Using the Writing Process for In-Class Essays

A Slapdash Production

In this class and many others, you will be asked primarily to write Interpretive Analysis Essays. (cue: ominous flourish, cello and bassoon).

Definition: Interpretation

to explain the meaning or significance of. (interpretive is merely the adjectival form of Interpretation)

Interpretation In interpretive analysis essays, you may be asked to interpret, or explain the meaning of, causes effects themes/motifs values of ideas

Definition: Analysis

to separate a whole into its constituent parts for individual study.

Interpretive Analysis Essays ask you to Explore and/or explain the meanings of a text... (or an artifact, idea, situation, event, etc).

using details, quotations or paraphrases from the primary source to support your interpretation.

Note the use of the word meanings— plural. All texts have multiple meanings. If you can support your ideas with evidence from the text, then your interpretation is valid.

Look for these keywords to determine whether you are being asked to write an interpretive analysis essay: Analyze Compare (show similarities) Contrast (show differences) Explain Reflect

Questions?

Section Two: How to Respond tactically to an Essay question.

Before You Begin Writing:

1. Circle the important words in the question

2. Briefly write down ideas, details, or words from the text that will help you flesh out your essay.

3. Look for patterns, connections and relations in those notes to help organize your essay. Group related ideas.

If you get stuck while writing, Go back to your notes to help jumpstart your pen.

4. Use the question to structure your thesis.

Um, Excuse me. What do you mean by “thesis”?

I’m glad you asked.

Simply put, a thesis is an essay’s central idea. A thesis statement is a statement that asserts an essay’s central idea.

A Strong Thesis Statement does the following: It fits the purpose of the assignment. It makes a specific point about the topic and gives readers a sense of the direction of the paper. It asserts something that could make a difference in what readers know, understand, or believe.

Thanks for asking.

Example: Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou write about incidents from their childhoods in which the action of an older relative so influenced them that, later in their lives, they felt compelled to share them with their readers. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two families in these essays. Also explain what each author is telling us about the process of growing up.

Example: Step 1. Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou write about incidents from their childhoods in which the action of an older relative so influenced them that, later in their lives, they felt compelled to share them with their readers. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two families in these essays. Also explain what each author is telling us about the process of growing up.

Example: Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou write about incidents from their childhoods in which the action of an older relative so influenced them that, later in their lives, they felt compelled to share them with their readers. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two families in these essays. Also explain what each author is telling us about the process of growing up.

Step 2: Brainstorming, making connections. Families: Similarities “Non-traditional,” Maya and her sibs are raised by their grandmother, Langston by his aunt. Religious/Spiritual Authoritarian/Matriarchal

Families: Differences In the context of the stories, Angelou’s grandmother leads by example, while Hughes’ aunt leads by “telling.” “Goals” are different: Grandmother shows Sister a way of dealing with the world in very pragmatic terms, while Aunt Reed wants to instill a spiritual framework with which her nephew can deal with the world.

Possible thesis statement: The two families are similar in structure and in an overall spiritual outlook, but their respective methods and goals are very different which in the end have very different consequences for the growth of their children.

Questions?