Paragraphs Writing strong literary analysis paragraphs with embedded evidence

Topic Sentence Tells what the paragraph will be about. ◦In short answers it is the answer to a question or expresses an opinion ◦“mini-thesis”  What paragraph will prove

Concrete Detail Comes from the text ◦Paraphrase ◦Summary ◦Quotation

Commentary This is ANALYSIS ◦Explains a quote ◦Shows how evidence fits a topic sentence ◦Answers “so what?” about your evidence

1 CD 2 CM For every fact, quote, summary, or paraphrase need two COMMENTARY sentences to explain. ◦1 long c/c sentence counts as 2CM

CHUNK 1CD:2CM is a chunk. 3 chunks per paragraph is minimum

Concluding Sentence TWO WAYS TO WRITE Paraphrase/Restate answer—single paragraph Transition to next paragraph—in essays BEST Concluding Sentences leave your reader with a thought about what can be learned from the text or from your analysis.

Sample Millay’s 3 quatrain poem “The Courage that My Mother Had” deals with devastating loss and the courage necessary to cope with it. The speaker’s characterization of her mother as “granite”(4) indicates the depth of her loss. She has figuratively lost her “rock”(11) in this life and desperately wishes to be more like her mother, “granite” in the face of adversity. Her mother’s courage is the trait the speaker most admired, and now envies. The speaker must overcome the loss and transform herself into the “rock” of the family. One cannot be “like rock” without courage. The speaker’ wish for courage instead of the mother’s heirloom (8-9) demonstrates this wish for transformation. The living have need of courage, the dead “have no more need of” (12) it. Coping with devastation and the severe loss that accompanies it requires more bravery than anything else.

Sample TS with chunk