1. Retrieved from http://www.elacommoncorelessonplans.com/literature-reading-standards/how-to-write-a-literary-analysis.html Writing a Paragraph http://www.elacommoncorelessonplans.com/literature-reading-standards/how-to-write-a-literary-analysis.html NOTE: CUT AND PASTE THE URL TO LEARN MORE OF THE FOLLOWING TOPICS 1.WRITING TOPIC SENTENCES 2.TEACHING PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE 3.USING TRANSITIONS EFFECTIVELY 4.PARAGRAPH CHALLENGE 5.THE METHODS OF PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT 6.PARAGRAPH WRITING 7.USING SUPPORTING DETAILS EFFECTIVELY 8.HOW TO REVISE AND GRADE AN ESSAY

2. Strategies and Procedures for Teaching Annotating Annotate any text from which you may need to produce evidence, such as an analysis. As you read highlight key information. As you read take marginal notes. These notes can include stars, check marks, phrases, questions, question marks, words, etc. Keep a list of key information with page numbers on the front cover of the book (Students will need guidance on what constitutes key information, which depends on genre, purpose, and reading level.). Write a brief summary at the end of each chapter or section. Write an alternative title for each chapter or section. List vocabulary words on the back cover.

3. The introduction must introduce the literary work, capture the reader’s attention, and include a clearly written thesis statement that contains the literary interpretation. The body of the essay must support the thesis statement through evidence–facts, examples, summaries–and commentary–opinions, analysis, interpretation, insight. The conclusion summarizes the interpretation and allows the writer to draw attention to the most important aspects of the analysis. An ‘A’ essay does the following: Identifies the author, title, and gives a brief summary of the literary work. Provides a clear interpretation of the author’s message and purpose. Provides details, quotations The Basics of Writing a Literary Analysis How to write an interpretive essay or how to write a literary analysis:

4. Common Pitfalls Following are the most common errors with literary analysis: Writing a Summary: No matter how many times you emphasize that you do not want a summary, you’ll still get them. The only way to eliminate this error is to model analysis and give really low grades to students who summarize rather than analyze. Listing Facts: A close relative of the summary is listing facts. It’s also called the, “I’ll list as many facts as I can about this literary work and hope the teacher doesn’t grade it very closely” syndrome. Explain that listing facts without explaining how the fact supports the thesis statement or why that fact is important is useless. Having No Evidence: At the other end of the bad analysis spectrum is the no evidence analysis. It consists of nothing but conjecture.

5. Writing and Drafting Reread the literary work several times. This seems logical to teachers. It’s not logical for students. Read through the first time to get a feel for the work. Reread and look for passages and ideas that stand out or have special meaning. Before drafting, brainstorm possible interpretations. A good strategy is to write annotations as you read.write annotations Discuss the interpretation with others who have read the work. As a teacher, it’s important to have class discussions on works being analyzed. Make sure you have a clear answer to the following questions as you write or revise:  What is the main point of the essay? This main point should be clearly identified in the thesis statement.the thesis statement.  What evidence best supports the interpretation?evidence best supports the interpretation  Are there any points that should be added to clarify the interpretation?  Is there any superfluous evidence that could be deleted?