Abstract

Teaching English as a foreign/second language through Literature has been proven to bring many benefits to learners, including improving their language proficiency and developing their critical thinking, social knowledge, and cultural understanding. A related issue with integrating Literature into the English language classroom is the literature essay, which is often used to assess learners' abilities throughout the course. Although a literature essay belongs to the field of academic writing, it contains many elements that are closely related to the discipline of literary studies. However, these elements have not been thoroughly considered, and raters have typically borrowed general academic writing rubrics to assess students' essays. This study builds a theoretical framework for the essential components of a literature essay, which can guide raters when evaluating students' work. This is hoped to contribute to a transparent academic environment with consistent criteria among raters. This paper does not create a new assessment rubric, but rather outlines the necessary components of a literature essay. Subsequent research will aim to develop this rubric, making the assessment process more convenient and clear.