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Creation of a Literary Analysis Essay. Mr. Ward’s English. Format for Papers:. All of the literary papers you will write in this class will consist of three main parts: INTRO w/THESIS Body Paragraphs Topic Sentences, FACTS (Concrete Details), and ANALYSIS (Commentary) Conclusion. Thesis:.
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Creation of a Literary Analysis Essay Mr. Ward’s English
Format for Papers: • All of the literary papers you will write in this class will consist of three main parts: • INTRO w/THESIS • Body Paragraphs • Topic Sentences, FACTS (Concrete Details), and ANALYSIS (Commentary) • Conclusion
Thesis: • The thesis tells the reader what the writer will prove in the essay • Tells the main idea of the paper • The last sentence of the introductory paragraph • Example: • Due to an experimental surgery, Charlie experienced advantages and disadvantages in his life and in his mind. • Example from freshman year: • Sanger Rainsford is an intelligent hunter who must outwit the General to save his life.
Topic Sentences • Occur at the beginning of each body paragraph. • Must NOT repeat any key words from the thesis, for it will be written directly after the thesis. • It must, however, connect directly with the thesis. • Thesis: Due to an experimental surgery, Charlie experienced advantages and disadvantages in his life and in his mind. • Topic Sentence: Charlie’s operation benefitted him in many ways. • The topic sentence will summarize the main idea of the paragraph just like the thesis summarizes the entire paper.
Facts (Quotes) • Is written directly after the topic sentence. • The “Facts” of your papers are examples from the story to help you prove your point. • They must be found in the story. • Direct quote: For example, the General gives Rainsford the option to hunt or the General will “turn him over to Ivan” (24). • Note: You are quoting the AUTHOR; therefore, anything that is written may be quoted. • After each quote, remember PPP • Parentheses, Page number, Period • “I was very skared [sic]” (170). The period is always last.
Body Paragraphs • Quotes • Weave in quotes without speaker tags: DO NOT USE!! (he said, “…” she expressed, “…” etc.) • Also, we must shorten the quotes for emphasis. • “I figured out a new way to line up the machines at the factory and Mr. Donnegan says it will save him ten thousand dollars a year in labor. • Determine what can be omitted from the quote and could be added in your own words. • Charlie’s new found intelligence assists him at his work by “figur[ing] out a new way to line up the machines at the factory” (180). • Use brackets to change sentences: [ing] or [ed]
Body Paragraphs cont. • When we include our quote we must remember: TLQ • Transition • Lead in • Quote • Original Sentence: • “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.” • For Example, although his newfound intelligence allowed him to experience life positively, he realized that it also had “driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved.”
Body Paragraphs cont. • Use brackets to change tenses or add -ing to words. • Also, you can use brackets and [sic] to signify a typo made by the author. • “I was very skared [sic].” • The adverb sic—meaning "intentionally so written"—first appeared in English circa 1856. It is derived from the Latin adverb sīc, which contains a long vowel and means "so", "thus", "as such" or "in such a manner". • After each quote, remember PPP • Parentheses, Page number, Period • “I was very skared [sic]” (170). The period is always last.
Body Paragraphs cont. • After the quotes, you need to provide at least two sentences of analysis. • The analysis should explain how the quote proves the Topic Sentence. • You CANNOT have facts in these sentences. • You must have two or more sentences of analysis for each fact. • Remember that you can always change your thesis and topic sentences to fit your analysis. • The analyses are the most important part of your essay. • These sentences bring “YOU” into the literature. Your voice/analyses is the important part of your paper.
Well written Papers • When a writer uses only a series of facts, the paper is a book report. There are no individual THOUGHTS. • Therefore, when writing literary analysis, you must include opinions/explanations for your facts/quotes. • Do NOT use first or second person, EVER! • I, Me, My • We, Us, Our, Ours • You, Your, Yours
Well written papers cont… • Do NOT use • should, would, could, maybe, may, might, must, seems, probably • These words signal irrelevant ideas or that you are unsure of your thoughts. • Avoid “Dead Words”: • a lot • really • good • very • bad • mean • nice • dumb • and any other over-used, general terms
Well written papers cont… • Be sure to put the titles of short stories in “quotation marks”. • Titles of novels should be underlined. • Be sure to spell main characters’ and authors’ names correctly. • Do not repeat key phrases. Come up with new words. Use Thesaurus. • Keep all verbs in the same tense. • DO NOT SWITCH TENSES!!!
Intro Paragraph • First sentence: General statement related to theme in thesis. (Everyone can relate to) • What is our thesis about… • Society believes that ignorance equates to bliss, but does that mean that intelligence always equates to happiness. There are no easy routes to happiness. • Second and/or third sentence: Another general sentence(s) that narrow the topic down to your thesis. (Relate more to the story.)
Intro Paragraph cont. • In the next sentence remember: AGTS • Author • Genre • Title • Summarize how Charlie fits with the first two sentences of the intro. • In Daniel Keyes’ short story “Flowers for Algernon,” Charlie learns the truth. • This leads right into the thesis: • His experimental surgery has positives and negatives consequences.
Anatomy of the Conclusion: • The conclusion begins with a restatement of the thesis, not a repetition, and gradually widens toward a final , broad statement of implication. • Borrows from the body paragraphs, without being flatly repetitive or listing points already covered. • Creates echoes of the introduction and body paragraphs to reinforce analysis/ ideas. • Moves outward with a statement that relates the thesis to a broader implication
Expand on the implications of your analysis: So what? Why do we care about these ideas? What’s so important about what you’ve developed in your paper? • The conclusion need not be longer than four to six sentences, as with the introduction.
Conclusion: • Start specific, then get general and important. Introduction Conclusion