How to write a successful analytical essay

  Double space entire essay  Heading John Public Mr. Lyke World Literature Honors 14 October 2015  Header  Right aligned  Last Name page # (Public 1)  Title (centered)  Not generic  Reflect topic MLA

The bridge from your reader’s daily life into your fascinating analysis

  First impressions  Road map  Capture reader’s attention Purpose

  Hook  Grab the attention of the reader  Make your topic appealing  Background  Draw the reader into the topic and the work  Provide a framework for your discussion  Thesis  What you will prove in the essay  ***All sentences in the introduction should link together to provide flow of ideas Structure

  Avoid stating the title in the hook  Native Son is a novel about the struggles of African- Americans in the 1940’s.  Avoid vague statements  Life for African Americans was difficult in the 1940’s.  Avoid definitions  Avoid restating the question  Avoid “book report” introductions  Richard Wright wrote Native Son in The novel tells the story of a young black man growing up in Chicago.  Avoid “In this paper” and any “I” statements Hook

  Make the audience care about your topic  Should be 2-3 sentences  Make your hook fun or intriguing  Vivid anecdote / example  Provocative quotation  Enigmatic statement Hook

  State the author, title and a general idea / summary of the novel  Should be 2-3 sentences Background

  Debatable statement that you will prove in the essay  Doesn’t simply state facts  Not just a summary  Answers the question or topic asked of you  Provides a roadmap for your essay Thesis

  Avoid grocery list theses  The North fought for slaves’ freedom, rights and equality.  Avoid “In this paper” and any “I” statements Thesis

  A weak thesis can destroy an essay  The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some similar and some different. instead  Be specific  Both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression; Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners sought to defend their right to self-government. Thesis

 The 1940’s was a time of racial inequality and economic disparity in the United States of America. Many African American writers, frustrated with the lack of advancement generated by the Harlem Renaissance, created works of literature to protest the racial tensions and issues in the country. Richard Wright created the novel Native Son, a controversial look at the bleak life many African Americans were living. Bigger Thomas, the protagonist of the novel, initiates huge controversy because he murders a white woman and feels powerfully liberated after the crime. Despite the fact that Bigger commits murder, he is the true victim in this novel because he is a product of the violent environment in which he has been raised, was forced into a situation in which he had no free will, and did not receive a fair trial. Red– Hook Green – Background Black – Thesis Example Introduction

 The 1940’s was a time of racial inequality and economic disparity in the United States of America. Many African American writers, frustrated with the lack of advancement generated by the Harlem Renaissance, created works of literature to protest the racial tensions and issues in the country. Richard Wright created the novel Native Son, a controversial look at the bleak life many African Americans were living. Bigger Thomas, the protagonist of the novel, initiates huge controversy because he murders a white woman and feels powerfully liberated after the crime. Despite the fact that Bigger commits murder, he is the true victim in this novel because he is a product of the violent environment in which he has been raised, was forced into a situation in which he had no free will, and did not receive a fair trial. Red– Hook Green – Background Black – Thesis Links Example Introduction

How to organize your essay

  Topic sentence  First sentence in each body paragraph that states what you will prove  Must link back to your thesis statement  Transition sentence  Last sentence in the paragraph  Concludes argument and transitions to next topic  Good idea to link transition to next topic Structure

Use the author’s words and your explanation to prove your point

  Choose quotations that support your position  Do not overload the paper by using too many quotes or quoting too much information.  The majority of the paper should be composed of your words  Avoid leaving quotes as sentences unto themselves.  Even if you have provided some context for the quote, a quote standing alone can disrupt your flow Quotations

  Introduce / provide context for your quotation  Explain the meaning of your quotation Sophocles establishes the hubris of Oedipus through the king’s declarations to his people who are suffering from a plague. Oedipus thought so highly of himself that he believed the people should not pray to the gods for salvation, but “Let [him] grant their prayers” (245). This quote shows that Oedipus believes he has the ability to grant the prayers of his people more than the gods of the land. avoid this Quotations

  Do not take the quotation out of context  Use ellipses “... “to indicate omitted material  Use brackets to indicate edited material  “[him]self” as opposed to “myself”  Citation punctuation goes outside the parentheses.  Put parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence Quotations

  Embed quotation in your sentence when possible  The entire town was looking forward to the game and John “could hardly contain his enthusiasm” for the evening’s match (Jones 2).  Use the grammar of your sentence when quoting material  When Hamlet tells Rosencrantz that he “could be bounded in a nutshell and count [him]self a king of infinite space,” he implies that thwarted ambition did not cause his depression (II.ii ).  Offset the quotation by using commas  When faced with a troll, Ron gathers his courage, shouting, “ Wingardium Leviosa!” and drops the club on its head (Rowling 176). Quotations

The bridge from your fascinating analysis back to your reader’s daily life… hopefully better for the experience

  Synthesize, don’t summarize  Do not just restate your topics, tie it all together  “So What!”  Summarize your paper and ask yourself “So What?”  Your response to the question will provide you with a great conclusion  Return to key ideas in your hook Conclusion

  Do not use the phrases “in conclusion,” “in summary” or any “I” statements  Do not simply restate your thesis  Do not use quotations that should have been in the body of the essay  Do not introduce new topics  Do not make emotional appeals out of character with the essay Conclusion