From Paragraphs to Papers:
Writing an Analytical Essay
As we’ve been saying all year, when we talk about analysis, what we’re really talking about is studying
how the parts of whatever it is we’re looking at – a story, a song, a sandwich, etc. – fit together. When
you’re asked to perform an analysis of a work of literature, you’re really being asked to consider one
aspect of the piece in question and to explain how it works within that story, play, poem, etc. And so, in
this, your first “serious” literary analysis of the year, you’ve been asked to choose and discuss one
specific quality or characteristic of the three stories we’ve just read – “Balthazar’s Marvelous
Afternoon,” “Tuesday Siesta,” and “One of These Days” – and to explain how it works and why it
matters in each individual story and across the stories as a whole. To do this effectively, your task is to
extend the WHAT-WHERE-WHY structure that you’ve all come to know and love from paragraph to a
paper length.
THE “WHAT” or Introductory Paragraph
The WHAT part of the paper will serve as your introduction, and it may take
one of two possible forms.
The first form begins by establishing CONTEXT for the subject you’ve
chosen and tries to engage the interest and attention of the audience before
concluding the paragraph with a clear, precise, articulate statement of the
paper’s primary focus or claim. This approach may help you to capture the
attention of a reader who might not otherwise be interested in your subject; it
may also help to provide a broader context or reason for looking at your
subject, a reason that reaches outside the world of the text.
The other form simply follows the WHAT-WHERE-WHY model –
beginning (perhaps) with a short pre-thesis before clearly stating the papers
subject or claim (the WHAT), briefly introducing the way each story reveals
or supports the accuracy of this claim (the WHERE), and hinting at the
significance or “so-whatness” of the paper’s claim (the WHY). This
approach serves as an excellent way of organizing your thinking and
providing an overview of the paper for your audience, though it may not
allow for as much creativity and excitement as the first approach.
EITHER APPROACH WILL WORK, CHOOSE AND FOLLOW ONE OF
THEM!
THE “WHERE” or Body Paragraphs
These THREE paragraphs (one per story) should follow something like the
WHAT-WHERE-WHY format.
Each paragraph should begin with a clear CLAIM in which you explain how
the specific story you are discussing illustrates or supports your claim about
the stories as a whole. After telling us how this story fits into your claim,
you will show us the specific moments from the story that demonstrate or
support your ideas about it. You should use tools like summary, paraphrase,
specific examples, inferences, to make your thinking clear to your reader,
and YOU MUST INCLUDE AND DISCUSS ONE QUOTATION in each
paragraph. Finally, you will conclude the paragraph by reminding us what
the paragraph was meant to show and how and why it supports the main idea
or argument of the essay.
Again, your paper will include THREE of these paragraphs, one for each
story.
THE WHY or CONCLUSION Paragraph
In your conclusion, you will be expected to share your sense of the most
interesting or important thing(s) about your claim. After restating the claim
and briefly reminding us how and where the stories show and support it,
you’ll use the rest of the paragraph to explain why your claim is interesting
or important – how does it shed light on smaller details or larger aspects of
any of the stories, or the stories as a whole; how does is help us to think at
matters outside the story; how it might impact us intellectually or
emotionally, etc. …
Scoring Rubric for Garcia Marquez Papers
Introduction
Body
Paragraphs
Novice
Apprentice
Practitioner
Expert
Struggles or forgets
to provide context
for the paper’s
primary focus
Provides vague or
general context for
the paper’s primary
focus
Provides clear and
appropriate context
for the paper’s
primary focus
Provides original or
insightful context
for the paper’s
primary focus
Makes little effort
to engages the
audience
Attempts to engage
the audience
Engages the interest
and attention of the
paper’s audience
Creatively and
effectively engages
the paper’s audience
Confuses or leaves
out the paper’s
claim or focus
Begins to articulate
the paper’s claim or
focus.
Articulates the
paper’s claim or
focus in clear,
specific language
Articulates the
paper’s claim or
focus in confident
and compelling
language
OR
OR
OR
OR
Muddles or ignores
the WHATWHERE-WHY
format in
introducing the
paper’s focus and
structure.
Is generally
successful in
following the
WHAT-WHEREWHY format to
introduce the
paper’s focus and
structure.
Begins to articulate
a clear, accurate,
relevant claim as
the focus or center
of the paragraph
Successfully
follows the WHATWHERE-WHY
format in
introducing the
paper’s focus and
structure.
Employs the
WHAT-WHEREWHY format in
introducing the
paper’s focus and
structure with
clarity and
confidence.
Offers a thoughtful,
sophisticated, and
relevant claim as the
focus or center of
the paragraph
Provides no specific
or compelling
support for
paragraph’s claims
Attempts to employ
specific, relevant
details – examples,
quotations, literary
devices –in support
of the paragraph’s
claims
Employs specific,
relevant details –
examples,
quotations, literary
devices – that
support the
paragraph’s claims
Supports its claim
with insightful,
original, specific
details – examples,
quotations, literary
devices, etc.
Does not provide
clear, compelling
connections
between the
paragraph’s central
argument and the
claims or objectives
of the essay as a
whole.
Introduces the
connections
between the
paragraph’s central
argument and the
claims or objectives
of the essay as a
whole.
Explains the
connections
between the
paragraph’s central
argument and the
claims or objectives
of the essay as a
whole.
Connects the
paragraph’s central
argument and the
claims or objectives
of the essay in
smart, surprising, or
satisfying ways.
1
1
1
1
Struggles to
articulates a clear,
accurate, relevant
claim as the focus
or center of the
paragraph
2
3
2
3
Offers a clear,
accurate, relevant
claim as the focus
or center of the
paragraph
2
3
2
3
Novice
Conclusion
Writing
Comments
Apprentice
Practitioner
Expert
Struggles to identify
the most interesting
or important
conclusion(s) that
might be drawn
from the paper’s
discussion of the
subject.
Attempts to
articulate the most
interesting or
important
conclusion(s) that
might be drawn
from the paper’s
discussion of the
subject.
Articulates the most
interesting or
important
conclusion(s) that
might be drawn
from the paper’s
discussion of the
subject.
Presents insightful,
compelling
conclusion(s) that
might be drawn
from the paper’s
discussion of the
subject.
Repeats or ignores
the evidence we’ve
been presented.
Offers too much or
too little review of
the evidence we’ve
been presented that
might lead us to this
conclusion.
Briefly reviews the
evidence we’ve
been presented that
might lead us to this
conclusion.
Offers a precise,
concise review of
the evidence that
might lead us to this
conclusion.
Makes no attempt to
explore what’s
interesting,
important, and
worth considering
about the paper’s
claim.
Tries to adjust the
focus of the paper
(zooms in or out,
changes the focus,
etc.) to reveal
what’s interesting,
important, and
worth considering
about the paper’s
claim.
Adjusts the focus of
the paper (zooms in
or out, changes the
focus, etc.) to reveal
what’s interesting,
important, and
worth considering
about the paper’s
claim.
Adjusts the focus of
the paper (zooms in
or out, changes the
focus, etc.) in
surprising,
sophisticated ways
to reveal what’s
interesting,
important, and
worth considering
about the paper’s
claim.
Language is vague
or problematic.
With some
exceptions, the
language is clear
and appropriate.
Language is clear
and appropriate.
Language is
sophisticated and
precise.
Transitions need
attention.
Transitions are
generally logical
and effective
Transitions are
logical and effective
Transitions are fluid
and highly effective
Meaning is clouded
by repeated errors
in mechanics or
diction
The paper’s
meaning is clear,
though disrupted by
errors in mechanics
or diction
Primarily free of
errors in mechanics
or diction
Free of errors in
mechanics or
diction