Imagine a moment when it is 11:52 PM and the weather in Montreal is very cold. The wind around your Mile End apartment sounds as fierce as a banshee trying out for Macbeth. You look at your Word document, with the cursor blinking in an agonizing rhythm, tempting you to use an empty page as you suppose to write your paper. Your deadline? 8 minutes away. Your progress? Three thoughts on Wuthering Heights, where I chose to use direct quotes, as Emily Brontë’s words are simply amazing compared to my own.
Your cat… let’s say she’s called Virginia Woolf… sits on your desk and looks expectantly at you. You know the stare. The same judgmental stare that says, “I may spend my days licking my own fur, but even I could craft a more coherent thesis statement.”
Welcome to life as an English Literature student in Montreal, where the bagels are legendary, the winters are brutal, and the academic expectations are higher than the Olympic Stadium’s tower. You’re part of an elite group that can debate Hamlet’s psychological complexity with the passion of a Canadiens fan discussing playoff prospects, but when it comes to translating those brilliant insights into a well-structured, thesis-driven essay? Well, that’s when things get as messy as a poutine at 2 AM.
Let’s be honest: English Literature isn’t just “read book, write thoughts, receive degree.” If only it were that simple! Instead, it’s a complex circus act involving:
Add some MLA citations, a few metaphor dissections that would make a surgeon jealous, and a professor who speaks about post-structuralism like it’s the Gospel according to Derrida, and suddenly you’re not just reading books—you’re trying to decode them like they’re ancient scrolls holding the secrets of the universe.
This is where the magic of online tutoring enters the picture, stage left, like a deus ex machina in your personal academic drama. Whether you’re battling through assignments at McGill, wrestling with creative analysis at Concordia, or navigating the unique francophone perspective on English classics at UQAM, a little academic guidance can transform your confusion into clarity—and maybe even turn that panic-induced C+ into a triumphant A-.
Studying English Literature in Montreal isn’t just challenging—it’s uniquely challenging. You’re in a city that breathes literature from every cobblestone in Old Montreal to every coffee shop in the Plateau. This is the city that gave us Leonard Cohen and Mordecai Richler, where bookstores outnumber Tim Hortons (okay, maybe not quite, but close), and where your professor might casually ask what Keats would have thought about Quebec sovereignty.
The expectations here aren’t just high—they’re stratospheric. Your peers might quote Baudelaire in the original French during coffee breaks, and your professors expect you to navigate seamlessly between Anglo and Franco literary traditions while maintaining perfect MLA formatting and never, ever using “very” as an intensifier.
If you’re at McGill, you know the drill. Your reading list looks like it was compiled by someone who clearly doesn’t believe in sleep, social lives, or sanity. You’re expected to digest Chaucer’s Middle English like it’s your mother tongue, understand Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness without losing your own consciousness, and write about it all with the scholarly gravitas of a tenured professor—all while maintaining that effortless McGill sophistication that says, “Oh, this 20-page analysis of Finnegans Wake? I wrote it during lunch.”
Concordia students, you beautiful creative souls, face a different kind of challenge. Here, traditional literary analysis meets innovative approaches that would make conventional academics clutch their pearls. You’re encouraged to think outside the box, which is liberating until you realize the box was actually holding everything together, and now your essay on The Handmaid’s Tale has somehow become a multimedia performance piece that you’re not sure how to cite.
At UQAM, you’re navigating the fascinating intersection of francophone academic culture and English literary tradition. This unique perspective offers incredible insights, but it also means you’re often translating not just languages but entire ways of thinking about literature. Your analysis might incorporate continental literary theory that makes your anglophone peers’ heads spin, while you simultaneously master the intricacies of English prosody.
If you’re currently staring at a blank document wondering where to begin (we see you, and we understand), here’s a step-by-step format that works for everything from Shakespeare’s comedies to Sylvia Plath’s confessional poetry:
Make it sharp, relevant, and just pretentious enough to show you belong in the English Lit world. You’re not writing for BuzzFeed—you’re crafting academic art.
Examples:
Your introduction should:
Example: “Edgar Allan Poe stated that ‘The most poetical subject is surely the demise of a beautiful woman.’ While this sentiment might raise eyebrows in contemporary discourse, Poe’s fascination with mortality in works like ‘Ligeia’ and ‘Morella’ reveals not merely Victorian morbidity, but a complex exploration of how death illuminates the boundaries of human consciousness and the terror of existential uncertainty.”
Each paragraph should follow the PEEL structure:
Bonus points for:
Acknowledge alternative interpretations—then respectfully demolish them with evidence and superior reasoning. Think of it as intellectual aikido: use your opponent’s force against them, but do it with style and class.
Your conclusion should:
Use MLA style unless your professor is a rebel who prefers Chicago or APA (in which case, adapt accordingly). Remember:
Here’s the thing about asking for help: it’s not cheating, it’s strategic thinking. Even Shakespeare had collaborators (sorry, The Two Noble Kinsmen fans). Through online tutoring in English Literature, students now receive individual attention that is usually absent from classroom learning.
Flexibility: Those studying literature may work all sorts of hours, thanks to late-night thoughts on poetry or sudden epiphanies with narrative sequences. Online tutoring accommodates these creative rhythms.
Personalized Attention: All students have their own talents and things they find challenging. Some excel at close reading but struggle with argumentation. Others craft beautiful prose but can’t organize their thoughts. Online tutors can identify and address these specific needs.
Access to Expertise: Montreal’s literary community is vibrant, but sometimes you need specialized knowledge about specific periods, movements, or authors that local resources might not provide.
Comfort Zone: Discussing your half-formed ideas about existentialism in Beckett’s plays might feel less intimidating from your own space than in a crowded classroom.
You might benefit from online tutoring if you find yourself:
A lot of English Lit students face difficulty in analyzing literary works beyond their initial impressions. It moves from simply saying that Hamlet is sad to studying how Shakespeare portrays Hamlet’s inner thoughts using monologues which served as a model for modern psychological analysis.
Read Actively: Don’t just absorb the words—question them. Why did the author make this choice? What effect does it create? How does it help explore the key themes or ideas of the work?
Think Like a Detective: Check for similarities, repeated references, conflicting statements and missing information. Literature is rarely accidental.
Consider Context: Historical, biographical, cultural, and literary contexts all inform meaning. Virginia Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness technique means something different when you understand post-WWI trauma and changing concepts of selfhood.
Engage with Criticism: Don’t be afraid of secondary sources. Scholarly conversations about literature have been ongoing for centuries—join them rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.
Every English Lit student must eventually confront the Bard. Here’s how to approach Shakespeare without losing your sanity:
Start with Performance: Shakespeare wrote for the stage, not the page. Watch performances, read aloud, understand the physicality of the language.
Embrace the Language: Don’t fight the Early Modern English—let it wash over you. Pattern recognition will develop naturally.
Focus on Human Elements: Beneath the iambic pentameter and elaborate metaphors are recognizable human emotions and conflicts.
Victorian literature can feel overwhelming, but remember that these authors were addressing the anxieties of rapid social change—something contemporary readers can relate to.
Understand the Context: Industrial revolution, colonial expansion, scientific discoveries that challenged religious worldviews, changing gender roles—all of this informs the literature.
Appreciate the Craft: Victorian authors were master storytellers. Focus on their narrative techniques, character development, and thematic complexity.
Modernist literature challenges conventional forms and representations, which can be disorienting but also liberating.
Embrace Fragmentation: Broken narratives, stream-of-consciousness, experimental typography—these aren’t obstacles but tools for expressing modern experience.
Look for Patterns: Even the most experimental works have underlying structures and themes.
Consider Historical Context: Two world wars, urbanization, new scientific discoveries, changing social structures—modernist literature responds to unprecedented historical upheaval.
Modern English Lit students have access to resources that previous generations could only dream of. Here are some essential tools for success:
JSTOR: Your gateway to scholarly articles and primary sources Project Gutenberg: Free access to thousands of literary texts MLA International Bibliography: The gold standard for literary scholarship
Zotero or Mendeley: Citation management systems that will save your sanity Grammarly: For catching those pesky grammatical errors OWL Purdue: Comprehensive writing and citation guides
Professional tutoring services like StudyCreek offer specialized support for literature students, providing expert guidance on everything from close reading techniques to thesis development. These platforms connect students with experienced tutors who understand the unique challenges of literary study.
If you have a big research task or complex argument to work on, DissertationHive can help by providing experienced assistance and support.
For additional help, you can use StudyCorgi, for examples and guides on different types of writing, EssayPro for professional guidance, EssayShark for tutoring, and Edusson for help in different academic subjects.
Being passionate about Victorian gothic fiction can sometimes make literature studies feel like a solo adventure in your life. Joining forces with like-minded readers leads to better learning and development.
Take advantage of Montreal’s rich literary culture:
Literary study requires a different approach to time management than other disciplines. You can’t skim Ulysses or speed-read Paradise Lost. Here’s how to manage your time effectively:
Plan Backwards: Start with your deadlines and work backwards to create realistic reading schedules.
Quality Over Quantity: It’s better to read fewer pages carefully than many pages superficially.
Take Notes: Active reading with note-taking is slower but infinitely more effective.
Re-reading is Normal: Great literature reveals new layers on subsequent readings. Don’t feel guilty about reading passages multiple times.
Start Early: Good literary analysis requires time for ideas to percolate and develop.
Write Terrible First Drafts: Make it okay to write without worrying about your skill in the beginning. Amazing things come to life in the revision stage.
Read Your Work Aloud: By using this method, unclear words and confusing arguments can be found.
Take Breaks: In some cases, the best ideas occur when you’re not even looking for them.
Many people taking literature classes often feel out of place in the academic environment. Sometimes challenging how much you understand is actually a mark of intelligence, not lack of it.
Reading complicated, rich literature can leave us feeling confused by so many options for understanding it. instead of tackling every issue at once, emphasize making one main argument.
A common cause of writer’s block in literature is always wanting to be perfect. Let go of perfection and focus on making your writing better as you change and improve it.
Literature programs require both broad knowledge and deep specialization. Use survey courses to identify areas of particular interest, then pursue those areas more intensively.
New methods, technologies and ideas are being added to the study of English Literature as it develops further. Contemporary developments include:
Digital tools are revolutionizing literary analysis, from text mining to digital editions of historical manuscripts.
The canon continues to expand to include voices from around the world, challenging traditional hierarchies and assumptions.
Literature increasingly intersects with psychology, neuroscience, environmental studies, and other fields.
There’s growing emphasis on making literary scholarship accessible to broader audiences through blogs, podcasts, and public programs.
For an English Literature student in Montreal, this means working in the same spirit as readers, thinkers and writers who see literature as something that aids our own understanding and place in life. Yes, that’s the case. Yes, it’s common to feel overloaded because you have to absorb and analyze so much human creativity. And yes, your cat will continue to judge your thesis statements.
But you’re also part of something magnificent: a ongoing conversation about what it means to be human, conducted through the most beautiful and complex tool we have—language itself. Every essay you write, every text you analyze, every insight you develop adds your voice to this conversation.
You have access to resources that will help you do well. Online tutoring websites are there to help you at the moments when you need extra assistance. Montreal’s literary community offers inspiration and connection. Your professors may appear authoritative, but they really hope you get good grades.
So embrace the challenge. Let yourself be changed by what you read. Write with passion and precision. Ask questions that don’t have easy answers. And remember: even Shakespeare probably had moments of staring at a blank page, wondering what the hell he was trying to say.
Your literary journey is just beginning, and it’s going to be extraordinary.
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Instructor’s name:
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Never let me go by kazoo Ishiguru
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The hunger games by Suzanne Collins
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lie for several days with nothing but emptiness in their brains. The novel is both intriguing and
provocative in the sense of how much is possible in the future.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
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Bossypants by Tina Fey
A woman with a dream is one of the phrases that people of today’s generation have heard a
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Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
One of America’s greatest policy dilemmas is brought to life in Dave Eggers ‘Zeitoun’. America
is fighting a war against terror when hurricane Katrina that hit the gulf coast affecting several
cities and countries in the United States. Zeitoun stays behind to look after their art business as
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Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Everyone seeking to rise through the ranks of wealth and social status must have wondered what
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wealthiest have come from rather than focusing on the tip of the iceberg.
Dress your family in corduroy and denim by David Sedaris
Those that have lived in this life long enough understand that there is always something more to
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Girl, interrupted by Susanna Kayson
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