Creation of a Literary Analysis Essay

Mr. Ward’s English

All of the literary papers you will write in this class will consist of three main parts:

INTRO w/THESIS Body Paragraphs

◦ Topic Sentences, FACTS (Concrete Details), and ANALYSIS (Commentary)

Conclusion

Format for Papers:

The thesis tells the reader what the writer will prove in the essay

Tells the main idea of the paper The last sentence of the introductory

paragraph Example:

◦ Due to an experimental surgery, Charlie experienced advantages and disadvantages in his life and in his mind.

Example from freshman year:◦ Sanger Rainsford is an intelligent hunter who

must outwit the General to save his life.

Thesis:

Occur at the beginning of each body paragraph. Must NOT repeat any key words from the thesis,

for it will be written directly after the thesis. It must, however, connect directly with the thesis.

◦ Thesis: Due to an experimental surgery, Charlie experienced advantages and disadvantages in his life and in his mind.

◦ Topic Sentence: Charlie’s operation benefitted him in many ways.

The topic sentence will summarize the main idea of the paragraph just like the thesis summarizes the entire paper.

Topic Sentences

Is written directly after the topic sentence. The “Facts” of your papers are examples from the

story to help you prove your point. They must be found in the story. Direct quote: For example, the General gives

Rainsford the option to hunt or the General will “turn him over to Ivan” (24).

Note: You are quoting the AUTHOR; therefore, anything that is written may be quoted.

After each quote, remember PPP◦ Parentheses, Page number, Period

“I was very skared [sic]” (170). The period is always last.

Facts (Quotes)

Quotes ◦ Weave in quotes without speaker tags: DO NOT USE!!

(he said, “…” she expressed, “…” etc.) Also, we must shorten the quotes for emphasis.

◦ “I figured out a new way to line up the machines at the factory and Mr. Donnegan says it will save him ten thousand dollars a year in labor.

Determine what can be omitted from the quote and could be added in your own words.◦ Charlie’s new found intelligence assists him at his

work by “figur[ing] out a new way to line up the machines at the factory” (180).

◦ Use brackets to change sentences: [ing] or [ed]

Body Paragraphs

When we include our quote we must remember: TLQ◦ Transition◦ Lead in◦ Quote

Original Sentence:◦ “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me

and all the people I once knew and loved.” For Example, although his newfound

intelligence allowed him to experience life positively, he realized that it also had “driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.”

Body Paragraphs cont.

Use brackets to change tenses or add -ing to words.

Also, you can use brackets and [sic] to signify a typo made by the author.◦ “I was very skared [sic].”

The adverb sic—meaning "intentionally so written"—first appeared in English circa 1856. It is derived from the Latin adverb sīc, which contains a long vowel and means "so", "thus", "as such" or "in such a manner".

After each quote, remember PPP◦ Parentheses, Page number, Period

“I was very skared [sic]” (170). The period is always last.

Body Paragraphs cont.

After the quotes, you need to provide at least two sentences of analysis.◦ The analysis should explain how the quote proves the

Topic Sentence. You CANNOT have facts in these sentences. You must have two or more sentences of analysis

for each fact.◦ Remember that you can always change your thesis and

topic sentences to fit your analysis. ◦ The analyses are the most important part of your essay.◦ These sentences bring “YOU” into the literature. Your

voice/analyses is the important part of your paper.

Body Paragraphs cont.

When a writer uses only a series of facts, the paper is a book report. There are no individual THOUGHTS.

Therefore, when writing literary analysis, you must include opinions/explanations for your facts/quotes.

Do NOT use first or second person, EVER!◦ I, Me, My◦ We, Us, Our, Ours◦ You, Your, Yours

Well written Papers

Do NOT use ◦ should, would, could, maybe, may, might, must, seems,

probably These words signal irrelevant ideas or that you are unsure of

your thoughts. Avoid “Dead Words”:

◦ a lot◦ really◦ good ◦ very◦ bad◦ mean◦ nice◦ dumb◦ and any other over-used, general terms

Well written papers cont…

Be sure to put the titles of short stories in “quotation marks”.

Titles of novels should be underlined. Be sure to spell main characters’ and

authors’ names correctly. Do not repeat key phrases. Come up with

new words. Use Thesaurus. Keep all verbs in the same tense.

◦ DO NOT SWITCH TENSES!!!

Well written papers cont…

First sentence: General statement related to theme in thesis. (Everyone can relate to)◦ What is our thesis about…◦ Society believes that ignorance equates to bliss,

but does that mean that intelligence always equates to happiness. There are no easy routes to happiness.

Second and/or third sentence: Another general sentence(s) that narrow the topic down to your thesis. (Relate more to the story.)

Intro Paragraph

In the next sentence remember: AGTS◦ Author◦ Genre◦ Title◦ Summarize how Charlie fits with the first two

sentences of the intro. In Daniel Keyes’ short story “Flowers for

Algernon,” Charlie learns the truth. This leads right into the thesis:

◦ His experimental surgery has positives and negatives consequences.

Intro Paragraph cont.

The conclusion begins with a restatement of the thesis, not a repetition, and gradually widens toward a final , broad statement of implication.

Borrows from the body paragraphs, without being flatly repetitive or listing points already covered.

Creates echoes of the introduction and body paragraphs to reinforce analysis/ ideas.

Moves outward with a statement that relates the thesis to a broader implication

Anatomy of the Conclusion:

Expand on the implications of your analysis: So what? Why do we care about these ideas? What’s so important about what you’ve developed in your paper?

The conclusion need not be longer than four to six sentences, as with the introduction.

Start specific, then get general and important.

Conclusion:

IntroductionConclusion