Student Name: ____________________________
Teacher __________________ Class ___
English 12 Academic: Literary Analysis Assignment and Deadlines
Abstract: “Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature” (Purdue Owl).
Over the course of the semester, you will learn to read with a critical eye and formulate an opinion on
a text. The ability to analyze a text is a skill necessary for success in college. It requires close attention
to detail and the ability to view a text from various perspectives.
A. “Beowulf” Literary Analysis
Due Date: October 24, 2013
Objective: The purpose of this assignment is to learn how to read a text closely and, in doing so, to
support a thesis in 3-5 pages. Your literary analysis should present a clear focus, where you construct a
researchable thesis and expound on your point throughout the paper. Your ultimate goal is to
demonstrate new understanding of the text.
Sample Beowulf Thesis Statements
1. Beowulf is steeped in a Pagan tradition that depicts nature as hostile and forces of death as
uncontrollable. Blind fate picks random victims; man is never reconciled with the world.
2. Beowulf presents an ideal of loyalty to a Thane, the ultimate bond. The failure to live up to this
ideal on the part of some Thanes points up the extraordinary faithfulness of Beowulf.
3. Beowulf is a blending of Christian traditions with a folk story that extols virtues of loyalty, courage,
and faith in the face of extreme dangers and even death. It presents a model of man willing to die to
deliver his fellow men from terrifying evil forces.
4. Beowulf is the story of a dual ordeal: an external battle with vicious opponents and an internal
battle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self-concern.
5. Beowulf is the universal story of man's journey from adolescence to adulthood to old age and the
growth in wisdom about self and the world gained through the pain and triumph of experience.
“Beowulf” Literary Analysis: Checkpoints
Checkpoint #1: (October 3, 2013) / Library Day - October 1, 2013

Solid (provable) thesis is constructed.

Two reliable sources are properly cited using MLA format.

1 ½ pages of text are written.
____ / 50
Thesis Statement:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Secondary Source #1:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Secondary Source #2:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Checkpoint #2: (October 10, 2013) /Library Day – October 9, 2013

Three (3) pages of text are written.

Primary and secondary sources are evident in paper (minimum of 3 secondary)

MLA format is properly used.
_____ / 50
Secondary Source #3:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
B. Hamlet Literary Analysis
Due Date: December 10, 2013
Objective: The purpose of this assignment is to learn how to read a text closely and, in doing so, to
support a thesis in 3-5 pages. Your literary analysis should present a clear focus, where you construct a
researchable thesis and expound on your point throughout the paper. Your ultimate goal is to
demonstrate new understanding of the text.
Sample Hamlet Thesis Statements
1. Hamlet, a tortured hero with a feigned madness seeking revenge for the death of his father kills
everyone who stood on his way and finally succeeds in taking vengeance for the murder of his father
by killing the murderer, King Claudius.
2. Melancholy, pretended madness, flaws and the inability of Hamlet to act on his desire to seek
revenge for his father’s murderer, all led to his inevitable yet tragic downfall.
3. In the play, Hamlet, Claudius, a selfish power seeking antagonist kills his brother, King Hamlet;
then marries Queen Gertrude with Prince ultimately becoming his son-in-law to gain power by all
means necessary.
4. Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his mother.
5. In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the main character is faced with questioning the motives of the
people closest to him after his father's death in order to determine who is trustworthy.
Hamlet Literary Analysis: Checkpoints
Checkpoint #1: (November 22, 2013) Library Day – November 20, 2013

Solid (provable) thesis is constructed.

Two reliable sources are properly cited using MLA format.

1 ½ pages of text are written.
____ / 50
Thesis Statement:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Secondary Source #1:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Secondary Source #2:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Reminders: (Refer to the power point on the website for additional help)
Your thesis – Stay focused. What is your point and what do you want to say about it? Your
thesis statement must be the last sentence in your introduction.
Your introduction – Keep the focus of your writing. Start with the author and the name of
your piece. Bring your focus point out in the first sentence and “catch” your reader. Lead up to your
thesis statement.
Checkpoint #2: (December 3, 2013) Library Day – November 25, 2013

Three (3) pages of text are written.

Primary and Secondary sources are evident in paper (minimum of 3 secondary).

MLA format is properly used.
_____ / 50
Secondary Source #3:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Reminders: (Refer to the power point on the website for additional help)
The Body of your paper:
Each paragraph must have a topic sentence.
Use context (don’t summarize the story),
Use specific details,
Use quotes,
Paraphrase,
Analyze and . . .
(see pages 7 & 8)
Keep checking that all of your points lead back to the thesis.
How to analyze a text
1.Read and reread the text with specific questions in mind.
2.Develop basic ideas, events and names.
3.Think through your personal reaction to the book: identification, enjoyment, significance,
application.
4.Identify and consider most important ideas (i.e. heroic code, isolation).
5. Research and read additional supporting texts (analysis) by experts in literary analysis to find
correlation with the important ideas in the text.
6.Return to the original text to locate specific evidence and passages related to the major ideas.
7.Offer a thesis or topic sentence indicating a basic observation or assertion about the text or passage.
8. Determine whether your thesis is fully supported by passages you have chosen and experts.
Creating a perfect (body) paragraph
1. Provide a main idea of the paragraph or explain what you will try to show about the essay’s thesis in
this paragraph.
2. Offer context for the passage without too much summary.
3.Cite the passage (using correct format).
4.Then follow the passage with some combination of the following elements:
- Discuss what happens in the passage and why it is significant to the work as a whole.
- Consider what is said, particularly subtleties of the imagery and the ideas expressed.
- Assess how it is said, considering how the word choice, the ordering of ideas, sentence
structure, etc., contribute to the meaning of the passage.
- Explain what it means, tying your analysis of the passage back to the significance of the text
as a whole.
5. For every paragraph of analysis, repeat the process of context, quotation and analysis with
additional support for your thesis or topic sentence.
General Guidelines
1) Each checkpoint for these assignments will receive a quiz grade the week they are due. (a
maximum of 50points.)
2) All work MUST be typed.
3) The papers, submitted on their due dates, are the culminating project and will be worth 200
points each.
4) If you put your best effort into these papers the first time by sticking to deadlines and
working diligently, you will be proud of the products you submit and relieved that your
graduation status is not in jeopardy.
5) If you do not do your best, you will have only one week to make necessary revisions for
graduation eligibility. This week for revisions will begin the day the paper is returned to you.
Writing Guidelines and Formatting:

Do not use the 1st person in your paper

Do not use contractions

Do not use “thing” or “stuff”

Use 12 pt. font Ariel or Times New Roman

Use 1” margins and double spacing

Put the MLA format heading on the top left-hand side of your first page.

Put your last name & page number on the top, right-hand side of other pages.
Final papers due by 7:30am on their individual due dates
All papers should have the proper heading format throughout (MLA) and should include a properly
formatted works cited (minimum: four sources each paper – 1 primary/ 3 secondary). You must have
2 different types of sources also, i.e. book, database, journal, anthology. Your final paper must be a
minimum of 3-5 pages. This does not count your Works Cited page. (Format: Introductory
paragraph + Body paragraphs + Concluding paragraph = 3-5 pgs plus works cited)
continued…
and Deadlines – Acad.
Grading Rubric
A 9-Point Rubric for writing about literature
9
_____ (8-9) An 8-9 essay responds to the prompt clearly, directly, and fully. Paper approaches the
text analytically, supports a coherent thesis with evidence from the text, and explains how the
evidence illustrates and reinforces its thesis. The essay employs subtlety in its use of the text and the
writer’s style is fluent and flexible. It is also free of mechanical and grammatical errors.
_____ (6-7) A 6-7 essay responds to the assignment clearly and directly but with less development 89 paper. It demonstrates a good understanding of the text and supports its thesis with appropriate
textual evidence. While its approach is analytical, the analysis is less precise than in the 8-9 essay, and
its use of the text is competent but not subtle. The writing in this paper is forceful and clear with few
if any grammatical and mechanical errors.
_____ (5) A 5 essay addresses the assigned topic intelligently but does not answer it fully and
specifically. It is characterized by a good but general grasp of the text using the text to frame an apt
response to the prompt. It may employ textual evidence sparingly or offer evidence without attaching
it to the thesis. The essay is clear and organized but may be somewhat mechanical. The paper may also
be marred by grammatical and mechanical errors.
_____ (3-4) A 3-4 essay fails in some important way to fulfill the demands of the prompt. It may not
address part of the assignment, fail to provide minimal textual support for its thesis, or base its
analysis on a misreading of some part of the text. This essay may present one or more incisive insights
among others of less value. The writing may be similarly uneven in development with lapses in
organization, clarity, grammar, and mechanics.
_____ (1-2) A 1-2 essay commonly combines two or more serious failures. It may not address the
actual assignment; it may indicate a serious misreading of the text; it may not offer textual evidence
or may use it in a way that suggests a failure to understand the text; it may be unclear, badly written,
or unacceptably brief. The style of this paper is usually marked by egregious errors. Occasionally a
paper in this range is smoothly written but devoid of content.
Grade conversion
9 = A+.
8=A
7 = A6=B+
5=B
4 = B3=C
2=D
1=F