Writing Terms and Literary analysis essay information English II

English II Writing Terminology Essay: A piece of writing that gives your thoughts about a subject. There are many kinds of essays: personal narrative, persuasive, synthesis, literary analysis. All essays should include: Introduction Body paragraphs Concluding paragraph

Literary Analysis Essays Answering a prompt that examines how literary devices reveal something—theme, characterization, motif, symbol, etc. Find a pattern Idea Literary device Examine the pattern What does the device reveal about _____ ? Follow your hunch in evidence and commentary Find significance in the pattern So what? “This series of metaphors about beasts reveals that war turns humans into animals.”

Typical Structure of the Lit. Analysis Essay Introduction Hook Thesis Body Paragraph (Three of these) Topic Sentence CD1 CM CD 2 CD 3 Concluding sentence (CS) Conclusion paragraph (CP)

Parts of the Literary Analysis Essay: Introduction Introduction: First paragraph in an essay that orients readers to the subject and contains the thesis. Hook: First sentence in the essay. First impression of the paper! Should avoid all prompt wording Start NEAR prompt, but DO NOT answer the prompt directly Can talk about particular theme, character, nature of the work as a whole, historical info THAT RELATES TO PROMPT. Thesis (T): LAST sentence within the introduction for in-class essays. A sentence with a subject and opinion in your introductory paragraph that reveals what you will prove in your essay.

Parts of the Essay: Body Paragraphs Body paragraph (BP): A middle paragraph in an essay that develops a point and supports your thesis. Topic Sentence (TS): First sentence in a body paragraph that identifies the subject and opinion for that paragraph. Concrete Details (CD): Specific details that form the backbone of your body paragraphs. Synonyms include: examples, support, proof, evidence, quotations, paraphrasing. For literary analysis, CD=one complete sentence which includes an embedded quotation. Embedded quotation (EQ): A part of a quotation that is integrated into the flow of your own sentence.

Body Paragraphs Continued Commentary (CM): Your opinion or comment about the concrete details you used. Synonyms include: analysis, interpretation, explanation, inference. For literary analysis, one CM=one complete sentence analyzing the preceding CD. Concluding Sentence (CS): The last sentence in a body paragraph that does not repeat TS and gives a finished feeling to the paragraph. Transitions: Words or phrases in an essay that allow the smooth flow from one idea to the next. (For example, furthermore, in addition, however, etc.)

Body Paragraphs Continued Chunk: The smallest unified group of thoughts that you can write. In a literary analysis essay, it consists of one CD and two or more CMs. This ‘chunk’ supports your TS, which in turn supports the thesis. Aim for three complete chunks per body paragraph (11 sentences total including the TS and CS).

Parts of the Essay: Concluding Paragraph Concluding Paragraph (CP): The last paragraph of the essay that may: sum up your ideas reflect on what you said give more commentary about the subject connect to a larger issue or theme.

Basic Assumptions when writing an in-class essay Reader/grader has read the work and understood it. (No plot summary). Reader knows you are writing an essay. (“This essay will be about…”, no referring to “you/your/our/we/us” or “I/me/my/mine”) Though the events and publication of the book happened in the past, since we are talking about it now, write about the work in present tense. I know that particular quotes come from particular places within the work. (“on page 374 in lines 45-49, Homer writes…”)

Create a successful CD by embedding a quote into your own sentence. Embedding Quotations Create a successful CD by embedding a quote into your own sentence.

CDs accomplish several goals: ALL Quotes must be introduced in an essay. They should not just appear or be unceremoniously plopped into the essay. CDs accomplish several goals: Provide context and precision: Who is saying what to whom, when and where are we in the work? Support the topic sentence (TS) and thesis (T) An embedded quote is an impressive strategy and demonstrates more sophisticated writing and understanding of the text.

Embedded Quotes Your words + author’s words + your words=embedded quotation, or CD. Think of it as a sandwich! Examples: Steinbeck reveals “a dread of west and love of east” in many of his works (1). Notice punctuation and capitalization in CD. Notice citation at the END of the sentence.

How to Cite Your Quotation Missing citation=plagiarism. Always cite at the end of the sentence using the author’s last name and page number. For The Iliad, use book and line number (Homer 6.42-43).see where the period goes! Do not insert a comma between the author and page number) For poetry, cite author’s last name and line number (Plath 5). For multiple pages or lines, use a dash to indicate the start and end point (12.211-216).

Playing with the Author’s Words In Literary Analysis essays, avoid the past tense and 1st and 2nd personal pronouns such as: I, me, my, mine, you, you’re, your, yours, our(s), we us. To change the wording (NOT meaning) in a quote, take out the word in question and insert the new word inside [brackets].

Use… of Ellipses… Do not use ellipses at the beginning of an embedded quote.✗ Steinbeck reveals “… a dread of west” in his work (1). DO use an ellipses to indicate missing words or phrases in the middle of the quote. He reveals “a…love of east” in many of his works (Steinbeck 1). What you choose to take out should reflect the idea you are developing.

How to Choose Your Quote Consider the following when choosing CD’s to embed: Strength of relationship to the prompt and your thesis. Key words in quote that you can clearly and persuasively explain in CM. Insightful passage that goes beyond surface-level detail. Search for character motivation, effect of specific language, connection to major themes, effect of action or dialogue within the story.

The Heart of It The HEART is the most important 5-7 words from your chosen passage. Underline it and embed it. Choosing smaller, more precise quotes can help you stay focused on your argument. The Heart should point directly to the TS and Thesis. Use the VERBS in the quote to help embed seamlessly. Focus on the story, rather than the writing

Some Things to Avoid On page 365, Achilles… This quote reveals… Achilles’ ability to denounce his loyalties. This shows that… Agamemnon is a powerful leader. Homer writes, “ Use the story and verbs within the story to embed.