Passage Analysis Essay
The how and why and all that
What is it?
• Prose passage
– Exposition
– Narration
-- Description
-- Argumentation
• Variety of genres or time periods
• Analysis of rhetorical strategies
– Example
– Contrast/comparison
– Process
– Narration
--Cause and effect
--Classification
--Definition
--Description
What is it?
• Analysis of language
• Analysis of stylistic elements
--subject matter
--language/diction
--Selection of detail
--point of view
--figurative language --tone
--syntax
--organization
What’s the purpose?
• Determine how well you read, understand
and analyze challenging texts
• Assess how well you manipulate language
to communicate your ideas
Key Point:
• The level of your writing is/should be a
direct reflection of your critical thinking
What kinds of questions?
• Analyze the author’s view
• Analyze rhetorical devices the author uses
to achieve her purpose
• Analyze stylistic elements and their effects
• Compare/contrast two passages with
regard to style, purpose, or tone
More…
• Analyze author’s purpose and how he
achieves it
• Analyze how an author re-creates an
experience
• Analyze how the author presents herself in
the passage
• Discuss the intended or probable effect of
the passage
How is it graded?
• On a 9 point rubric
• Readers reward you for what you do well
• As a draft (40 minutes)
How to tackle this?
• Planning is crucial, so spend:
– 1-3 minutes reading and working the prompt
– 5 minutes reading and making margin notes
on the passage
– 10 minutes preparing to write
– 20 minutes writing your essay
– 3 minutes proofreading
Reading the prompt
• The following paragraphs are from the
opening of Truman Capote’s In Cold
Blood. After carefully reading the excerpt,
write a well-organized essay in which you
characterize Capote’s view of Holcomb,
Kansas, and analyze how Capote conveys
this view. Your analysis may consider
such stylistic elements as diction, imagery,
syntax, structure, tone, and selection of
detail.
The prompt…annotated
• The following paragraphs are from the
opening of Truman Capote’s In Cold
Blood. After carefully reading the excerpt,
write a well-organized essay in which you
characterize Capote’s view of Holcomb,
Kansas, and analyze how Capote
conveys this view. Your analysis may
consider such stylistic elements as
diction, imagery, syntax, structure,
tone, and selection of detail.
Helpful hint
• Sometimes it is difficult and stressful to get
everything from your brain onto your paper
• You can write: In this essay I have to….
• In this essay I have to tell what Capote’s view of
the town is and explain how he reveals this
• …I have to identify the author’s view and
analyze the diction, imagery and structure he
uses to reveal his view
• …I have to tell that Capote thinks the town is
boring but also has some positive attributes. I
have to explain the diction, imagery, and detail.
Reading the passage
• Option #1
– Read quickly to get the gist of the passage
– Reread, highlighting and taking margin notes
• Option #2
– Read slowly, highlighting and taking margin
notes
– Reread to confirm that you have caught the
full impact of the passage
Warning!!!!
• Don’t skip this step
• Careful reading AND annotating the
passage are crucial to success
Developing the opening Paragraph
• Forget everything you’ve learned about
beginning an essay (not really, but almost)
• It should catch the reader’s attention
• It should set the tone of your essay
• It should only be a couple of sentences long
Opening paragraph
• Make a direct reference to the passage
(suggested)
• Identify the text and its author
• Address the question (Capote’s view of
Holcomb)
• Specifically mention the elements you
will refer to (diction, tone, etc.)
Samples Intro A
• In the opening of In Cold Blood, Truman
Capote presents a picture of the town of
Holcomb, Kansas. Through structure,
selection of detail, and a detached tone,
he makes it clear that he views Holcomb
as dull and ordinary.
Sample Intro B
• Holcomb, Kansas. Holcomb, Kansas.
Even the sound of the place is boring and
uninteresting. Moreover, Truman Capote
seems to agree with this in his opening to
In Cold Blood. I, too, would be inclined to
pass by this sleepy, bland, and
undistinguished hamlet. This view is
developed through the author’s tone,
structure, and selection of detail.
Sample Intro C
• “Like the waters of the river, like the
motorists on the highway, and like the
yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe
tracks, drama in the shape of exceptional
happenings had never stopped here.”
This is the town of Holcomb, Kansas.
Using a reportorial tone, specific structure,
and selection of detail, Capote introduces
the reader to this unremarkable town in
the opening of In Cold Blood.
Sample Intro D
• In Cold Blood is a very appropriate title,
because Capote presents a cold and
unemotional view of Holcomb, Kansas.
His tone, structure, and selection of detail
create a distant and detached picture of
this desolate farm community.
Sample Intro E
• Truman Capote opens with a passage
describing a small town called Holcomb,
Kansas. Capote uses a variety of
elements to express his view.
Developing Body Paragraphs
• Present your analysis
• Use specific references and details from
the passage
– Don’t just paraphrase
– Place quotation mark around exact words
– Citations are not necessary; integrate author
in sentence
– Integrate quotes; condense quotes
Body paragraphs continued
• Use ‘connective tissue’ to establish
adherence to the questions
--use repetition of key ideas in prompt and
in your opening paragraph
--Use echo words/synonyms (town,
village, hamlet)
Stay on topic
A.P.
• We know it stands of Advanced Placement
• BUT……
• Keep in mind the people who read your
essay joke that it means “Address the
Prompt.”
• In other words……be sure you do what
the questions is asking; stay on topic
A.P.
• Refer back to your prewriting often
• Look at the “In this essay I have to…”
statement that you wrote
• If you get stuck in the middle of the essay,
you can actually write the above phrase in
your essay. Keep writing until you get
back on track. Then, cross out the phrase.
Concluding paragraph
• Forget everything you’ve learned about
conclusions
• Yes, really!!!!
• Do NOT summarize in your concluding
paragraph
Bad Conclusion
• Capote’s imagery, tone, and diction
convey his view about Holcomb. Through
these devices we get the idea that Capote
views the town as dull and ordinary.
• zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!
Instead, write a conclusion like this:
• Holcomb may be dull and boring, but
Capote hints that the “quiet” and “ordinary”
town may be disrupted. Something other
than wheat is on the horizon.
• The last two paragraphs contain a shift.
Capote contrasts the town with the school
and foreshadows a change. This contrast
may indicate more to come for the town of
Holcomb.