1. Writing the Literary Analysis
Rationale: Welcome to “Writing the Literary Analysis.” This 14-slide presentation is designed to help teachers introduce writing literary analyses to their students.
Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page
Writer and Designer: Brian Yothers
Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing Lab
Grant funding courtesy of the Multimedia Instructional Development Center at Purdue University
© Copyright Purdue University, 2002.

2. What is Literary Analysis?
It’s literary (about literature)
It’s an analysis (you are analyzing something)
It’s an Argument!
It may also involve research on and analysis of secondary (other) sources
This screen is designed to provide a brief overview of the entire presentation. The most significant point to be emphasized here is that literary analysis is an argument about a literary work, and that whatever recommendations are made throughout the presentation stem from the need to write persuasively about a clear, debatable thesis.

3. Important literary concepts
The Basics
Plot
Setting
Narration/point of view
Characterization
Symbols
Metaphor
Genre
Irony
Other key concepts
Historical context (how the time period affects the story)
Social, political, economic contexts (how government, society, and money affects the characters in the story.
These concepts can be described in as much detail or as cursorily as time permits. It can be helpful to give an explanation of some of the terms, but also to direct students to glossaries of literary terms that can help them learn about these concepts for themselves.

4. What is an Analysis? An analysis of a literary work may discuss
How the different parts of the book work together (ex: character and theme)
How two separate texts (novels, movies, songs, TV shows) deal with similar concepts or forms
How concepts of the book relate to larger political, social, economic, or religious contexts (1960s issues that affect the plot)
Here the facilitator may wish to give examples of how these categories can play out in essays on specific literary works discussed in class and/or ask students to suggest examples.

5. How is a literary analysis an argument?
When writing a literary analysis, you will focus on specific qualities of the text(s).
When discussing these attributes, you will want to make sure that you are making a specific, arguable point (thesis) about these qualities.
You will defend this point with reasons and evidence drawn from the text. (Much like a lawyer!)
Here the facilitator may wish to define precisely what a thesis statement is give some examples of thesis statements for literary essays. The comparison to law can be useful in order to demonstrate to students that when they write a literary analysis they are advocating a specific understanding of the text in relation to other understandings of the text, some of which their argument may coincide with, and some of which their argument may directly oppose.

6. Which is the best thesis statement?
Moby-Dick is about the problem of evil.
Moby-Dick is boring and pointless.
Moby-Dick is about a big, white whale.
The ocean could be considered a character in the novel Moby-Dick.
The fourth option, while not scintillating, is the one thesis statement on the list that could be developed and supported throughout an essay. A good strategy here is to ask students to talk about why each of the first three options is problematic. (Examples: Option 1 is too broad and abstract, Option 2 is appropriate if they are asked to recommend or not recommend a book to those who haven’t read it but doesn’t offer an interpretation of the book, Option 3 is excessively obvious)

7. How do I support a thesis statement?
Examples from the text:
Direct quotations
Summaries of scenes
Paraphrase
Other writers’ opinions
Historical and social context (history books/articles)
Always remember to read carefully and highlight useful passages and quotes!
Many students need to have the importance of direct quotations emphasized strongly. It may be useful here as well to direct students to the handout on Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting on OWL. The facilitator might also ask students to suggest ways of finding out about historical and social context in preparation for the next two slides.

8. What is a secondary source?
A book or article that discusses The Outsiders
A book or article that discusses an argument similar to the one you are making about The Outsiders
A book or article that discusses the social and historical context of The Outsiders (
Internet searching: (“What was life like in the 1960s?”)
Many students are simply not familiar with the term “secondary sources,” so it’s worthwhile to take the time to define the concept.

9. Integrating secondary sources
When you use secondary sources, be sure to show how they relate to your thesis
Don’t overuse any one secondary source, or for that matter, secondary sources in general
Remember that this is your paper, your argument—the secondary sources are just helping you out
Never, never, never plagiarize! See the handout on plagiarism for more information.
The OWL handout on plagiarism can be a useful supplement for this slide. See

10. Overview of Literary Analysis
When writing a literary analysis:
Be familiar with literary terms
Analyze specific items (not general ideas)
Make an a argument
Make appropriate use of secondary sources
This screen gives the facilitator a chance to sum up the content of the presentation.

11. Possible Topics
Compare an aspect (one thing) of The Outsiders to another book you read this year (Bluford series?), a movie (West Side Story), or a song that addresses a similar theme or character trait, such as forbidden love, friendship, or social ostracism (being an outcast).
Analyze gang life in The Outsiders compared to gang life today. Are they similar? Are they different? What can you find out about suburban gang life (rich kids)? Which is more dangerous to society?
Secondary Source: I would look up ___________________________

12. More Topics
Analyze Johnny’s experience with child abuse. Has the nature of child abuse changed since the 1960s? If so, how?
What secondary source can you find? I would look up __________________________________________________

13. Topics
Analyze how irony is used The Outsiders in terms of characters and events. More specifically, explain how the Socs were more of a disgrace and a menace to society than the Greasers. Look at how society viewed and treated the two groups. Examine the characteristics of each group, their actions, and the choices each made. What was S.E. Hinton trying to teach us about life?
What secondary source can you find? I would look up _____________________ ___________________________________________________________________

14. Topics
Explain how expectations (what people expect) played a role in the lives of the Socs and the Greasers. How did external and internal expectations influence each group’s actions in the novel?
Secondary source? I would look up ________________
_____________________________________________

15. When Writing your Literary Analysis….
1. Write in the present tense.
EXAMPLE: In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," the townspeople visit Emily Grierson's house because it smells bad.
NOT: In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," the townspeople visited Emily Grierson's house because it smelled bad.
2. Normally, keep yourself out of your analysis; in other words, use the third person (no I or you).

16. 3. Avoid summarizing the plot (i.e., retelling the story literally).
PLOT SUMMARY: In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," the mad narrator explains in detail how he kills the old man, who screams as he dies. After being alerted by a neighbor, the police arrive, and the madman gives them a tour through the house, finally halting in the old man's bedroom, where he has buried the man beneath the floor planks under the bed. As he is talking, the narrator hears what he thinks is the old man's heart beating loudly, and he is driven to confess the murder.
ANALYSIS: Though the narrator claims he is not mad, the reader realizes that the narrator in "The Telltale Heart" is unreliable and lies about his sanity. For example, the mad narrator says he can hear "all things in the heaven and in the earth." Sane people cannot. He also lies to the police when he tells them that the shriek they hear occurs in his dream. Though sane people do lie, most do not plan murders, lie to the police, and then confess without prompting. Finally, the madman is so plagued with guilt that he hears his own conscience in the form of the old man's heart beating loudly. Dead hearts do not beat, nor do sane people confuse their consciences with the sounds of external objects.

17. Support your points with many quotations and paraphrases, but write the majority of your paper in your own words with your own ideas.

18. Literary Analysis Rubric
Value: 100 points
I. Format Value: ____ of 3 points
a. Title page (title is not the title of the novel)
b. Double-spaced & appropriate font (12 pt)
c. One-inch margins
d. All pre-writing material present
e. Evidence of editing

19. II. Paper Value: _____ of 80 points
a. Introduction Value: ____ of 10 points
i. Introduces author of text
ii. Introduces title of text
iii. Gives indication of time period associated with text (1960s)
iv. Provides a clear thesis statement

20. b. Body Value: _____ of 60 points
i. Topic sentences relate to and support thesis statement
ii. Information within paragraph supports topic sentence
iii. Evidence from the text connects to topic sentence
iv. Direct quotes have introductions
v. Direct quotes, paraphrases, and summaries are correctly cited in APA format
vi. Transitions are appropriate and move the reader through the paper

21. c. Conclusion Value: ______ of 10 points
i. Re states the thesis
ii. Does not summarize the paper
iii. Does not include “In conclusion” style statements
iv. Applies understanding of the literature to the greater world

22. III. Reference Page Value: _____ of 7 points
a. Is correct in every way (spacing, order, punctuation)
b. Hanging indent, single spaced
c. MLA format

23. Total Points: Grade: IV. Grammar and Style Value: _____ of 10 points
a. Written entirely in present tense
b. Contains no sentence fragments or run-on sentences
c. Avoids contractions (she’ll)
d. Avoids use of the first person (I think)
e. Is properly punctuated
f. Contains no misspelled words
g. Well-written sentences vary in length
h. Language is appropriate to subject and course
Total Points: Grade: