Introductory Paragraph ANT

ANT Attention-getter—see tree map for suggestions. Necessary information—be sure you mention the author’s name, title of short story in quotations, and some sort of plot summary (only 1-2 sentence summary) Thesis—This sentence is the main idea of your paper and touches on the three points you will show in your body paragraphs.

Body Paragraphs in Literary Analysis

Topic Sentence This sentence will sum up your paragraph, but make sure it has a clear relation to your thesis. There should also be some sort of transition in this sentence; it doesn’t necessarily have to be at the beginning. Example: To begin with, Brother is a believable narrator because he admits the shame he felt about even having a brother like Doodle in the first place.

Explanation Sentence This is simply a sentence to further explain your topic sentence. Use a transition with this sentence also. Example: In other words, someone who volunteers negative information about himself comes across as a person who is willing to tell the truth at his own expense.

Quote Integration A quote cannot stand alone as one sentence. There must be some of your words mixed in. There are three ways to do this: 1. Use a brief introduction. 2. Use a sentence introduction followed by a colon. 3. Sprinkle your sentence with key phrases instead of entire sentences, which should be surrounded with quotations marks.

Use a brief introduction: Brother tells the reader, “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him” (Hurst 417).

Use an entire sentence followed by a colon to introduce: Brother tells the reader how much Doodle’s birth disturbed him: “It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him” (Hurst 417).

Sprinkle key phrases into your own sentences: Brother was so disturbed by his brother’s appearance at birth that he “made plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (Hurst 417).

Explain quotation each time: No quote is self explanatory. You can always say something after it. This explanation must relate to the topic sentence and thesis. Example (explanation of previously used quote): If someone is able to admit that he yearns to kill his brother simply due to his physical disabilities, that person must be pretty honest, and, therefore, a reliable narrator.

Transition to another example that is followed by its own explanation: Furthermore, after he accepts Doodle, Brother doesn’t truly want to spend time with him: “To discourage his coming with me, I’d run with him across the ends of the cotton rows and careen him around corners on two wheels” (417). Again, Brother shows his uncaring attitude towards Doodle, putting him in danger just so he doesn’t have to spend time with him.

Concluding Sentence: This sentence sums up what you are saying by making a point. Brother’s ability to take responsibility for how badly he treated Doodle in his early years shows that he doesn’t try to make excuses for himself, which shows that he is a trustworthy person.

Basic Outline of Body Paragraph 1. Topic sentence that relates to thesis with some sort of transitional word or phrase. 2. Explanation sentence (define quality) Introduction of quote Quote with citation--“quote” (412). Explanation of quote relating to thesis Repeat steps 2-4 Concluding sentence

Conclusion Paragraph RAT

RAT Restate thesis. Add summary of points from your body paragraph. Tie back to your attention getter.