Literary Analysis OWL

8/9/2019 Literary Analysis OWL

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Writing a Literary Analysis

BRIAN YOTHERSBrought to you in cooperation with the Purue Online Writing La!


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What is Literary

Analysis"

It#s literary$

It#s an analysis$

It#s %

An Argument!

It &ay also in'ol'e research on an analysis o(seconary sources$


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I&portant Literary)oncepts


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How )an I Learn *ore"

Check your library for:

• +arious han!oo,s o( literary ter&s

•Nu&erous introuctions to literary criticis&an theory- wiely a'aila!le$

E.a&ple/ A Handbook to Literature,

Har&on0Hol&an


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How is it 1Literary2"

3sually- a literary analysis will in'ol'e adiscussion of a text as writing- thus the ter&literary- which &eans 1ha'ing to o with letters$2

This will in'ol'e the use o( certain concepts thatare 'ery speci4cally associate with literature$


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What is an Analysis"

An analysis o( a literary wor, &ay iscuss/

How the various components o( an ini'iualwor, relate to each other$

How two separate literary wor,s eal with similarconcepts or forms$

How concepts an (or&s in literary wor,s relate tolarger aesthetic- political- social- econo&ic- orreligious contexts$


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How is LiteraryAnalysis

An Argu&ent"

Writing an Argument:

• When writing a literary analysis- you willfocus on specic attribute(s o( thete.t5s6$

• When iscussing these attri!utes- youwill want to &a,e sure that you are

making a specic arguable point(thesis a!out these attri!utes$

• You will defend this point with reasonsan evidence rawn (ro& the te.t$


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Thesis State&ents

Which is the best Thesis State&ent"

Moby-Dick is a!out the pro!le& o( e'il$

Moby-Dick is !oring an pointless$

Moby-Dick is a!out a !ig- white whale$

The use o( 1whiteness2 in Moby-Dick illustratesthe uncertainty o( the &eaning o( li(e that Ish&aele.presses throughout the no'el$


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How to SupportA Thesis State&ent

"vidence and #upport:

• Inclue e.a&ples from the text/

7irect 8uotations Su&&aries o( scenes Paraphrases

• )ite other critics$ opinions

• 7iscuss the te.t#s historical and social context

• Always re&e&!er to rea care(ully an highlightuse(ul passages an 8uotes$


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What is aSeconary Source"

#econdary #ources:

• A !oo, or article that iscusses the te.t you are iscussing$

• A !oo, or article that iscusses a theory relate to theargu&ent you are &a,ing$

• A !oo, or article that iscusses the social an historical

conte.t o( the te.t you are iscussing$

9or e.a&ple/ In iscussing )haucer#s Pardoner’s Tale- Lee Patterson argues that/ 1:


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How o I 9inSeconary Sources"

%ou might consult:• Acae&ic 7ata!ases

• EX: The MLA International iblio!ra"hy • The 7ictionary o( Literary Biography• 7iscipline;speci4c sources/

EX: A#erica: History and Li$e $or A#erican Literature• Other search engines• A !i!liography that is part o( your te.t• Your instructor


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IntegratingSeconary Source

• When you use seconary sources- !e sure to showhow they relate to your thesis$

• &on$t overuse any one seconary source- or (orthat &atter- seconary sources in general

• 'emember that this is your paper- yourargu&ent%the seconary sources are


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Recap/ Literary

Analysis

When writing a literary analysis:

Be (a&iliar with literary ter&s$

Analy=e speci4c ite&s$

*a,e an a argu&ent$

*a,e appropriate use o( seconary sources$

)onsult instructors an tutors (or help whenneee$


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Where to >o(or *ore Help

Purue 3ni'ersity Writing La!- Hea'ilon ??@

)hec, our we! site/ http/00owl$english$purue$eu

E&ail !rie( 8uestions to OWL *ail/https/00owl$english$purue$eu0contact0owl&ailtutors

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/https://owl.english.purdue.edu/contact/owlmailtutorshttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/contact/owlmailtutorshttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/


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The En

WRITIN> A LITERARY ANALYSIS

BRIAN YOTHERSBrought to you in cooperation with the Purue Online Writing La!

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Literary Analysis OWL