In George MacDonald’s “The Princess and the Goblin”, taking as your starting point the following passage [from chapter 8]

1. Write an essay in which you defend a specific, controversial thesis.
2. Topic: The goblins’ feet in George MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin, taking as your starting point the following passage: “He now knew at least one of the reasons for the constant sound of the goblin hammers and pick-axes at night. . . . What he had to do in the meantime, however, was to discover, if possible, the special evil design the goblins had now in their heads” (57-58). [from chapter 8]
3. style:
1) Use the present tense whenever you refer to events and incidents from the text.
2) Avoid relying on needlessly elaborate diction (word choice): state your ideas as clearly and concisely as possible.
3) Incorporate quotations smoothly and correctly.
Don’t “drop” quotations; each one must be incorporated into a sentence that indicates the speaker and context. If you introduce your quotation with a full sentence, follow that sentence with a colon. You may also choose to incorporate short quotations smoothly into your sentence. When you read the sentence aloud, it should not sound awkward.