1. Writing About Literature
Character Analysis Research Paper
Writing About Literature

2. Become an Academic Writer
Analyze your audience
Determine your audience
Format your structure
Develop a thesis statement
Organize your thoughts logically

3. Analyze your character
What is the character’s role in the story?
How did the character interact with others?
What does the character’s thoughts, actions, and words reveal about the character?
Was the character static or dynamic? In other words, stay the same or change?

4. Literary Research Paper
Analysis of a literary work combined with research about the work, characters, or author.
The paper focuses on primary sources (the piece of literature and your observations) and secondary sources (a critic’s view)

5. Language in Literary Analysis
Use Present Tense Verbs
E.g. The old people live in a meager existence. Brooks emphasizes how isolated the couple is. The critic describes the lines as despairing.

6. Language in Literary Analysis
Put in your opinions, but avoid using I.
E.g. I think the character evokes the reader’s sympathy.
The character evokes the reader’s sympathy.
Use quotes, paraphrases, and summaries.

7. Do’s and Don’ts Do not merely summarize the literary work.
Use quotations from the literary work.
Integrate quotes into your own sentences.
Use present tense verbs
Follow the MLA format