Tips for Writing a Literary Analysis Essay
1.
First and foremost, a literary analysis essay must focus on a piece
of literature. You need to pose an idea/interpretation of a literary
work and then spend the rest of your essay defending/proving that
idea. Specific evidence from the literary work MUST be included in
your essay. Since you have to use specific evidence from the text, you
must have citations. (Note: You could use quote the text, summarize
events, or paraphrase relevant passages for your specific evidence.)
Using MLA format, citations appear like this: (Lipsyte 14).
It is also important to note that a literary analysis essay is NOT
the same as a summary. A summary simply recounts the main events
of a literary work. A literary analysis essay interprets or analyzes some
aspect of the literary work (character development, symbolism,
imagery, theme, etc.).
2.
In general, a literary analysis essay should be written in third-person point
of view. Here are some examples of what NOT to do and how to avoid these
problems:
Incorrect
Have you ever seen a volcano erupt?
I think Scrooge is a greedy, corrupt
individual.
What would you do if people treated
you poorly?
I think The Contender is a good book.
Did you know that A Christmas Carol
was originally banned?
Correct
Bubbling lava, extreme temperatures,
cascading magma—watching a volcano
erupt would be quite an experience.
Scrooge is a greedy, corrupt individual.
How do people react when they are
treated poorly?
The Contender is a good book.
Why would someone ban A Christmas
Carol? (Or: A Christmas Carol was
originally banned.)
3.
When writing about literature, the writer should use present tense verbs
to describe events in the literary work. Here are some examples of what NOT to
do and how to avoid these problems:
Incorrect
Alfred Brooks started boxing.
James started doing drugs. (Or, James
did drugs.)
Alfred quit boxing.
Donatelli trained Alfred to box.
Correct
Alfred Brooks starts boxing.
James starts to do drugs.
Alfred quits boxing.
Donatelli trains Alfred to box.
4.
All essays must have at least four paragraphs—an introduction, two body
paragraphs, and a conclusion. Remember, this is a bare minimum. More
paragraphs may be necessary to develop your ideas.
5.
An introduction should have the following:
--an attention-getter/hook that relates to the essay topic (quote, startling fact,
personal anecdote, thought-provoking question, vivid image)
--necessary background information/transition between attention-getter and
thesis
--thesis statement
6.
Each body paragraph has to relate back to the thesis statement. The
order of the body paragraphs should match with the order of the sub-topics
mentioned in your thesis. (For example, if the thesis statement is: “A vacation to
Colorado should include a trip to the Rocky Mountains and a shopping trip to
Denver,” the first body paragraph should address the first sub-topic, which was:
. The second body paragraph
should address the second sub-topic, which was:
.
7.
Each body paragraph should have a TOPIC SENTENCE (one sentence that
communicates the main idea of the whole paragraph). The rest of the paragraph
develops/supports/proves the idea posed in the topic sentence. The topic
sentence is usually the first sentence in the paragraph.
8.
When writing a literary analysis essay, some students are tempted to just
string together random quotes, facts from the book, etc. These students fail to
elaborate on the evidence from the book and do not put forth original thoughts.
This is NOT an effective literary analysis essay. The imperative word in “literary
analysis essay” is
. The writer must share his/her
ideas about the literary work, only using quotes, etc. to support his/her ideas.
9.
When you complete one body paragraph and begin another, the next
body paragraph must begin with a transition word or phrase that helps the
reader to “move” from one idea to another. Some easy ways to accomplish this
include using phrases like “another reason...,” “in addition,” moreover,” etc.
Please see your “connector sheet” for more ideas. It is NOT effective to begin a
new paragraph by writing, “Now I’m going to talk about…” or “In this paragraph
I will…”
10.
A conclusion should restate your main ideas and include a powerful,
lasting thought. (Do NOT include sentences like: I hope you enjoyed my essay
or I hope you learned…)
11.
Use MLA format:


½ inch from top, right side, header, last name & page number----Joten 4
1 inch from top, left side, double-spaced heading: name, class, instructor,
date:
John Smith
English 9
Mrs. Joten
February 1, 2011



One return/enter between date in heading and the title—title is centered—
capitalize most words in the title, do not put in quotation marks, do not
put in bold, etc. (titles of literary works are punctuated normally, either
italics or quotation marks)
Parenthetical in-text citations, such as (Lipsyte 77)
Works cited “page” (can put on bottom of last page if there is room).
Look at the sample below:
Work Cited (centered)
(double-spaced throughout)
Johnson, Robert. The Long Journey. San Francisco: Doubleday, 2003.
(Last name of author, first name. Title. City published: Publisher, Year published.)
12.
There are many resources available in the library and on the Internet to
help you with MLA format.
13.
You should never refer directly to your own piece of writing within that
piece. For instance, “My essay will,” “In this essay…” “This paragraph is about…”
Phrases like this should never be used in your writing.