Literary Analysis Short Answer Format
(Open-Ended Responses)
Throughout your high school and college English courses, you will be asked to answer questions
about literature, such as:
 Why is the setting important to the story?
 Why did the character act the way she did? What were her motivations?
 Which character changed the most?
 How is the idea of power presented in the story?
 What is the most important conflict faced by the character?
 What is a central theme in the story?
Your answer to a question like this must do things:
1. It must be reasonable (make sense, be possible)
2. It must be supported by relevant details (proof, evidence, quotes) from the story
In literary analysis questions, there is often more than one possible answer. I may have one opinion, and
you may have another; however, if both answers are reasonable and supported by relevant textual
proof, then they are BOTH right. This is why these types of questions are referred to as open-ended
questions.
Follow these strategies step-by-step when responding to an open-ended question:
1. When possible, read the question BEFORE reading the story. This gives you a purpose for
reading.
2. Read the ENTIRE selection. Do NOT stop reading when you think you have found the answer!
3. Annotate! Make notes in the margin; highlight passages you THINK might answer the question.
Circle key words and phrases. If you are not allowed to write on the story, use sticky notes to
mark your paper.
4. Answer the question asked, and answer it in the topic sentence. You would be amazed at the
number of students who write wonderfully witty, insightful papers, but never answer the question
that was asked. Those students are appalled when they receive an F instead of an A.
EXAMPLE:
Q. Why did Cinderella leave the ball at midnight?
Incorrect answer: Cinderella should not have left the ball at midnight. She should have told the
prince about her awful stepmother and horrid stepsisters. He probably would have had them
arrested and incarcerated in the nearest dungeon.
The question did not ask for your opinion on Cinderella’s decision. It merely asked what HER
motivations were.
5. Do NOT just restate the question in your topic sentence. You may have been taught to do this
when you were younger, but you need to go a step further. Your topic sentence should answer the
question.
EXAMPLE:
Q. Why did Cinderella leave the ball when she heard the bells chime at midnight?
Incorrect Topic Sentence: Cinderella left the ball when she heard the bells chime at midnight.
Well, duh! The question asked WHY she left, not whether or not she did. The question itself says that
she left the ball.
Correct Topic Sentence: Cinderella left the ball at midnight because she remembered her fairy
godmother’s warning that she must leave the ball at that time.
A correct topic sentence = subject + assertion
6. Use relevant concrete details in the story to prove your answer.
Without proof, your answer is only an unsupported opinion. Your opinion MUST be based on
details in the story. Also, the facts you use must be not only true, but relevant. See example
below.
EXAMPLE
Topic Sentence: Cinderella left the ball at midnight because she remembered her fairy
godmother’s warning that she must leave the ball at that time.
Incorrect Concrete Detail : Cinderella “heard the distant church bells begin to strike. One!
Two! Three!” so she “slipped away from the prince and began to run.”
While these details may be true, they are NOT relevant. They do not prove WHY Cinderella left
early, only that she DID leave early.
Correct Concrete Detail: The fairy had warned her that the “fine carriage”, prancing horses,”
and “gown that outshone the moon” would revert to their former state of “orange pumpkin”,
“Frightened mice”, and tattered dress.”
Please note: Concrete details do NOT have to be something that a character said.
Also note that words taken directly from the story are put into quotation marks
and incorporated into the sentence seamlessly. We will work on this in class.
7. Briefly explain the details you used. This is your chance to show that you really understand the
story, the question, and the answer. This is called commentary or insight. In this case, it
explains the underlying WHY. DO NOT INTRODUCE A NEW IDEA OR CONCEPT!
Do NOT use the words “I think”, “I believe”, “My opinion is…” or anything similar. Just
state it as if it were fact. If you are writing it, then obviously you believe it.
HERE’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER:
Cinderella left the ball because she remembered her fairy godmother’s warning that she
must leave the ball at that time. The fairy had warned her that the “fine carriage”,
prancing horses,” and “gown that outshone the moon” would revert to their former state
of “orange pumpkin”, “Frightened mice”, and tattered dress” at exactly midnight.
Cinderella knew that if she stayed another minute, she would risk extreme humiliation
in front of the prince. She could not risk seeing the look of love in his eyes turn to a
look of horror, so she ran.
SUMMARIZATION OF OER DIRECTIONS
1. Read the question before reading the story (if possible).
2. Read the entire selection and annotate it as you go. Use sticky notes if
necessary. Mark key words and phrases.
3. Answer the question asked, and do it in your topic sentence.
Remember: Subject + assertion = topic sentence. Do not just restate the
question. Make sure your statement is reasonable.
4. Use relevant, concrete details to prove your answer. Imbed (incorporate)
the details into your sentence(s).
5. Explain in one sentence the details you used (commentary). IT IS VITAL
THAT YOU DO NOT INTRODUCE A NEW TOPIC OR IDEA HERE.
Keep commentary short and sweet.