Analytical Essay
Ideas, Evidence, and Structure
Mrs. Melissa McCoy 2014
Rationale and Standards
● An analytical, argumentative essay is not the same thing as a
narrative or persuasive essay.
● Narrative essays often draw on person reflections and tell a story.
● Persuasive essays attempt to persuade a reader through your own
logical argument, usually without the citation of evidence.
● An analytical, argumentative essay takes the persuasive essay a
step further. In an an analytical essay, you are expected to:
o Create a thesis statement / position statement.
o Craft a well-organized argument for your position.
o Cite evidence from literature, art, or research to back up your
position.
Rationale and Standards
● The analytical, argumentative
essays you will write in this class
will all follow a certain formula:
o You will read a text, form a
thesis based on that text,
and respond to a prompt.
o You will be required to cite
actual evidence from the text
to prove your argument.
o Your evidence needs to be
relevant, precise, and wellchosen for the purpose.
Structure
●
●
●
●
●
●
Throw out everything you’ve ever heard about the
five paragraph essay.
Sometimes your essays will be five paragraphs;
many times they will be four, or six, or more.
Length should depend on the depth of the topic,
not an arbitrary number.
In college, you will be expected to write precisely
and deeply; rarely will paragraphs even be
mentioned. Instead, your professors will talk about
“structure,” “thesis,” “evidence,” and “citations.”
I have written a fifteen page paper on a single
poem. I have also written a three page paper on a
short story.
Length depends on what you have to say. There is
no magic number.
Structure
● To make you a college-ready writer, I
want you to focus on three things:
o Thesis / Position
o Body of Evidence
o Conclusion
● If you have a scientific mind, it might
help you to think of this as:
o Hypothesis (notice the word
thesis in there)
o Experiment / Proof
o Outcome
Prewriting and the Prompt
● In high school, you will usually be given a prompt. In college, you will often be
asked to create your own.
● Before we go any further, let’s examine the actual prompt you are being asked
to write about for Antigone.
PROMPT
Evaluate the opposing arguments between Antigone and Creon regarding loyalty
to the state and loyalty to family and religious beliefs. Support or refute Antigone’s
arguments using textual evidence.
Prewriting and the Prompt
PROMPT
Evaluate the opposing arguments between Antigone and Creon regarding loyalty
to the state and loyalty to family and religious beliefs. Support or refute Antigone’s
arguments using textual evidence.
• The original prompt called for you to evaluate arguments between Antigone and
Ismene, but I find that unhelpful. Creon is the antagonist, not Ismene.
• Therefore, we will focus on analyzing the conflict between Antigone
(protagonist) and Creon (antagonist).
Prewriting and the Prompt
●
●
●
●
●
You would not (or should not) go grocery shopping
without a list.
You should never attempt a timed essay without at
least a basic outline of what you intend to write about.
Prewriting is the single most important step you can
take to ensure a successful essay.
Lucky for you, I have made this ridiculously easy for
you by creating two different graphic organizers (one
for each prompt).
I believe visual representations of your essay are vital
to the success of your essay. Once you have filled in
the “meat,” all that’s left is to make the sandwich
(thesis and conclusion).
Prewriting and the Prompt
●
●
●
●
●
Whichever prompt you choose, the prewriting will be the
same.
You will use the evidence matrix to:
o Gather quotes
o Analyze why those quotes are important.
I do not want to see a single quote in your paper that is
orphaned: alone, sadly drifting in a paper with no
explanation or analysis.
You MUST have a total of six quotes for either prompt. If
you want to use more, simply add on to your matrix.
Remember, text evidence means:
o Choosing the correct quote.
o Explaining WHY the quote was the correct quote.
Structure: Thesis / Position
● In high school, you will usually be given a prompt. In college, you will often be
asked to create your own.
● Either way, the first thing you need to do after pre-writing is form a thesis, or
position statement.
● A thesis or position statement means THIS IS WHAT I HAVE CONCLUDED
BASED ON THE TEXT, but it never includes the following:
o I think . . .
o I believe . . .
o In my opinion . . .
● Thinking, believing, and having an opinion indicate that there is uncertainty in
your position. You must never present your opinion with uncertainty.
Structure: Thesis / Position
● A position statement is just that: a statement leaving no room for doubt. Following
are good examples of thesis statements:
●
●
Antigone, the protagonist and title character of Sophocles’ play, is firm in her belief that duty
to gods and family trumps duty to the laws of the state. Creon, the antagonist and king of the
city of Thebes, believes that duty to law and government is more important than loyalty to
family or the gods. This conflict drives the action of Antigone as these two characters argue
over loyalty, honor, and duty. Though Creon is right that laws are important, Antigone’s
argument is superior because no earthly law can rise above the laws of god and family.
In Sophocles’ play Antigone, Antigone insists that she will bury her brother regardless of
Creon’s laws to the contrary. This puts them in immediate conflict, as Antigone sides with
loyalty to family and the gods, and Creon sides with loyalty to the government and his own
role as King. Both make good arguments, but Creon is correct that the laws of the land have
to be followed regardless of personal beliefs.
Structure: Thesis / Position
● Listen carefully. I WILL TAKE OFF POINTS FOR THE FOLLOWING
STATEMENTS, NO MATTER WHERE THEY APPEAR IN YOUR ESSAY:
o
o
o
o
o
o
“Hi, my name is . . .”
“I’m writing about . . .”
“In my opinion . . .”
“I believe . . .”
“I think . . .”
“My position is that . . .”
● How do you fix that? Just cross it out and keep whatever you wrote afterwards.
o “In my opinion, Antigone has the moral high-ground because we should
always honor our personal loyalties and religion before we listen to the laws of
man.”
o Antigone has the moral high-ground because we should always honor our
personal loyalties and religion before we listen to the laws of man.
Structure: Thesis / Position
● Listen carefully. I WILL TAKE OFF POINTS FOR THE FOLLOWING
STATEMENTS, NO MATTER WHERE THEY APPEAR IN YOUR ESSAY:
o
o
o
o
o
o
“Hi, my name is . . .”
“I’m writing about . . .”
“In my opinion . . .”
“I believe . . .”
“I think . . .”
“My position is that . . .”
● How do you fix that? Just cross it out and keep whatever you wrote afterwards.
o “In my opinion, Antigone has the moral high-ground because we should
always honor our personal loyalties and religion before we listen to the laws of
man.”
o Antigone has the moral high-ground because we should always honor our
personal loyalties and religion before we listen to the laws of man.
Structure: Thesis / Position
● Creon makes a good argument for the superiority of the government, but in my
opinion, family always comes first, and religion is even more important than family.
● NO. Try this instead:
● Creon makes a good argument for the superiority of the government, but Antigone
is correct when she saws that family and religion must always come first.
●
●
My advice? Save “I” for the conclusion. In the conclusion, you get to add your own spin to the essay. You
get to connect literature to real life, make a final statement on the matter, and give the reader something to
think about.
BUT, even in the conclusion, NEVER WRITE “I think,” “I believe,” or “In my opinion.” Instead, try:
o Clearly
o Obviously
o Therefore
o As I have clearly shown
Introduction
● I get it. Introductions are hard.
When you were younger, you
were told to make some general
statement like “Have you ever lost
a family member? Well, Antigone
did, and she decided to bury him
no matter what the king said.”
● Well, welcome to writing in the
real world of college prep, where
that kind of intro will earn you a
mean tirade from an unforgiving
professor.
Introduction
● While that at least addresses the conflict in
Antigone, it is not a mature opening for a textbased essay.
● Instead, try something like:
● Society is a constant struggle between
personal loyalties and loyalties to the
government. Antigone’s brother may have
died a traitor, but he was also her brother,
and she was determined to bury him in spite
of Creon’s orders to the contrary.
● You would have a much happier professor.
Introduction
● “Hi. My name is Melissa and I am
here to write about the characters in
Antigone, a play by Sophocles. In
this play, Creon and Antigone get
into a big fight over whether or not
Polyneices should be buried, and in
my opinion . . . .”
● Ugh. No.
● Just no.
Introduction
● Better would be:
● Antigone, Sophocles’ most famous
Greek tragedy, centers on a conflict
between Creon and Antigone. While
Creon feels that Polyneices does not
deserve a proper burial, Antigone feels
that even though Polyneices was a
traitor, he was still her brother and
deserving of respect in death. Ultimately,
Antigone’s decision to bury her brother is
the correct decision, in spite of the
serious consequences.
Introduction Checklist
● Introduces the topic without asking silly
questions like “Have you ever read Antigone?”
● States a clear position on the prompt’s essential
question regarding the arguments of Creon and
Antigone.
● Shows that you understand the overall theme of
the work in question:
o Loyalty to family & gods versus loyalty to
government
o Protagnonist vs. Antagonist
● Does not contain the word “I,” especially in
conjunction with think, believe, or opinion.
Body Paragraphs
● The prewriting organizers will make your life much
easier in terms of writing the body paragraphs.
● Each body paragraph should focus on one
particular comparison, statement, or proof.
● Here is a sample structure:
● INTRODUCTION / THESIS
● Body 1: Creon’s orders regarding Polyneices and
his justification for those orders.
● Body 2: Antigone’s decision regarding Polyneices
and her justification for that decision.
● Body 3: The consequences of both decisions for
the characters.
● CONCLUSION: This is where YOUR opinion goes.
Evidence
●
●
If you are talking about how Creon values laws and
government over everything else, you are going to
need a quote to support that.
o You are also going to need to explicitly explain
to the audience how Creon’s position affects
the outcome of the play.
If you are talking about how Antigone believes that
the laws of the Gods cannot be changed by men,
you are going to need a quote to support that.
o You are also going to need to explicitly explain
how that quote affects the outcome of the play.
Incorporating Evidence
● Collecting evidence is easy.
Using it correctly is difficult.
● All evidence needs a
“bookend.” Follow the model
of ICE:
● Introduce-- Cite-- Explain
o Introduce the quote
o Cite the line or page
numbers correctly
o Explain the significance
Incorporating Evidence
● Model from a different topic (so you can’t copy it obviously)
o Creon is the king of Thebes and a strong believer in the power of government,
which he calls the “Ship of State” that drives men to “safe harbor” (X.xx)
Because of his devotion to the state, he feels that anarchists are the reason
that “cities crumble” (X.xx). In fact, he hates anarchists so much that he swears
he will execute anyone who dares to bury Polyneices (X.xx). This brings him
into direct conflict with Antigone, who swears to bury her brother anyway, and
says “Creon is not powerful enough to stop me” (X.xx). Creon is furious that a
woman like Antigone violates his law, because he feels that anarchy is the
beginning of the end for any government.
●
●
●
I-- Intro to quote is in blue
C-- Citations are in pink
E-- Explanation is in red
Correctly Citing Evidence
● Antigone is a play, not a poem or a short story or a
novel.
● When you incorporate quotes into your essay, you must
cite them correctly.
● I am going to show you how to cite poetry correctly.
● First, let’s look at a favorite quote of mine. These are
lines 51-53 of “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats.
o Darkling, I listen; and for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Called him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Correctly Citing Evidence
Darkling, I listen; and for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Called him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
● A direct quote:
o In his famous poem, “Ode to a Nightingale,” Keats
states that he has been “half in love with easeful
Death” (l. 52).
● A paraphrase
o According to his poem “Ode to a Nightingale,”
Keats fell in love with the idea of death while he
was suffering from tuberculosis (l. 52)
Correctly Citing Evidence
Darkling, I listen; and for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Called him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
● More than one line of poetry
o In “Ode to a Nightingale,” Keats relates the struggle
of living with illness in strong terms: “I have been
half in love with easeful Death, / Called him soft
names in many a mused rhyme” (ll. 52-53).
o Notice that lines in poetry are separated by /
instead of running them all together.
Correctly Citing Evidence
● Important Reminders:
o All citations go in parenthesis, usually at the end of a
sentence RIGHT BEFORE the period.
o If you quote two different lines, you will need to cite the
first one directly after the quote.
 Example:
● In “Ode to a Nightingale,” Keats says “Darkling
[he] listen[s]” (l. 51) to the sounds of the
nightingale, as he waits for death to “take into
the air [his] quiet breath” (l. 53).
● Notice that the words I had to change to make
sense for the sentence were put in brackets.
Correctly Citing Plays
• When quoting from Antigone, you will need to remember to cite two things in
your parenthetical notation: Scene Number and Line Number(s).
• This is not as hard as it sounds.
• For example, if “I cannot stand this king!” (which is a made-up quote) is in
Scene 2, line 54, you would cite it like this:
• When Antigone says “I cannot stand this king,” she clearly expresses her
dislike for Creon (ii.54).
• The scenes are expressed in lowercase roman numerals.
Here are the roman numerals 1-10:
• i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, viii, ix, x
Conclusions
● Year after year, I hear that conclusions
are the hardest part of any paper to
write.
● From my experience, that’s because
you have always been taught that a
conclusion has to “restate your
evidence in different words.”
● That is both unhelpful and dreadfully
redundant.
Conclusions
● Instead, try using your conclusion to put your own spin on what you’ve
written and reinforce your argument. Think along these lines, and don’t be
afraid to combine questions.
● Who do you sympathize with: Antigone or Creon?
● How did Creon’s loss at the end of the play help him understand devotion
to the gods?
● Do you most value government, your family, or religion? Why?
● What can modern audiences learn from the conflict between Creon and
Antigone?
● Why do people still read this play 2500 years later?
● What does the final outcome of this play teach us about the ancient
Greeks?
● What is the theme of this play and why does it still matter?
Conclusions
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
In short, think outside the box.
Use your conclusion to make a real and important statement about what you’ve just read
and written.
You can reinforce the thesis that perspective matters in narration without repeating your
arguments.
This may take more than one try. Do not be afraid to revise and try again.
And finally, always-- always-- end with a powerful line that will make your audience think
“Hey, that’s a really good line / point / question / observation.”
The last line of your essay needs to be the strongest line in your essay.
Sample:
Even though it is 2500 years after Sophocles wrote Antigone, the modern world is still
trying to sort out our conflicting loyalties to people, religions, and governments. When the
government asks us to violate our beliefs or our principles, we must have the courage of
Antigone and make a stand against unjust and unfair laws handed down by all the tyrants
and modern Creons of the world.
Additional Resources
● These links offer in-depth
guidance on writing
evidence-based essays.
o Developing Quality
Paragraphs
o Developing Quality
Transitions
o Quoting, Paraphrasing,
and Summarizing