Essential Question:
How do I write
a literary analysis
essay?
Priority Standards:
• ELACC11-12RL1: Cite strong and
thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly
as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the
text leaves matters certain.
• ELACC11-12W1: Write arguments to
support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
What is a literary
analysis essay?
• A persuasive/expository
essay that forms and
argues a literary opinion
about a certain work(s).
Why do I need to know
how to write one?
• The standards say you do.
• It’s a system-wide requirement for
all high school students.
• You will have to in college.
• It helps you become a better writer
and THINKER.
What are the types of
literary analysis essays?
• Uses Intrinsic Evidence:
This type only uses what
is in the primary literary
text(s) for support /
evidence.
• Uses Extrinsic Evidence:
This type uses the
primary literary text(s)
plus other sources
“outside” the primary
text(s) for support /
evidence.
Your literary
analysis essay
can use either
INTRINSIC or
EXTRINSIC
evidence.
Step #1:
• Choose a topic that you feel comfortable
with. Most of the time you have a choice
of topics.
• Choose a stance on the topic. What do
you think you can prove or argue based
on the topic?
• Realize that you will have to use textual
support, so make sure there is enough
textual support to help your
interpretation and argument.
Step #2:
• Plan your essay.
• Beginners can use the following
structure:
Introduction
Reason 1 / Theory 1
Reason 2 / Theory 2
Reason 3 / Theory 3 OR Counterargument
(Counterargument is hard to achieve in a
literary analysis paper, but it can be done)
– Conclusion
–
–
–
–
Step #3:
• Plan for textual support.
• Find AT LEAST one or two pieces of
textual support to support each
reason or theory.
• These pieces of textual support should
CLEARLY and LOGICALLY support
each reason / theory.
Step #4:
• Remember that most literary analysis
essays are written in 3rd person formal
language.
• Don’t use words like “I,” “my,” “you,” or
“your.” (Hint: Try using the word “one”
instead, as in “one may assume…”)
• Avoid contractions.
• Do not use any slang.
• Always write in Standard American
English.
Step #5:
• Write an introduction with a hook,
transitional sentence, and thesis statement.
• Your hook will probably define a term or
quote someone.
• You may need several transitional sentences.
They should clearly explain how the term or
quote relates to the topic.
• Your thesis statement should include the
author’s name and the name of the work as
well as your opinion on the topic. It will also
probably be multiple sentences.
• The introduction could be up to ¾ page for a
short literary analysis paper.
Step #6:
• Remember that every body paragraph
should begin with a topic sentence
that supports your thesis statement.
• It should not begin with textual
support.
• Concluding sentences work the same
way.
Step #7:
• In the middle of each body paragraph, you
should use your own words PLUS an ample
supply of textual support.
• When you include textual support, you must
have four things:
–
–
–
–
an introductory phrase,
the textual support / quote,
the citation,
AND a full explanation of how the quote supports
your interpretation that you are developing in that
paragraph (reason/theory).
• Remember, the in-text citation should contain
the author’s name and page number for a direct
quote or the author’s name for a paraphrased
quote.
Textual Support Examples
• Alexandra Bergson is a feminist and independent spirit
– no matter what hardships she has to face, she knows
she can do it: “her clear deep blue eyes were fixed
intently on the distance” (Cather 4). It is Alexandra that
becomes head of the house when her father dies despite
tradition (there are three males in the family).
• He says it takes imagination to get through the tale: “in
fancy they pursue / The dream-child moving through a
land / Of wonders wild and new” (20-22). Carroll
identifies Alice, his protagonist, as a “dream-child”
(Carroll 21) alluding to a popular notion that only in
childhood can one escape reality.
• We get that feeling when he says, “Annie understands,
though it is me she understands and not always what is
happening” (Kinsella 11). Ray tends to get very nervous
before he tells Annie about his dreams.
Step #8:
• Write a conclusion that SUMMARIZES
what you’ve said.
• Be sure to ARGUE and even evaluate
your own argument.
• APPEAL TO THE LOGIC of your
reader’s.
• You may use or reuse one or two
pieces of textual support.
• Do not say “In conclusion” or
“The End.”
Step #9:
• On a separate page, include a works
cited page.
• Most of the time, for a literary analysis
paper using intrinsic evidence only,
you will be citing a Work from an
Anthology or a Work with a Single
Author.
• It could still require more than one
works cited entry.
Works Cited Info
Work in an Anthology
• Author’s last name, first
name. “Name of the
work.” Translator’s
name (if there is one).
Editor’s name. City
where published:
Publisher, Year. Pages.
• O’Connor, Flannery.
“The Life You Save May
Be Your Own.” Ed. Kate
Kinsella. Upper Saddle
River: Pearson Prentice
Hall, 2004. 972-982.
Work with One Author
• Author’s last name,
first name. Book Title.
City where published:
Publishing company,
year.
• Cather, Willa. O
Pioneers! New York:
Dover Publications,
1993.
Step #10:
• The last thing you should do is come up with
a title for your essay.
• The title can have something “catchy” in it.
• The title should include the main part of your
argument or thesis statement.
• It should also contain the author’s name and
the name of the literary work you are
examining.
• It may run more than one line.
• Example: Friend or Foe?: Identifying the
Role of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Now, plan
your literary
analysis essay
using the
flowchart.
Thesis Statement:
Reason / Theory 1:
Reason / Theory 2:
Reason / Theory 3:
First Textual Support for R/T 1:
First Textual Support for R/T 2:
First Textual Support for R/T 3:
Second Textual Support for R/T 1:
Second Textual Support for R/T 2:
Second Textual Support for R/T3: