ELA 20 Literary Analysis Essay Feedback

Directions Using the feedback provided, make changes to your literary analysis essay. You may follow along with the teacher or you may go through the slides on your own.

Formatting: MLA MLA GUIDELINES use 8.5 x 11” (white paper, one side only) set all margins to 1” (2.5 cm) on all sides Double space everything in your essay including quotations use 12 point Times New Roman font indent the first line of every paragraph 1” include a header with your last name and a page number in the upper right corner (do not include the word “page” or any abbreviation of the word) use Arabic numerals for your page numbers

Formatting the first page literary or research essays do not require a title page in the upper left corner of your first page, include: your name teacher’s name Class name Date Centre the title of your essay do not use a bold or a larger font in your title Title must be engaging and relates to the assignment

Intro A topic sentence Bonus: introduce the topic in an interesting way A quote A charming summary A statistic Clear thesis (something that can be argued and defended) Note the texts and authors that you will use to prove the thesis

For each body paragraph Introduce text as evidence of the thesis (USE A TRANSITION STATEMENT) “An example of a text that proves [the thesis] is…” “[Author] addresses [the thesis] by…” “[Text} is an example of [the thesis] because…] Use evidence from the text Quotes, specific page numbers, detail Conclude with connecting the text directly to the thesis

Conclusion Restate the intro in different words. Include: Topic Thesis Texts Can be more vague ALSO INCLUDE: why it’s important/memorable

Citations (everything you say about a text should be cited, it acts as proof) Must cite direct quotes “I had never seen a shining new penny before that day” (Buckler 135). Include author and page number (no comma) You do not need to include the author if you introduce the author before the reference: “Buckler explained in the story that “[he] had never seen a shining new penny before that day” (135). [square brackets] indicate you have changed the context to make it grammatically correct Punctuation goes after the citation Must cite paraphrased information (information you put in your own words) The character in “Penny in the Dust” had never seen a penny before the day his father gave him one (Buckler 135). OR Buckler’s character in “Penny in the Dust” had never seen a penny before the day his father gave him one (135).

Using quotes Carefully select quotes that prove the thesis (you can paraphrase everything else) Introduce the quote before using it? Who said it? What was the text? What was the context of it being said? Interpret the quote/put it in your own words/explain its significance/relate to the thesis Hypothetically you should be able to pluck the quote out of the paragraph and it still makes sense and the argument is defended For each quote you should do at least two forms of analysis (Interpret the quote/put it in your own words/explain its significance/relate to the thesis)

Commas!!! IN GENERAL: as a group we overuse them frequently When to use them (in general): When listing separate elements To connect two independent clauses (conjunction used between the clauses) Comma goes before the conjunction! To set off parenthetical references (added info that could be taken out and still understood) To set off different adjectives To set off contrasting elements To set off introductory elements to avoid confusion SEE ADDITIONAL POWERPOINT ON COMMAS IF YOU NEED

Formal Language Avoid contractions #s versus numbers (16 versus sixteen) Avoid abbreviations Avoid slang

Tenses Use past tense UNLESS discussing characters Characters are assumed to be alive (hence present tense) UNLESS they are explicitly claimed to be dead (past tense)

Overall Literature is used to prove the thesis, NOT to retell the story Should be able to read the essay aloud and it does not sound awkward