these plays and analyze how it is demonstrated through various passages within the text. Some themes covered in class include fate, search for the truth, jealousy, womens empowerment, male vs. female relationships, the nature of evil, etc.
The paper should follow the conventions of MLA documentation. At the end of each sentence with a quotation from the story, you should include a parenthetical citation of the page number for that quotation, like this (67). You also need to include a separate Work Cited page listing publication information for the story.
A Few Suggestions:
Students could take any number of approaches to analyzing the meaning of this novel. Whatever approach you take, make sure that you can support your interpretation with specific evidence from the novel. In other words, student papers must be both analytical and persuasive: students should analyze the novel but also argue their interpretation with plenty of specific evidence from the story itself. Students will not convince readers that they have a good interpretation unless they demonstrate that their interpretation is well supported by facts, by the details of the novel.