Writing a Literary Analysis

1. Personal Response: You explore your thoughts and feelings about a piece of literature. Literary Review: You discuss the merits of a particular book or series of stories. Literary Analysis: You present your understanding or interpretation of a literary work. Writing a literary analysis requires a high level of critical thinking. Writing a Literary Analysis

2. Starting point for your Literary Analysis: The starting point for meaningful analysis is your honest response to a piece of literature. Base your analysis on a close and careful reading of the piece of literature. Then, present your ideas in a carefully planned essay, connecting all your main points with specific references to the text. Writing a Literary Analysis

3. A literary analysis calls for a close examination of a novel, short story, poem, play, or essay. For example, you might analyze an intriguing character in a novel, interpret a powerful image in a poem, or evaluate the strength of the thesis in a non-fiction essay. Writing a Literary Analysis

4. For most exams, there are three types of questions used that require a literary analysis as a medium for response: Passage Discursive Empathic Writing a Literary Analysis

5. Prewriting: 1. Identify the most important points in the exam question and then develop a thesis statement to reflect the three main arguments of your essay. 2. Develop the three main points that will support your thesis, this will be the three main topic sentences for your body paragraphs. 3. Finally, gather the details from the text (concrete details) that support your main points. Writing a Literary Analysis

6. Remember: Your thesis statement and topic sentences for your three body paragraphs should NEVER contain summary. A Literary Analysis is NOT a summary of the main events in the text. If your essay reads like a summary, you did not do your job! Your thesis statement and topic sentences should be objective, clear, concise, and easy to understand. Do not use pointless rhetoric, or slang, or highly sophisticated language. Keep it succinct. And if you cannot identify clearly your arguments in your thesis statement, or your argument in your topic sentence, you have not done your job! Writing a Literary Analysis

7. Writing your essay: In the opening part—draw readers into your analysis and identify your thesis. In the middle—support your thesis using quotations, paraphrases, analysis, and personal response. In the closing—restate the thesis, emphasize the importance of one main point, or make a connection with life in general. Remember, your closing paragraph should be the most climatic and persuasive aspect of your entire essay. It is the point in your essay, after all your organization and analysis is complete, that you can now impact your reader the most with your new knowledge base and authority. Writing a Literary Analysis

8. Revising: Improving your writing...review your first draft and add, delete, move or rework sections as needed. Use the following questions to support you in your revisions... DO NOT BE LAZY...do not write your first draft then just turn your back on your essay. Your revisions will make a good essay great, an average essay good, and a poor essay average. Writing a Literary Analysis

9. IDEAS: Have I focused my analysis with a clear thesis statement? Have I included convincing support from the text? Question 1--Revisions

10. ORGANIZATION: Does my opening paragraph name the title and the author, and include a thesis statement that can be clearly identified? Do I have clear topic sentences for each one of my body paragraphs where the argument can be easily identified? Question 2--Revisions

11. VOICE: Do I sound knowledgeable about the literature? Is my voice appropriate for the audience? Question 3--Revisions

12. WORD CHOICE: Have I defined any unfamiliar terms? Is my word choice appropriate for my topic and audience? Am I repeating my argument, or sounding redundant? Question 4--Revisions

13. SENTENCE FLUENCY: Do my sentences flow smoothly? Do my sentences vary in length and structure? Am I incorporating complex sentences? Question 5--Revisions

14. Outline--Drafting • Before drafting your essay, you need to look closely at what the prompt is asking you, then outline your thesis statement (which is in your introduction) and your three body paragraphs. Each topic sentence should clearly state your topic for analysis.

15. I will provide you with a self-grading rubric to help you evaluate and assess your own writing. We will look at it together! Assessment Rubric

16. The next slides will be possible exams questions. I would like you to develop an outline, thesis statement, and topic sentences for each of your body paragraphs. Practice

17. There is plenty of evidence that the play, “Romeo and Juliet” is a romance. Romeo and Juliet fall in love and pine for each other. Both Romeo and Juliet will do whatever it takes to be together. They’re even willing to die for their love. This tragic ending, of course, makes a compelling case that this play is more tragedy than romance. Argue whether ”Romeo and Juliet” is a romance or a tragedy. Practice Prompt 1:

18. At first, Romeo is in love with Rosaline, but Rosaline wants nothing to do with Romeo. She is simply unattainable, and in many ways, this makes her even more attractive to Romeo. When Romeo meets Juliet, though, he forgets about Rosaline and falls head over heels in love with Juliet. Compare and contrast the love he has for Rosaline to the love he has for Juliet. Practice Prompt 2:

19. Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, kills Romeo’s friend, Mercutio. Tybalt is an expert swordsman, full of machismo. He is violent, loves a good fight, and is filled with anger and hate. Analyze Tybalt’s character from the start of the play to ACT III, when he is killed by Romeo. Why is he a necessary character in the plot of the play. Practice Prompt 3:

20. When Romeo and Juliet meet, they can think of nothing else. They defy their parents, ignore the age-old feud between the families, and do anything to be with each other. Teens today aren’t much different. Compare and contrast the timeless, universal theme of young love in Romeo and Juliet to today’s teen relationships. Practice Prompt 4:

21. You can argue that many people are to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Mercutio convinces Romeo to go to the ball. If Romeo didn’t attend the ball, he might not have met Juliet. The Capulet and Montague families continue their bitter feud, forcing the young lovers to keep their relationship a secret, and offers poison to Juliet. Romeo and Juliet are at fault for their own deaths as they ultimately make their own decisions. Argue who is the most at fault for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Practice Prompt 5:

22. In part one of the novel, courage is an important motif. The children use the “Boo Radley” Game to test and strengthen their courage. They also have a heavy dose of reality when facing difficult situations, and they learn what their father means by real courage. Describe the importance of courage in developing the plot of the novel, how does it play a role in their loss of innocence, and what character in the novel, so far, best represents what it means to be courageous. Practice Prompt 6:

23. To Kill a Mockingbird is an exploration into the moral nature of human beings. Many of the characters are not prepared for the hatred, prejudice, and ignorance that is imposed on them, and therefore are destroyed. Who are these characters that are victimized, and describe the action that leads to their demise. Explain why they are defenseless and weak, just like the mockingbird in the proverb. Practice Prompt 7: