Literary Analysis Essay Preparation Summary vs. Analysis Literary Analysis Essay Preparation

Summary vs. Analysis – by definition *definitions from Google.com A brief statement or account of something Detailed examination of the elements or structure of something, typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation

A Vision of Students Today Summarize! Watch the video from Kansas State University: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o Summarize the contents of the video in 5-7 sentences. Discuss your findings with a partner.

Questions related to analysis What is the purpose of the text? Who is the intended audience of text? What is the author’s stance on (subject)? What are the conventions/techniques that achieve the author’s purpose?

A Vision of Students Today Analyze! Now, watch the video again. This time, analyze the video, using the four questions on the previous slide. How did your viewing of the video change? Discuss your findings with a partner.

How do I do this with a text? You can analyze in the same way with a text! It’s EASY, if you follow this simple acronym…. OEA

How do I do this with a text? O– Observation: Make a statement related to your thesis (what do you see in the text that relates to your argument? What is an example of _________ in the text? E – Evidence: Use the text to support your observation. Embed a quote into your own words. Your quote/s should be less than one sentence from the book! For this essay, I’ll need the page number in parenthesis (45). A – Analyze the quotation. This is the most important part! You have to tell me why the quote is important to the reader’s understanding. Explain exactly how the evidence supports your observation, and thus, your thesis. Whatever it is, you MUST point your reader to a larger understanding (theme).

Good vs. Evil Literary Analysis Bad Literary Analysis Why it’s no good! In the beginning of The Glass Castle, the reader learns of the troubles that plague the Walls family. Jeanette recalls a time when she was three years old. She “singed [her] hair and eyelashes” cooking hotdogs on her own. Instead of being alarmed, Jeanette’s mother is “unnaturally calm” (5). We have a good summary of the opening scene of the book – both what happened to Jeanette and how her mother reacted to it. What we don’t have is any commentary – the ‘A’ part of the OEA acronym.

Good vs. Evil Literary Analysis Better Literary Analysis In the beginning of The Glass Castle, the reader learns of the troubles that plague the Walls family. Jeanette recalls a time when she was three years old. She “singed [her] hair and eyelashes” (3) cooking hotdogs on her own and went on to burn much of her body. Instead of being alarmed, Jeanette’s mother is “unnaturally calm” (5) Several aspects of this memory are important for us to notice while tracing the identity of Jeanette. First of all, the idea that she was three years old and cooking a hot dog tells the reader that she was neglected by her mother, who was “work[ing] on one of her paintings” (11). It also demonstrates that, from an early age, Jeanette was willing to do things on her own that her parents refused to do for her, thus establishing an identity independent from Rex and Mary. At the beginning of her life, this is as simple as cooking her own meals, but by the end of the memoir, we see that Jeanette has to make important individual and family decisions without the help of her parents.

Good vs. Evil Literary Analysis Why it’s better! Not only do we establish what part of the memoir we’re discussing, we also include extensive quoting throughout. More importantly, we EXPLAIN why this part of the memoir is important, and what it points to about Jeanette’s identity.