1. Planning and Writing a passage analysis essay

2. Pre-writing: Follow these steps
Read the prompt and mark up any hints or special instructions.
Read the passage carefully. Mark up any techniques, devices, or patterns in imagery or diction.
Identify shifts in tone, point of view or theme.
Write a sentence that sums up the context and central idea of the passage. Example:
Decide on what organizing structure you will use (i.e. by technique, tone, topic, shift or structure.
Write a thesis that include meaning, techniques and roadmap.
Write the introduction and go…….

3. Writing the Introductions:
1. Engage the reader (this is not essential in a timed passage analysis essay). Do not list techniques in first sentence.
1-3 context sentences—briefly describe what the passage is about and suggest the central theme or idea. This does not need to be complete or detailed but should orient your reader and let them know that you “got” the passage.
Thesis statement –this should only come after establishing the context. Should include roadmap—some indication of how your essay will unfold. Don’t list “naked devices” (diction, syntax, imagery). Instead use a word or two that indicates what kind (gruesome diction, weather imagery)
Don’t repeat the prompt—use your own words.

4. Introduction Examples:
D. H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow captures a rural woman’s desire for exploration and knowledge amidst a community of short-sighted men who are entrapped by the mundaneness of their own existence. Through the use of rhetorical questions, repetition and contrasting imagery Lawrence demonstrates the woman’s longing for escape from her earthbound farming life.
Poor intro:
In the novel The Rainbow written by D. H. Lawrence, the author uses a variety of literary devices such as imagery, diction and syntax to characterize the woman and her situation.

5. Methods of organizing:
By tone: If a work has multiple tones, this may work well, particularly since you will be writing how the author conveys a certain tone….which means you will be talking about devices. Remember that tone/attitude is complex: a narrator/speaker/character can feel more than one way about a subject or feel conflicted about a subject.
By Device: This is the most obvious and, if all you talk about is imagery and diction, not the most imaginative. Be careful with diction, imagery and figurative language because there may be a lot of overlap between these three.

6. Methods of organizing:
By topic: if a work deals with or than one theme, location, idea, etc., it may make sense to organize by theme, location idea, etc. As with tone you would discuss multiple devices within each body paragraph.
By Shift: literary works often contain a shift of some kind (especially in poems—and especially in AP exams—the college board seems to love shifts). Organizing around a shift you would likely devote a paragraph to pre-shift and one to post shift and possibly a paragraph in the middle about the shift itself. Sifts often occur in tone, speaker, theme, motif

7. Methods of Organizing:
By Structure: Sometimes a piece lends itself to a body paragraph on the beginning, the middle and the end (this would be the “as it unfolds” method). This is most appropriate for a text that has a strong narrative element. Within each body paragraph you would discuss the various devices used in that section.

8. Final thoughts about organizing:
There is no one right way.
The text you are analyzing should suggest the method of organizing—it should be “organic” in that it should “grow” out of the text itself rather than be imposed on top of it.
Also think about what works best with your strengths as a writer and allows you to feel confident and relaxed in a timed writing situation.
Now is the time (when you are not taking the exam) to experiment with different methods.

9. Body paragraph structure:
Topic sentence—should clearly convey what you are analyzing in that paragraph. Should relate to something indicated in the thesis statement. Should include specifics about techniques the author uses.
Chunks—usually 2 per paragraph, 3 is even better.
Concrete detail—specific evidence from the text (usually a short quotation that is well integrated) that shows what you have claimed in the topic sentence.
Commentary—2-3 sentences that explain how the evidence is an example of how the writer conveys meaning through the device.
Closing sentence—sums up the paragraph and segues into next paragraph (hopefully!)

10. So just to be clear: Topic sentence Concrete evidence Commentary
Concluding sentence

11. Here is an example of a topic sentence plus the first chunk:
The opening image of Judd straddling his bike establishes his innocence, and later the image of the pickup truck symbolizes the contrasting world of experience in which Judd’s father and brother reside. The image of the bike reappears in the latter part of the passage as the pickup truck is “barreling up the drive,” breaking into Judd’s trance. The bike and the pickup truck are both modes of transportation, but they are different in terms of what they symbolize. Bikes carry with them the suggestion of childhood and therefore innocence. Bikes also may represent a child’s newfound independence, since they give children the mobility to carry them away from home. In a way, the bike is a symbol for the bridge between childhood and adulthood—exactly where Judd is--on his bike, on a bridge.