Literary Analysis Mrs. Wesh

Step 1: Write your Thesis Start by writing your THESIS. Your thesis statement will guide the rest of your writing. It should tell the reader what your paper is going to be about. Example: “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs all have a creepy mood. YOUR THESIS WILL BE RED TEXT!!!!

Step 2: Pre-Write We MUST pre-write to gather appropriate and STRONG evidence to support our thesis. Gather 2 pieces of evidence to SUPPORT YOUR THESIS. ***Remember, each quote should be showing something different – it should not be from relatively the same place in the story or showing the exact same thing.*** The Landlady Quote #1 Quote #2 The Tell-Tale Heart The Monkey’s Paw

STEP 3: INTRO INTRODUCTION (Paragraph 1) Effective lead sentence = Topic & Humanity (most people) Brief summary of each text (main characters, setting, conflict, what main characters want) Thesis/Claim: the last sentence in the introduction

Step 4: BODY PARAGRAPHS BODY PARAGRAPHS (Paragraphs 2-4) Topic sentence (black and underlined) Set up (BLUE) Support/quote (BLACK) Explanation (ORANGE) (complete again for each paragraph)

Step 5: CLOSING CLOSING (Paragraph 5) Restate the thesis/claim using different words Summarize main points of your essay End with a concluding sentence

Here is an example PROMPT: You have read passages from the novel The Georges and the Jewels and Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse. Both were written in the first person point of view.   Write an essay in which you compare the way the authors use first person point of view to develop the characters. Be sure to cite specific examples from both passages.

Let’s Break It Down: You have read passages from the novel The Georges and the Jewels and Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse. Both were written in the first person point of view. Write an essay in which you compare the way the authors use first person point of view to develop the characters. Be sure to cite specific examples from both passages. CONTENT: What stories are you being asked to analyze? TASK! TASK! QUOTES!!!

REMEMBER: Remember to always PRE-WRITE. Write your THESIS – FIRST! Then, plan out important quotes that will support your thesis.   In a Literary Analysis, you must QUOTE THE TEXT to support your thesis!!!!! You can expand on the text and explain why it is important to the prompt in your explanation.