Presenter: Van Thi Nha Truc,
M.A; MBA
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Writing a literary analysis essay:
Useful links
• writing about literature, with sample
essays http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu
/english/melani/cs6/
• http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/eng251/Writi
ng%20About%20Literature.htm
• http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/eng2
56/support/litcompare.htm
Writing a literary analysis essay
The purpose of a
literary analysis essay is
to carefully examine
and sometimes
evaluate a work of
literature or an aspect of
a work of literature.
-> a process to help you
better appreciate and
understand the work of
literature as a whole
• Poem
• might deal with the different types of
images in a poem or with the relationship
between the form and content of the work
• Play
• might analyze the relationship between a
subplot and the main plot, or you might
analyze the character flaw of the tragic
hero by tracing how it is revealed through
the acts of the play
• Short
story
• might identify a particular theme (like the
difficulty of making the transition from
adolescence to adulthood) and show how
the writer suggests that theme through
the point of view from which the story is
told; might also explain how the main
character‟s attitude toward women is
revealed through his dialogue and/or
actions
Requirements
1. Your essay must cover the topic you are
writing about / you are asked to write
about.
2. Your essay must have a central idea
(stated in your thesis) that governs its
development.
3. Your essay must be organized so that
every part contributes something to the
reader’s understanding of the central idea.
Writing a literary essay
• Step 1: Read the topic/questions carefully
Underline the key words in the questions.
Identify how many main ideas you need to
cover.
-> in order to avoid wandering off /
digressing from the topic or lacking ideas
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Example
Write an essay of about 500 words on the
following topic based on the short story
“Flight” by Doris Lessing:
Topic: Interpret the meanings of Alice‟s tears.
Are they the proof of Alice‟s love for her
grandfather and her maturity?
-> Interpret the meanings of Alice’s tears.
Are they the proof of Alice‟s love for her
grandfather and her maturity?
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Writing a literary essay
• Step 2: Gather ideas through text
reading and prewriting
Look back over the text, taking notes on
relevant information or important ideas
(about the main characters, plot,
theme…)
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Writing a literary essay
• Step 3: Make an outline
Make the skeleton of the essay; the
structure around which the details and
explanations are organized
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A suggested outline form for your essay
Intro: Thesis Statement: Write out the thesis statement in a complete
sentence.
Body:
I. Write out the first developmental P topic sentence.
A. Identify the support. This can be a detail or an idea that the P will
discuss.
1. Mention any additional detail about “A”.
2. If appropriate, mention another detail about “A”.
B. If you have another detail or example you are going to discuss in this
P, mention it here.
II. Write out the next topic sentence.
A. Support
B. Support
III. Write out the next topic sentence.
A. Support
1. Detail if necessary
2. Another detail if necessary
B. Support
Conclusion
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Writing a literary essay
• Step 4: Begin your draft
Write first draft of your essay: intro with
thesis statement; body paragraphs with
topic sentence and relevant/key supports
for each
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Writing a literary essay
• Step 5: Proofread, revise and edit
Revise ideas, delete
unnecessary/irrelevant info/ideas, add
relevant info/ideas …
Check grammar, spelling, word usage,
punctuation
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Writing a literary essay
• Step 6: Finalize your essay
Make final copy of your essay
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Writing an intro
• must introduce the author + literary work
• must capture the reader's attention
• must include a clearly written thesis
statement that contains the literary
interpretation
• should be 50-70 words in length (5-7 lines)
Thesis statement
• complete sentence
• not question or just fact
• States the central idea that governs the
essay‟s development
• may suggest the essay‟s organization
• typically falls at the end of the intro
Example
Write an essay of about 500 words on the
following topic based on the short story
“Flight” by Doris Lessing:
Topic: Interpret the meanings of Alice‟s tears.
Are they the proof of Alice‟s love for her
grandfather and her maturity?
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Example
Thesis statement:
Alice‟s tears show / figuratively mean her love for
her grandfather
and her maturity / process of
growing up / transition into
adulthood.
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LOOK AT THE SAMPLE ESSAY
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PRACTICE WRITING AN INTRO
PARAGRAPH
• TOPIC: Explain how the old man comes to
accept the inevitability of Alice's marrying.
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Thesis statement
The old man is a symbolic character
because he represents all the old people
who deeply love their children and
grandchildren and fear loneliness.
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Body paragraphs
• Body paragraphs develop the main ideas
raised in the thesis statement.
• Number of developmental paragraphs =
number of main ideas (typically 3 Ps)
• Each body paragraph should be about 100
words in length
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Body paragraphs
• Each developmental paragraph should
begin with a topic sentence (and a
transition).
• The topic sentence should be supported
with explanations, quotations, details,
analysis… (how they relate back to the
thesis)
• Each developmental paragraph should
end with a concluding sentence.
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Simple organization of each body paragraph
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Topic sentence
Lead-in to textual evidence 1
Textual evidence 1
Commentary:
analysis/discussion/interpretation/insight/ar
-gument/reflection
Transition and lead-in to textual evidence 2
Textual evidence 2
Commentary/analysis/discussion
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Concluding sentence
Topic sentence
• usually first sentence
• states one main idea/topic/aspect of the
thesis
• asserts how the topic will support the
central idea
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Topic sentence - Example
Thesis statement:
Alice‟s tears
show her love for her grandfather
and her maturity.
Topic sentence of BP1:
Firstly, Alice‟s tears
at the end of the
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story are a token of love for her dear grandfather.
Topic sentence - Example
Thesis statement:
Alice‟s tears
show her love for her
grandfather and her maturity.
Topic sentence of BP2:
Alice‟s tears
also prove her growth into adulthood.
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Writing the body
• must support thesis statement through:
evidence—facts
examples – specific details
direct quotations
summaries
paraphrasing
commentary—opinions
analysis
interpretation
insight
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Support
• Summary
 If a key event or series of events in the literary
work support your point -> brief, relevant
summary, explicitly connected to your point
Example: After receiving a gift of a young pigeon
from the couple, the old man changed his state of
mind and decided to set his favourite bird free. He
smiled proudly while his granddaughter cried.
(SUMMARY). His action moved Alice to tears
because she could then understand how much her
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grandfather loved and cared for her (RELEVANCE).
Support
• Original:
'Tell away!' she said, laughing, and went
back to the gate.
He heard her singing, for him to hear:
'I've got you under my skin,
I've got you deep in the heart of ...'
'Rubbish,' he shouted. 'Rubbish. Impudent
little bit of rubbish!'
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Support
• Summarising:
Alice defied her grandfather and then
intentionally laughed and sang to his
annoyance.
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Support
• Paraphrasing
when you need the details of the original,
but not necessarily the words of the
original
Example:
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Support
• Original:
Alice‟s tears are a proof of her maturity.
• Paraphrasing:
• That Alice cries shows her growing up.
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Support
• Original:
As the man was leaving home for his
rendezvous, he was attracted by his wife‟s doing
the can-can.
• Paraphrasing:
• The wife‟s attractive/beautiful dance enchanted
/ charmed her husband while he was going to
see another woman / his lover.
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Support
• Original:
The man was thinking of his wife‟s unusual act
while he was waiting for Sarah.
• Paraphrasing:
The man was occupied with his wife‟s
uncommon dancing during the time he waited for
his lover.
His wife‟s uncommon dancing occupied /
haunted his mind as he waited for his lover.
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Support
• Using Direct Quotations (relevant and
significant)
can illuminate and support the ideas you
are trying to develop.
will make your points clearer and more
convincing.
Example:
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Support
Early in the story, Alice is a bit childish
(YOUR POINT). For example, she defied
her grandfather: ―'Tell away!' she said‖, and
then intentionally laughed and sang to his
annoyance ―He heard her singing, for him to
hear‖.
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Support
• Specific Detail
details add credibility to the point you are
developing
Example:
Support
Alice becomes more thoughtful towards the
end of the story (YOUR POINT). She stops
teasing and annoying her grandfather. Instead,
she and her boyfriend gives her grandfather a
new bird. Their action serves as a catalyst that
brings about change (DISCUSSION). The old
man then decides to let his favourite bird go.
Alice cries after watching the birds flying into
the sky. Her tears mean she now identifies
with her grandfather, feels regret about her
selfishness and indifference to him, and loves
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him more (INTERPRETATION).
Support
Commentary:
explains or interprets the textual evidence
tells readers what the author of the text
means and how the textual evidence proves
the topic sentence
Example:
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Support
… Instead, she and her boyfriend gives her
grandfather a new bird (SPECIFIC
DETAIL).Their action serves as a catalyst that
brings about change in the old man
(COMMENTARY). The old man then decides
to let his favourite bird go. Alice cries after
watching the birds flying into the sky
(SPECIFIC DETAIL). Her tears mean she
now identifies with her grandfather, feels
regret about her selfishness and indifference
to him, and loves him more
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(COMMENTARY).
LOOK AT THE SAMPLE ESSAY
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PRACTICE WRITING BODY
PARAGRAPHS
• TOPIC: Explain how the old man comes to
accept the inevitability of Alice's marrying.
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Notes
1. Brief quotations (four lines or fewer of
prose and three lines or fewer of poetry)
should be carefully introduced and
integrated into the text of your paper. Put
quotation marks “…” around all briefly
quoted material.
Notes
2. Lengthy quotations should be separated
from the text of your paper. More than four
lines of prose should be double spaced and
indented ten spaces from the left margin, with
the right margin the same as the rest of your
paper. More than three lines of poetry should
be double spaced and centered on the page.
• Do not use quotation marks to set off
these longer passages because the
indentation itself indicates that the
material is quoted.
Notes
3. If any words are added to a quotation in
order to explain who or what the quotation
refers to, you must use brackets to distinguish
your addition from the original source.
Example:
The literary critic John Strauss asserts that "he
[Young Goodman Brown] is portrayed as selfrighteous and disillusioned" (10).
-> Brackets are used here because there is
no way of knowing who "he" is unless you
add that information.
Notes
4. You must use ellipsis if you omit any words from
the original source you are quoting. Ellipsis can be
used at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of
the quotation, depending on where the missing
words were originally. Ellipsis is formed by either
three or four periods with a space between each
period.
Example:
• Original: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a
man healthy, wealthy and wise.“
-> This behavior ". . . makes a man healthy, wealthy,
and wise."
Notes
Punctuating Direct Quotations:
1. When the quoted material is part of your own
sentence, place periods and commas inside
the quotation marks.
Example:
According to the narrator of "The Secret Lion,”
change was "like a lion," meaning that its onset is
sudden and ferocious.
-> The comma is inside the quotation marks.
Notes
Punctuating Direct Quotations:
2. When the quoted material is part of your own
sentence, but you need to include a parenthetical
reference to page or line numbers, place
the periods and commas after the reference.
Example:
• The narrator of "The Secret Lion" says that the
change was "like a lion" (Rios 41).
-> The period is outside the quotation marks,
after the parenthetical reference.
Notes
Punctuating Direct Quotations:
3. When the quoted material is part of your
own sentence, punctuation marks other than
periods and commas, such as question
marks, are placed outside the quotation
marks, unless they are part of the quoted
material.
Notes
Punctuating Direct Quotations:
Example (not part of original):
• Why does the narrator of "The Secret Lion" say that
the change was "like a lion”?
-> The question mark is placed after the quotation
marks because it does not appear in the original -- it
ends a question being asked about the story.
Example (part of original):
• The Duke shows his indignation that the Duchess
could like everyone and everything when he says,
"Sir, 'twas all one!" (Browning 25).
-> The exclamation point is placed inside the
quotation marks because it appears in the original.
Notes
Punctuating Direct Quotations:
4. When the original material you are quoting
already has quotations marks (for instance,
dialog from a short story), you must use single
quotation marks within the double quotation
marks.
Example:
• Lengel tries to stop Sammy from quitting by
saying, “„Sammy, you don't want to do this to
your Mom and Dad‟" (Updike 486).
Writing the conclusion
• might restate the thesis in different words
• summarizes the interpretation
• allows the writer to draw attention to most
important aspects of analysis
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Writing the conclusion
• might state the theme(s) of the literary
work
• might make relevant comment on the
literary work‟s value or significance
• might give personal statement
• do not introduce a new topic
• about 6-7 lines (less than 100 words)
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Notes
• Avoid an unnecessary summary of the
story or a long biography of the author.
• Avoid listing facts without explanation
or analysis
• Avoid giving no evidence for arguments
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Notes
• Avoid too many direct quotations
/extracts from text
• If you just make inferences, use some
words / phrases like: probably, maybe,
perhaps, it could be, may, must, etc.
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Notes
• Do not write an essay that is too short or
too long (about 400-500 words)
• Pay attention to diction (use of words),
grammar and structure, style, etc.
• Do not plagiarize (take others‟ ideas as
your own without properly quoting)
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PRACTICE WRITING A CONCLUDING
PARAGRAPH
• TOPIC: Explain how the old man comes to
accept the inevitability of Alice's marrying.
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