Literary Analysis In literature class, your teacher may ask you to discuss in an essay some aspect of a book that you have read. To write a literary analysis essay, you begin by deciding what aspect of the piece of literature you are going to focus on. Then in your introduction, you state your opinion about it in a thesis statement. After this, your body paragraphs provide examples and evidence (in the form of quotations from the text). Each one of these will support your thesis. Finally, you end with a conclusion that restates your most important points. Here are some examples of questions your teacher might ask you to discuss: FOR A NOVEL OR STORY: Who is this book about? (central character[s]) What do the central characters want? What keeps them/him/her from getting it? How do they/he/she get what they want? What do you think is the most important event in the story? What leads up to this event? How are the characters different after this event? Pick out the most important event in each chapter. FOR A BIOGRAPHY: What kind of family did the subject come from? Where did he go to school? What did he want the most as a child? What did he want the most as a grownup? How did he get what he wanted? Who were the three most important people in his life? What was the most important event in his life? Did he get what he wanted in life? Why or why not? Why do we still remember this person?
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Literary Analysis
In literature class, your teacher may ask you to discuss in an essay some aspect of a
book that you have read. To write a literary analysis essay, you begin by deciding what
aspect of the piece of literature you are going to focus on. Then in your introduction,
you state your opinion about it in a thesis statement. After this, your body paragraphs
provide examples and evidence (in the form of quotations from the text). Each one of
these will support your thesis. Finally, you end with a conclusion that restates your
most important points.
Here are some examples of questions your teacher might ask you to discuss:
FOR A NOVEL OR STORY:
Who is this book about? (central character[s])
What do the central characters want?
What keeps them/him/her from getting it?
How do they/he/she get what they want?
What do you think is the most important event in the story?
What leads up to this event?
How are the characters different after this event?
Pick out the most important event in each chapter.
FOR A BIOGRAPHY:
What kind of family did the subject come from?
Where did he go to school?
What did he want the most as a child?
What did he want the most as a grownup?
How did he get what he wanted?
Who were the three most important people in his life?
What was the most important event in his life?
Did he get what he wanted in life? Why or why not?
Why do we still remember this person?
Key Features of a Literary Criticism Essay
Step 1 – Prewriting: Thinking about Your Topic.
Assignment
Narrow the Field
1. Start by brainstorming. Ask an interesting question that you’d like to answer.
2. Next, make your topic fit the length. Ask yourself, “Will I be able to write about this
topic in 5 paragraphs?” If you don’t think you can, try narrowing it even more by
creating a list of subtopics. For example, “the character Tom Sawyer” is too broad for
this size essay, but the subtopic “ Tom is a dynamic character – a character who
changes during the story” is narrow enough.
Revised question: What events in the story cause Tom to change?
Strong thesis.
Clear organizational structure.
Evidence cited from story.
Explanation of evidence.
Transitions that clarify the relationship among ideas.
Formal style.
Title page and works cited page.
TASK: Write a five paragraph literary analysis essay that answers a question you
have selected or has been given to you by your teacher. Use evidence from the
book to support your answer.
AUDIENCE: Your teacher and classmates.
PURPOSE: To explain.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Who is this book about?
Think About Your Point
Now that you’ve chosen your topic, write the first draft of your thesis in the chart below.
Your thesis is your essay’s main point. Think of your thesis as the answer to the
question that you want to explore.
Your thesis will appear at the end of your introductory paragraph.
It should reflect your opinion about the topic, not just state a fact.
Example – Some readers may see Tom’s life as simply one boyish adventure after another, but
there are three events that upon closer inspection actually cause him to change from being
________________ and _______________ to being _______________ and _____________.
Dig into the Topic Write each main point as a title. Then, find a quote that will support your point. Be sure to include the page number.
Author’s full name: Title of story: Two sentence plot summary: Thesis:
First Main Point That Proves Thesis: Quote:
Second Main Point That Proves Thesis: Quote:
Third Main Point That Proves Thesis: Quote:
Literary Analysis Essay Outline
Follow this outline when drafting your literary analysis essay.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Attention-Getter
B. Necessary Information
1. Author’s full name
2. Title of the story
C. Brief plot summary or introduction to the story
D. Thesis statement
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1
A. Topic Sentence
B. Introduce Quote
C. Quote
D. Analysis of Quote
III. BODY PARAGRAPH 2
A. Topic Sentence
B. Introduce Quote
C. Quote
D. Analysis of Quote
IV. BODY PARAGRAPH 3
A. Topic Sentence
B. Introduce Quote
C. Quote
D. Analysis of Quote
V. CONCLUSION
A. Restate your thesis
B. Restate your reasons/examples
C. Wrap it up with your final thoughts and/or clincher
http://www.lcsd.wednet.edu/page/704
Step 2 – Drafting: Making sentences.
Introduction To write a successful introduction, follow the A.N.T. technique!
A = Attention-Getter N = Necessary Information T = Thesis A = Attention-Getter: The first sentence or two should be an attention-getter. There are many ways to write an attention-getter:
Ask a question Use a relevant quote from the story itself or from somewhere else Use a fact or statistic Use an anecdote (a short story that illustrates a point)
N = Necessary Information: Necessary information for a literary analysis includes:
1. Author's full name 2. Title of the story 3. Brief plot summary or introduction to the story (no more than a few sentences
T = Thesis: The last sentence of your introduction should be your thesis. The thesis is what you are trying to "prove" in your essay.
Example introduction using A.N.T.
Example from a student's paper on a story called "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe
Attention-getter: Murder! Is this a right way to get back at someone?
Necessary information – author’s name and title of story: Montresor believes it is in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."
Summary: In the story, Montresor tells the reader that he was insulted by Fortunato. It is because of this insult that Montresor has vowed revenge. He lures Fortunato into his family's catacombs, and then Montresor chains Fortunato to a wall of granite and buries him alive.
Thesis: Montressor is able to murder Foftunado because of his intense desire to seek revenge.
Body To write a successful body paragraph, follow the TIQA technique!
T = Topic sentence I = Introduce quote Q = Quote A = Analysis
T = Topic sentence: A topic sentence needs a focus or limiting idea. In character analysis,
your topic is the character you have chosen, and your focus is a character trait. Here is an
example:
Topic Sentence: In "To Build a Fire," the man dies in the cold of the Yukon because he is
too foolish to listen to those who know more than he does.
Topic = the man Focus = his foolishness
I = Introduce quote: Before you write the quote that provides evidence to support your topic sentence, you need to introduce it. You need to give some context or setting to the quote. If someone is speaking the quoted words, you should tell your reader who is talking. The quote cannot "exist" on its own--it must be attached to this introduction sentence. Q = Quote: provide a quote from the text that supports the topic sentence. A quote can be actual words spoken by a character, or it can be other non-spoken words that appear in the text.
A = Analysis: explain to the reader (in 2-3 sentences) how the quote supports your topic, or how
it proves your thesis to be true. DO NOT just restate the quote in your own words. You have to
analyze it, which means you have to explain how it proves the point you are trying to make. For
example, in a character analysis, you are showing how the quote proves that the character has
the trait you identified.
EXAMPLE of a TIQA style paragraph from "To Build a Fire" by Jack London
Topic Sentence: In "To Build a Fire," the man dies in the cold of the Yukon because he is too foolish to listen to those who know more than he does.
Introduce Quote: When the man is remembering the words of the old timer at Sulphur Creek, he says,
Quote: “those old-timers were rather womanish, some of them.”
Analysis: This shows that the man does not respect those that have been in the area longer than he has. He insults the knowledge of those with more experience. He will later come to see how truly foolish his words were.
Conclusions can be a difficult part of an essay to write because often writers feel like they have already said everything they wanted to say, and there is nothing else to write about. However, a conclusion serves an important function in an essay and deserves as much attention as the rest of your paper. The conclusion is often what a reader remembers most!
R-R-R
To write a successful conclusion, remember the 3 R's!
1. R = Restate your thesis 2. R = Restate your reasons
3. R = Wrap it up
Here's the 3 step process:
1. Restate your thesis in different words. Remind the reader what the focus of your paper was and what you have "proven."
2. Restate your reasons or examples that you used in the topic sentences of the body paragraphs. Summarize and show how all of your reasons fit together.
3. Wrap it up with your final thoughts and/or a clincher.
Final thoughts: Show the importance of the analysis that you have been making in the paper. What is the last thing you want to say about this topic?
Clincher: This is a statement that leaves the reader thinking "Wow!" It
often goes back to your attention-getter in the introduction and mirrors it in
some way, or you can make a statement about the future of the subject