Analytical Writing:
Major No No’s
+Text Citations
• +A quotation can be taken from anywhere in the book. It
doesn’t need to be something a character says. You can
quote the narrator.
• +The author NEVER says anything.
• What is wrong with this?
• On page 23 Hesse says, “They pledged revenge on the rabbit
population; wagering who could kill more. They ought to just shut
up.”
• Karen Hesse does not say it. The narrator does. Billie Jo is the
narrator.
• +The correct citation would be.
+The narrator, Billie Jo, states,
They pledged revenge on the rabbit population;
wagering who could kill more.
They ought to just shut up. (“Rabbit Battles” 23)
+Believe In Yourself
• +Use language with certainty.
• Do not write, “The character was KIND OF, or
SORT OF, or MAYBE, brave.”
• Be confident in your ideas.
• The character was brave. OR
• The character exhibited bravery.
+A Case of the Very’s
• +Generally very is a frowned upon word in
the writing world. If you can’t find a good
enough adjective, just don’t use it.
• The protagonist was very, very sad.
• NOOOOOO!
• The protagonist was devastated.
+Generalizations NO-NO!
• +Do not generalize.
• For Example:
– All students want to impress their teacher.
– Students everywhere enjoy the thrill of a
rollercoaster.
•
•
•
•
When you say: “All authors want to….”
That is the start of a generalization.
Everybody likes bunnies!
NOPE
+Similar and Different
• +DO NOT say: These characters are
similar and different.
• EVERY BOOK is similar or different from
another book.
• Say: Billie Jo is similar to her father
because…
• Billie Jo is different because…
+Not A Book Review
• This is a formal essay.
• You don’t need to say things like,
• “It will have you on the edge of your seat,
wanting more.”
• “I hated this book and will never read it again.”
• “I read two summer reading books this summer.”
• +The assignment calls for an analysis of a
theme in the novel, NOT WHETHER OR NOT
YOU LIKED THE BOOK.
+Stop with “You”!
• + Do not say “you” or “my” or “me” when
writing a literary analysis essay. Use what
happens in the book to prove your thesis.
• Wrong example: This is an example of
my theme because sometimes when you
get mad at someone, you only feel better
when you forgive them, like Billie Jo did.
• RIGHT example: This quotation implies
that forgiveness is a key to happiness
because Billie Jo felt better when she
forgave her father.
+Introductory Paragraph
• +Lead: A statement used to “hook” your reader.
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–
–
Use a universal statement about the essay question that shows your thinking.
It can be a question with your own answer to show how you think.
Use a quotation and explain it’s connection to the essay.
Use a compelling quotation from the book.
Use interesting information about the author or time period relevant to your
thesis.
• +Topic: Introduce the work(s) being analyzed, the
author, and any other facts relevant to your essay topic.
• +Thesis: States what the entire essay/short answer will
be about. This is your ARGUMENT or CLAIM. “I believe
this because of this”
• +Guide: States what the essay will contain and guides
your reader to what each paragraph will be about. You
should have at least two examples.
Essay Question
• Identify a theme represented in Out of the
Dust by Karen Hesse and connect it to the
article “Imagine You Were There” by Alex
Porter and Kristin Lewis.
Identify The Intro Parts!
Often times, life-experience inspires writers to create work that relates
to a myriad of people. Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, is
an example of such a writer. As one of the most successful children’s book
writers ever, Dr. Seuss drew upon his own experience in war to write The
Butter Battle Book. The Butter Battle Book is the Zooks, who eat their toast
with butter-side down and the Yooks, who eat their toast with butter-side up.
The towns enter a weapons race; trying to come up with more destructive
weapons to eviscerate the other side until the climax, where both sides
create a pellet that will destroy both towns if dropped. A predominant theme
in the children’s classic tale is “violence does not solve disagreements”.
This theme is represented when the citizens of the city use all of their
money to create weapons and fancy outfits instead of using it for the
townsfolk. Another example of the theme occurs at the climax when both
towns will be destroyed as a result of violence.
Essay Question
• Identify a theme represented in Out of the
Dust by Karen Hesse and connect it to the
article “Imagine You Were There” by Alex
Porter and Kristin Lewis.
Words to Use Instead of Major
•
•
•
•
•
•
A major theme is….
TRY
A predominant theme is…
An underlying theme throughout…
A prevalent theme…
A theme represented in Out of the Dust…
Lead
Forgiveness can be one of the most
difficult tasks in an individual’s life. So
how can one truly forgive themselves? It
takes a great deal of work and selfanalysis to achieve this, but it is also
important to learn to forgive others.
Topic
The novel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
explores the idea of forgiveness, as the
protagonist, Billie Jo, loses her mother and
brother in an unfortunate accident that is
blamed on her.
Thesis Statement
A predominant theme in Out of the Dust by
is that an individual must learn to forgive
others before they can forgive themselves.
This theme is represented in the article
because the article reflects many of the
hardships that occur in the novel.
Guide
Billie Jo feels deep anger at her father and
personal responsibility for the death of her
mother and brother. In order for Billie Jo to
forgive herself for the terrible tragedy, she must
forgive her father. After forgiving her father, she
is able to forgive herself and move on with her
life. In the article “Imagine You Were There”,
Alex Porter and Kristin Lewis discuss the fact that
even animals seemed like they were trying to
escape the Dust Bowl because conditions were
so bad. The article also suggests that people
stubbornly tried to stay to make money, which
directly relates to Billy Jo’s anger.
Forgiveness can be one of the most difficult tasks in an
individual’s life. So how can one truly forgive themselves? It takes a
great deal of work and self-analysis to achieve this, but it is also
important to learn to forgive others. The novel Out of the Dust by
Karen Hesse explores the idea of forgiveness, as the protagonist,
Billie Jo, loses her mother and brother in an unfortunate accident that
is blamed on her. A predominant theme in Out of the Dust by is that
an individual must learn to forgive others before they can forgive
themselves. This theme is represented in the article, “Imagine You
Were There”, Alex Porter and Kristin Lewis, because the article
reflects many of the hardships that occur in the novel. Billie Jo feels
deep anger at her father and personal responsibility for the death of
her mother and brother. In order for Billie Jo to forgive herself for the
terrible tragedy, she must forgive her father. After forgiving her
father, she is able to forgive herself and move on with her life. In the
article “Imagine You Were There”, Alex Porter and Kristin Lewis
discuss the fact that even animals seemed like they were trying to
escape the Dust Bowl because conditions were so bad. The article
also suggests that people stubbornly tried to stay to make money,
which directly relates to Billy Jo’s anger.
Lead
• The Dust Bowl, which took place in the
early 1900’s represented a time of
opportunity, but also a time of despair.
Topic
• The novel Out of the Dust takes place in
Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. Billie Jo,
the protagonist, experiences incredible
hardships that many people today cannot
even fathom.
Thesis
• A prevalent theme in Out of the Dust is
that the struggle an individual goes
through is more important than where they
wind up in the end. The article “Imagine
You Were There”, Alex Porter and Kristin
Lewis provides harrowing information that
depicts Billie Jo’s struggle.
Guide
• Billie Jo experiences extreme hardships
when she loses her mother and brother to
an accident. Consequently, there is
almost no food or money for her father and
her to survive. However, in the end, Billie
Jo comes to realize that the struggle
helped her become a more complete
person. The article provides evidence of
Billie Jo’s plight.
The Dust Bowl, which took place in the early 1900’s
represented a time of opportunity, but also a time of despair.
The novel Out of the Dust takes place in Oklahoma during the
Dust Bowl. Billie Jo, the protagonist, experiences incredible
hardships that many people today cannot even fathom. A
prevalent theme in Out of the Dust is that the struggle an
individual goes through is more important than where they wind
up in the end. The article “Imagine You Were There”, Alex
Porter and Kristin Lewis provides harrowing information that
depicts Billie Jo’s struggle. Billie Jo experiences extreme
hardships when she loses her mother and brother to an
accident. Consequently, there is almost no food or money for
her father and her to survive. However, in the end, Billie Jo
comes to realize that the struggle helped her become a more
complete person. The article provides evidence of Billie Jo’s
plight.
Body Paragraph
• +Topic Sentence: Your topic sentence will inform the reader of
what the paragraph will be about. Refer to your introductory
paragraph (guide) to help you with this.
• +Text Evidence: You need to introduce your text evidence that
proves your argument. You MUST also introduce the text evidence
by giving SOME background information. Too much background
information will become a summary.
• +Explanation: You need to explain, specifically, how the text
evidence proves your argument/thesis.
• +Repeat: You may need to repeat the text evidence and
explanation steps if you have more than one piece of text evidence.
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Academic Vocabulary
Explaining the Usage of Text Evidence
This quotation shows….
OR
This quotation conveys…
The theme is portrayed here because…
The narrator illustrates…
The struggle depicted in this quotation…
As evidenced by this quotation…
This suggests…
This implies…
The implication of this quotation is…
Often times, life-experience inspires writers to create work
that relates to a myriad of people. Theodor Seuss Geisel, also
known as Dr. Seuss, is an example of such a writer. As one of
the most successful children’s book writers ever, Dr. Seuss
drew upon his own experience in war to write The Butter Battle
Book. The Butter Battle Book is the Zooks, who eat their toast
with butter-side down and the Yooks, who eat their toast with
butter-side up. The towns enter a weapons race; trying to
come up with more destructive weapons to eviscerate the other
side until the climax, where both sides create a pellet that will
destroy both towns if dropped. A predominant theme in the
children’s classic tale is “violence does not solve
disagreements”. This theme is represented when the citizens
of the city use all of their money to create weapons and fancy
outfits instead of using it for the townsfolk. Another example of
the theme occurs at the climax when both towns will be
destroyed as a result of violence.
Often times, life-experience inspires writers to create work
that relates to a myriad of people. Theodor Seuss Geisel, also
known as Dr. Seuss, is an example of such a writer. As one of
the most successful children’s book writers ever, Dr. Seuss
drew upon his own experience in war to write The Butter Battle
Book. The Butter Battle Book is the Zooks, who eat their toast
with butter-side down and the Yooks, who eat their toast with
butter-side up. The towns enter a weapons race; trying to
come up with more destructive weapons to eviscerate the other
side until the climax, where both sides create a pellet that will
destroy both towns if dropped. A predominant theme in the
children’s classic tale is “violence does not solve
disagreements”. (BP1)This theme is represented when the
citizens of the city use all of their money to create weapons and
fancy outfits instead of using it for the townsfolk. (BP2)Another
example of the theme occurs at the climax when both towns will
be destroyed as a result of violence.
Topic Sentence (BP 2)
As a result of the weapons race between the Yooks and
the Zooks, a new weapon was created. This weapon, which
was a metaphor for the atomic bomb, would kill both groups of
people if dropped, thus proving that violence does not solve
disagreements.
Text Evidence (BP2)
The Yook grandfather goes to collect the weapon,
You just run to the wall like a nice little man
Drop this bomb on the Zooks just as fast as you can.
I have ordered all Yooks to stay safe underground
while the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo is around. (“Poem Name” 32)
Explanation(BP2)
This quotation conveys the dark intentions
of the Yooks to destroy the Zooks, while
potentially harming their own people.
Although their people will be hidden “safe
underground”, a nuclear bomb could still
be fatal.
Repeat (BP2)
The theme is also illustrated when the young Yook child is
speaking to his grandfather. He states,
“Grandpa!” I shouted. “Be careful! Oh, gee!
Who’s going to drop it?
Will you…? Or will he…?”
“Be patient,” said Grandpa. “We’ll see.
We will see…” (“Poem Name” 36)
This cryptic ending to The Butter Battle Book portrays a
child asking his grandfather who will drop the weapon
first. Clearly, the disagreement has not been solved.
Violence has become the solution to their simple
disagreement. But at what cost?
As a result of the weapons race between the Yooks and the Zooks, a new
weapon was created. This weapon, which was a metaphor for the atomic bomb,
would kill both groups of people if dropped, thus proving that violence does not solve
disagreements. The Yook grandfather goes to collect the weapon,
You just run to the wall like a nice little man
Drop this bomb on the Zooks just as fast as you can.
I have ordered all Yooks to stay safe underground
while the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo is around. (“Poem Name” 32)
This quotation conveys the dark intentions of the Yooks to destroy the Zooks, while
potentially harming their own people. Although their people will be hidden “safe
underground”, a nuclear bomb could still be fatal. The theme is also illustrated when
the young Yook child is speaking to his grandfather. He states,
“Grandpa!” I shouted. “Be careful! Oh, gee!
Who’s going to drop it?
Will you…? Or will he…?”
“Be patient,” said Grandpa. “We’ll see.
We will see…” (“Poem Name” 36)
This cryptic ending to The Butter Battle Book portrays a child asking his grandfather
who will drop the weapon first. Clearly, the disagreement has not been solved.
Violence has become the solution to their simple disagreement. But at what cost?
Add The Article
Sentence Starters
• This is reflected by the article ________
because…
• How to Cite the Article:
• The authors of the article convey the fear
people had during the Dust Bowl as they
describe what it looked like, “And then
they saw it: on the horizon, a monstrous
cloud of dust, hundreds of feet high. It
was a swirling, churning, roaring mass”
(Lewis, Porter 6).