Writing a literary analysis
paragraph
It’s easier than you think!
Why are we doing this?
• Helps answer a question we
ask about the text FULLY
• Helps elaborate our ideas
• Helps organize our thoughts
• You will sound terrifically
smart and be wildly successful
• We’ll use this same format
when writing body paragraphs
for essays
– Aren’t you excited?
Step 1: Topic sentence
• The first sentence is the topic sentence
• It tells your reader what your main argument or claim
is.
– Should answer a question
– Below, I answer the question “What type of person is
Sheila in ‘The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant’?"
– Try to use the title of the work you are referencing in the
topic sentence
EX:
In “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” Sheila is a
self-centered girl who unwittingly costs the narrator
the fish of a lifetime.
Step 2: Evidence
• There should be at least 2 pieces of evidence in a paragraph.
– Show that the argument you make in the topic sentence is true
– Uses specific evidence (quotes) to help support the point you’re
making.
– Make sure you LINK (show) how the evidence proves your
argument to be true.
EX: In the story, Sheila is unaware that the narrator is
interested in her, despite the fact that he watches her “spend
her days sunbathing on a float Uncle Sierbert had moored in
their cove.” It is clear that the narrator is around Sheila all of
the time because he knows her routine and becomes an
expert on her moods, but in all that time Shelia learns nothing
of the narrator. Furthermore, Shelia is so caught up in her own
interests that she does not notice the narrator’s fishing pole on
their date and rudely says that fishing is “definitely dumb.” If
she were not so self-centered she would have seen the pole
and remained silent.
Step 3: Concluding sentence
• Recaps/summarizes your argument
– Don’t assume the reader knows how your support
fits your argument.
– “Don’t leave me hangin’!” or “Connect the dots”
EX: Sheila shows that she only thinks about herself,
which ultimately keeps a relationship from
developing between herself and the narrator.
Add them all together….
Topic sentence
E
v
i
d
e
n
c
e
In “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” Sheila is a selfcentered girl who unwittingly costs the narrator the fish of a
lifetime. In the story, Sheila is unaware that the narrator is
interested in her, despite the fact that he watches her “spend
her days sunbathing on a float Uncle Sierbert had moored in
their cove.” It is clear that the narrator is around Sheila all of
the time because he knows her routine and becomes an
expert on her moods, but in all that time Shelia learns nothing
of the narrator. Furthermore, Shelia is so caught up in her
own interests that she does not notice the narrator’s fishing
pole on their date and rudely says that fishing is “definitely
dumb.” If she were not so self-centered she would have seen
the pole and remained silent. Sheila shows that she only
thinks about herself, which ultimately keeps a relationship
from developing between herself and the narrator.
Concluding sentence
YOUR TURN.
MWAHAHAHA
• Using the template I’ve given you, write a
paragraph answering the following question:
In the story ‘The Bass, the River, and Sheila
Mant’ what does the bass symbolize to the
narrator?
• If you answered the question fully, you should
have a good start at an analysis paragraph
– Part 1= Topic Sentence
– Part 2= Evidence (with links to the topic)
– Part 3= Concluding sentence