LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

W R I T I N G A B O U T L I T E R AT U R E

B E F O R E Y O U W R I T E

ANALYSIS IS…

• a way of thinking that involves taking apart, breaking

down, examining, and explaining a subject or idea

• NOT simply retelling or summarizing the story (you may

need to summarize parts of the story to make or clarify a

point)

• critical, in-depth thinking

BEFORE YOU WRITE:• Identify the topic of your analysis (e.g., theme, character,

conflict, foreshadowing, etc.)

• Know what you want to say about the subject; that will

become your thesis statement (guiding focus of your

paper)

–Ex: Characters = what about the characters?

• Compare/contrast 2 characters, how a character changes

over time, how a character is motivated, how a character

struggles with a conflict…

POSSIBLE WRITING PROMPTS

• Compare and contrast two

characters

• Analyze a character’s development

over time

• Analyze how a character’s traits

lead to a theme, or how a

character is shaped by a conflict

• Discuss how a conflict points to a

theme

• Analyze how the author develops a

central theme

• Discuss how the setting impacts

the characters and conflict

• Discuss the author’s use of literary

devices (foreshadowing, figurative

language, writing style, pov,

symbolism) and effect on readers

• Analyze possible interpretations of

the story’s resolution

CRAFT MOVES FOR ESSAY WRITING

• Well-placed (flows within the paragraph) quotes that help explain your main point

• Smooth transitions between paragraphs to organize ideas [in the beginning, gradually however,

in the end]

• Strong analysis of the characters to help prove point about the symbol

• Clear organization

• Summarize and interpret main points for the reader

• Ending ties back to the hook

• Strong topic sentences and clear thesis

• Introduce – Cite – Elaborate

• 2nd hr

• Starts with a hook and refers back to it at end

• Tell main idea in first paragraph and tells how the idea progresses throughout the story

• Conclusion re-states the main idea

• Use quotes from the story in every body paragraph

• Explains details about characters and analyzes how characters were impacted by the symbol

• Assertive statement in intro telling the main idea THESIS

• Each paragraph is its own topic

• Paragraphs ordered chronologically to the story – ONE GOOD OPTION

• ICE – introduce cite explain your quotes

• 5th hr

CRAFT MOVES FOR ESSAY WRITING

C O N V E N T I O N S O F T H E L I T E R A R Y A N A L Y S I S

CONVENTIONS

• Uses the third person voice (DO NOT use 1st person “I,” as in “I

think” or “I believe” or “I feel” AND never use 2nd person “you”)

• Refers to “the narrator,” “the author,” “the character,” or “the

speaker”

• Identifies the author by his/her last name (Hemingway) after

using his full name in the introduction

CONVENTIONS (CONTIN.)

• Discuss literature in the present tense, even if the author is

dead (we presume that his writing, or “voice,” lives on)

• EXAMPLE= Hemingway uses an endless series of

dependent clauses to create a buildup of tension as they

chase the buffalo across the open.

CONVENTIONS (CONTIN.)

•Avoid praise, other forms of compliment, or

personal criticism

•Tell your reader what the text means and why

certain details are important, not how great (or bad)

you think the author is

CONVENTIONS (CONTIN.)DO NOT begin a paragraph with a quote;

DO NOT end a paragraph with a quote

Always have a thought that leads into a quote: remember,

you’re using the quote to support one of your ideas

Instead, summarize the quote you just used AND show

your reader why it is important for supporting your

thesis

…if you follow the ICE method, you’ll be fine.

CONVENTIONS – FORMAL LANGUAGE

• “Don’t” use contractions ; not considered academic language

• Don’t use slang

I N T R O D U C T I O N3 PA RT S

3 PARTS OF AN INTRODUCTION

• Attention-Getter (hooks the attention of the reader to get them interested in reading more)

• Background Info (introduces your topic to the reader and leads to your thesis)

• Thesis Statement (one sentence that explains what your entire paper is about)

THESIS STATEMENT

definition: One sentence that states the main point or claim of a paper

• Appears in the introduction of an essay

• Tells the reader what the entire paper is going to be about

• Should be an arguable statement

• Kind of like a topic sentence …. but for your ENTIRE paper

THESIS STATEMENT

Guidelines:

•Do not use the phrase “I think…” or “I

believe…..”

–No “I” !!

• It is not a question – it is an answer.

EXAMPLE

Since you are writing about the analysis of the story, your thesis statement should tell the literary element you are focusing on and what you noticed about that element.

In Romeo + Juliet, Baz Luhrmann used costumes to signify differences in characters.

Hemmingway uses the character development of____________ to show

how_____________ .

CRAFT YOUR THESIS STATEMENT1. Start with the story title or the author’s name

• In “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,”

• Hemmingway

2. Now ASK YOURSELF: what’s the significance of that literary element in the

story?

3. Try using some of these strong verb choices

Hemmingway uses the __[literary element]________ to ______ how/the ____________ .

signify

symbolize

reflect

emphasize

impact

affect

point out

indicate

ATTENTION-GETTER

•First sentence of an essay

•Get the reader’s attention

•Also called a “lead” or a “hook”

BACKGROUND INFO IN INTRO

• Every student who writes this paper should have these words

somewhere in his/her introduction:

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” by Ernest

Hemingway

EXAMPLE INTRO PARAGRAPH

For centuries philosophers have debated the question of

whether man is innately evil. William Golding poses this

question in his realistic novel Lord of the flies. Set on a tropical

island during World War II, the novel begins when schoolboys

from Great Britain are being flown to safety and their plane is

shot down. No adults survive, and the boys are left to govern

themselves and get rescued. Golding uses symbolism in the

form of the conch to represent the concept of society. The

boys’ evolving relationship with the conch illustrates Golding’s

theme that humans, when removed from the pressures of

civilized authority, will become evil.

POOR EXAMPLE INTRO PARAGRAPH

The Lord of the Flies is about a group of kids who try to

survive on an island. When Jack says “We don’t need the

conch anymore,” he places less importance on the authority

of the conch. The symbolism of the conch is what I will be

writing about.

B O D Y PA R A G R A P H SU S I N G I . C . E . M E T H O D

PARAGRAPH USING I.C.E.

FOLLOW THE OUTLINE WHILE YOU WRITE!

Gradually, however, the conch becomes less

important to the boys, signifying their gradual turn to

evil. When the boys first start a fire on top of the

mountain, Piggy holds the conch and attempts to

speak. Jack rebukes him by saying, “The conch doesn’t

count on top of the mountain, so you shut up”

(Golding 39). Boys like Jack begin to place limitations

on the conch and lose respect for it and one another.

Then one day at an assembly, Jack places even less

importance on the conch excluding more of the boys

and thus diminishing the democratic order and

authority that the conch provides. Jack is slowly

becoming a power-hungry dictator, and we see the

orderly influence of the conch replaced by man’s evil

impulses.

C O N C L U S I O N

• S U M M A R I Z E T H E M A I N P O I N T S O F YO U R E S S AY

• D O N OT G I V E A N Y N E W I N F O R M AT I O N

• P E O P L E A R E M O R E L I K E LY TO R E M E M B E R T H E

L A S T T H I N G T H E Y R E A D

3 PARTS OF A CONCLUSION

• Restate the thesis statement from your introduction –

rephrase it using different words

• Remind the reader of the main points you talked about in the

body paragraphs

• Leave the reader with a final thought. It’s best when this final

thought connects back to your attention-getter!

FINAL THOUGHT

• ends memorably or cleverly, usually by extending the

ideas of the paper to a larger world or scope

For example, if you wrote about Macomber finding his

courage, how could you apply it to the importance of

finding one’s courage in life today?

EXAMPLE CONCLUSIONGolding uses the conch shell to show the slow slide of

the boys into savagery, thereby exemplifying the theme that

humans have the capability to turn evil. At first, the conch

brings everyone together; then as its power erodes, the

group breaks into two. Finally, the destruction of the conch

signals the plunge into total savagery. By following the role of

the conch in the story, readers see how Golding uses it to

unify the central events of the story around his theme of

inevitable evil. Golding answers the question debated for

centuries by philosophers: Is man innately evil? According to

Lord of the Flies, he is.

POOR CONCLUSION EXAMPLE

I wrote about symbolism in The Lord of the Flies

Another quote from the story that supports the symbolism

is, “The conch doesn’t count on top the mountain. You shut

up” (Golding 39). The symbolism of the conch points out

Golding’s theme of inevitable evil.

• Don’t use “I” when writing about literature

• Only sort of re-stated the thesis

• Don’t give any new information! That includes not adding new

quotes or details.

• Didn’t really summarize the main points of the body

paragraphs

• Didn’t give a final thought