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Writing an Analytical Paragraph using Quotes

Below is a paragraph template of how to incorporate and analyse texts using direct quotes. Example paragraph parts are in italics.

State It. Clearly state the topic of the paragraph in 1-2 sentences, for example:

Our world is overly obsessed with the fictitious ideal of perfection.

Introduce It. Clearly introduce textual evidence (quotes, passages) that will be used, for example:

Nalo Hopkinson's short story, A Habit of Waste, comments on this over-obsession by depicting a near-future world where individuals can download perfection and wear it like a new pair of underwear.

Prove It/Analyze It. Provide textual evidence to prove the topic of your paragraph AND Examine/analyze/explain  how the evidence relates/proves the topic, for example:

Even-though she is writing about a near-future dystopic society, where "they downloaded me" is a distinct and real possibility, Hopkinson is clearly criticizing the current trends in media and lifestyle fixations for creating racist and self-loathing attitudes. When Hopkinson writes, “I ordered the catalogue from MediPerfiction," she is critiquing the infomercials that target our desire for the medi-perfect or perfictional physique by standardizing “arrow slim” and “creamy brown” as ideals over the “that back-to-Africa nostalgia shit (and) nappy-headed nonsense.” Hopkinson is not comfortable with this promise of a fast-food make-over that creates an unreal sense that perfection is within our grasp - if we have money or credit - because it is not creating a confident culture, rather, it is magnifying the fears and insecurities of the citizenry. Hopkinson is arguing that, ironically, the promise of perfection is creating greater imperfection.

Conclude It. Conclude the paragraph by  connecting the last thought to the first thought, for example:

Perfection is simply “perfiction”.

SAMPLE PARAGRAPH

Our world is overly obsessed with the fictitious ideal of perfection. Nalo

Hopkinson's satiric short story, A Habit of Waste, comments on this over-

obsession by depicting a near-future world where individuals can download

perfection and wear it like a new pair of underwear. Even-though she is writing

about a near-future dystopic society, where "they downloaded me" is a distinct

and real possiblity, Hopkinson is clearly criticizing the current trends in media and

lifestyle fixations for creating racist and self-loathing attitudes. When Hopkinson

writes, “I ordered the catalogue from MediPerfiction," she is critiquing the

infomercials that target our desire for the medi-perfect or perfictional physique by

standardizing “arrow slim” and “creamy brown” as ideals over the “that back-to-

Africa nostalgia shit (and) nappy-headed nonsense.” Hopkinson is not

comfortable with this promise of a fast-food make-over that creates an unreal

sense that perfection is within our grasp - if we have money or credit - because it

is not creating a confident culture, rather, it is magnifying the fears and

insecurities of the citizenry. Hopkinson is arguing that, ironically, the promise of

perfection is creating greater imperfection. Perfection is simply “perfiction”.

PREPARING FOR AN ANALYTIC ESSAY

1. Think critically about what you know - from personal experience -and what you’ve learned - from texts and discussions - about the topic and argument (point of analysis).

2. Make quick notes that detail all that you already know and have learned.

3. Collect proofs. Identify quotes (direct textual evidence)and passages that reflect the topic or argument. This may be a time-consuming task, but it is essential and extremely worthwhile.

4. The collection or quotes and passages may be large, but this allows you to pick and choose when you need to “PROVE IT”.

5. Use your collection of quotes.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE ANALYTIC BODY PARAGRAPH

When you think body paragraph, think ‘mini essay’.

STATE IT. topic sentence states the topic/argument of the paragraph and guides the direction of the paragraph’s content. The topic sentence reflects ‘proof’ of the thesis. What do you want to prove?

INTRODUCE IT: Always written in ‘your own words’. Introduces evidence or support that will be used to prove thesis and reflect topic of the paragraph. What are some general ideas about the topic? What evidence/proof will be introduced?

PROVE IT. Hard evidence from text, either in the form of a direct quotation from the text (word-for-word) or in the form of an example (in your own words, but still acknowledged). This component adds strength to your thesis.

ANALYZE IT. Analyze how &/or why your proof helps to support your thesis. This is an essential component as it shows how the evidence supports the theory/argument THE WAY YOU INTERPRET IT. Without it, the evidence may be interpreted differently. What does the quote/proof mean? How does proof prove topic/argument?

CONCLUDING IT: concluding sentence wraps up the ideas expressed in the paragraph. What is a new and interesting way to reword the topic sentence?

THE HOLLOW MENT.S ELIOT

Mistah Kurtz-he dead            A penny for the Old Guy

                       I

    We are the hollow men    We are the stuffed men    Leaning together    Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!    Our dried voices, when    We whisper together    Are quiet and meaningless    As wind in dry grass    Or rats' feet over broken glass    In our dry cellar        Shape without form, shade without colour,    Paralysed force, gesture without motion;        Those who have crossed    With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom    Remember us-if at all-not as lost    Violent souls, but only    As the hollow men    The stuffed men.

                                  II

    Eyes I dare not meet in dreams    In death's dream kingdom    These do not appear:    There, the eyes are    Sunlight on a broken column    There, is a tree swinging

    And voices are    In the wind's singing    More distant and more solemn    Than a fading star.        Let me be no nearer    In death's dream kingdom    Let me also wear    Such deliberate disguises    Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves    In a field    Behaving as the wind behaves    No nearer-        Not that final meeting    In the twilight kingdom

                       III

    This is the dead land    This is cactus land    Here the stone images    Are raised, here they receive    The supplication of a dead man's hand    Under the twinkle of a fading star.        Is it like this    In death's other kingdom    Waking alone    At the hour when we are    Trembling with tenderness    Lips that would kiss    Form prayers to broken stone.

                         IV

    The eyes are not here    There are no eyes here    In this valley of dying stars

    In this hollow valley    This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms        In this last of meeting places    We grope together    And avoid speech    Gathered on this beach of the tumid river        Sightless, unless    The eyes reappear    As the perpetual star    Multifoliate rose    Of death's twilight kingdom    The hope only    Of empty men.

                               V

    Here we go round the prickly pear    Prickly pear prickly pear    Here we go round the prickly pear    At five o'clock in the morning.        Between the idea    And the reality    Between the motion    And the act    Falls the Shadow                                   For Thine is the Kingdom        Between the conception    And the creation    Between the emotion    And the response    Falls the Shadow                                   Life is very long        Between the desire    And the spasm    Between the potency

    And the existence    Between the essence    And the descent    Falls the Shadow                                   For Thine is the Kingdom        For Thine is    Life is    For Thine is the        This is the way the world ends    This is the way the world ends    This is the way the world ends    Not with a bang but a whimper.

PRACTICE ANALYTIC WRITING

1. Use one of the Literary Theory questions and write a thesis statement, for example:

Q: Is T.S. Eliot’s Hollow Men a metaphor for the modern mind?

THESIS: T.S. Eliot’s poem is a metaphor for the conflict - between the primal, id-based spiritual mind and the superego driven industrial mind - that a modern mind is trying to reconcile by continuously groping for meaning and substance in an industrial, hyper-technologized world.

2. Choose a quote from from T.S Eliot’s, Hollow Men, that relates/reflects/proves the thesis statment.

3.

q u o t e

4. Use the organizer, below, to construct a clear and organized analytic paragraph. Use the organizer as rough draft.

paragraph part

focus question original writing

STATE IT: introduces the topic/argument of the paragraph and guides the direction of the paragraph’s content. The topic sentence reflects ‘proof’ of the thesis.

What do you want to prove? <insert a powerful SIMPLE SENTENCE>

paragraph part

focus question original writing

INTRODUCE IT. Always written in ‘your own words’. Introduces evidence or support that will be used to prove thesis and reflect topic of the paragraph.

What are some general ideas about the topic? What evidence/proof will be introduced?

<insert ONE or TWO SIMPLE SENTENCES>

PROVE IT. Hard evidence from text, either in the form of a direct quotation from the text (word-for-word) or in the form of an example (in your own words, but still acknowledged). This component adds strength to your thesis.

ANALYZE IT. Analyze how &/or why your proof helps to support your thesis. This is an essential component as it shows how the evidence supports the theory/argument THE WAY YOU INTERPRET IT. Without it, the evidence may be interpreted differently.

What does the quote/proof mean? How does proof prove topic/argument?

<insert a powerful SIMPLE sentence><insert a COMPOUND sentence><insert a BALANCED or ANTITHESIS sentence

CONCLUDING SENTENCE: wraps up the ideas expressed in the paragraph.

What is a new and interesting way to reword the topic sentence?

<insert an ANAPHORA sentence>

5. Revise and edit. Use the sentence patterns to strengthen the overall structure of the paragraph .

6. Word process. Use Courier or Courier New size 12 font. Double space.

L E A R N I N G G O A L S• that you can analyse/assess (judge/evaluate) themes, ideas, issues and language in texts (t)

• that you can collect information from texts to develop ideas for writing (k/u)

• that you can organize and plan your writing to ensure that the final product is organized, clear and effective (c)

• that you can revise and edit your writing to ensure that it 1) is clear and organized, 2) uses correct grammar (sentence structure, punctuations spelling), and 3)use literary devices and rhetorical sentence patterns (c)

• that you can use writing form (analytic paragraph), stylistic devices (rhetorical sentences/literary devices) and write for an intended audience (the teacher)

HOW WILL YOU HELP YOURSELF BE SUCCESSFUL?

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HOW WILL YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL?

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