Length: 6-8 pages (not including cover page or Works Cited page)
For this assignment, you will write a 6-8 page essay in analysis, in which you choose one literary work from the course and single out an element for close examination. An element you examine might be character, plot, setting, theme, dramatic irony, tone, language, symbolism, or any other element. It could also be a combination of several elements. Try to relate this element to the work as a whole. Example topics: Illusion versus Reality in ____ The Theme of Success in _____; The Function of the Character ___ in ___ See directions below (from McGraw-Hill) about how to write an analytical essay.
Ideas to keep in mind:
Try to aim for a three-prong thesis statement. This will be quite helpful in not only having an original angle on the project but also in setting up the structure for the paper.
Watch this basic but helpful video on thesis statements for literary analyses:
How to Write a Thesis Statement for a Literary Analysis Essay (Links to an external site.)
How to Write a Thesis Statement for a Literary Analysis Essay
Use literary present tense.
Avoid summarizing the entire plot. (Assume your reader has read the work.)
Avoid consulting sources or including professional citations. I am looking for your own analysis on this.
This analysis should focus fully on observations about a literary element (or elements). Avoid going into observations about society or human truths unless they are tied to a literary device or a device of craft.
Avoid working with a partner on this.
Use quotes from the work you are examining to develop a point you are making, but do not rely on quotes to fill your paper.
Avoid contractions.
Use MLA formatting.
How to Write an Analytical Essay
Read the work carefully. You should be able to recreate the narrative line, identify the essential conflict, and distinguish between major elements of plot that influence the movement of the piece.
Select an element in the work to explore (examples: theme, point of view, time, foreshadowing, image/symbol patterns). Perhaps you may want to examine the work from a particular critical perspective or approach.
Read the work again, identifying and marking passages that relate to that element.
Write a "working thesis," making a claim about the element you have chosen to analyze. The purpose of your essay will be to support, explore, demonstrate, or illustrate the validity of the claim you have made about that element.
Compose topic sentences (four or five, perhaps) that support, explore, demonstrate, or illustrate your thesis. Always begin with the topic sentence (a claim); never begin a paragraph in the body of your paper with a quotation or summary sentence.
Select specific passages in the text of the work that help you to develop each topic sentence. These passages offer the reader evidence of your claim. Avoid quoting passages longer than a single paragraph, but rather, try to incorporate the most important phrases or brief sets of sentences into each paragraph.
Build your paper to a climax; save your most engaging or important topic sentence for discussion last.
Begin your paper with an introduction that identifies the purpose of the paper and the text you are addressing. Open the paragraph with an interest device like a quotation, startling statement, or rhetorical question that will engage the reader's reflection and interest. The title (which you may want to develop at the end of the writing process) should be provocative without being juvenile, should reflect the perspective of the paper and perhaps your point of view or attitude toward the topic.
Conclude your paper with a paragraph that does more than summarize your thesis and major points. You may wish to echo your opening interest device, evaluate the author's development of the motif, or identify points for further reflection.
Print out your paper for careful editing. Reread it for smooth transition in and out of quotations and check for adequate support of each claim or topic sentence.
After revising the paper, print out your essay again, proofreading it this time for elements of style and correctness. Revise it once more and print out your final copy for submission.
Literary Analysis Scoring Rubric
Criteria
Points
Thesis is clearly stated and supported. Papers focus is in keeping with directions and it fulfills the goals of a literary analysis.
/5
Clear and interesting introduction presents main points of the paper and grabs the audience's attention.
/1
Supporting paragraphs support the thesis and provide relevant details.
/10
Paper is organized and shows evidence of proofreading/editing.
/3
MLA is utilized.
/1
/20
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