Components of the
Literary Analysis Paragraph
Let’s Review the Components of a
Literary Analysis Body Paragraph
CLAIM (Topic Sentence)
CONTEXT
INTEGRATED EVIDENCE
CITATION
ANALYSIS
REPEAT
CLAIM
In a literary analysis paragraph, your claim
is the topic sentence.
Your claim must support your thesis
statement (found in the introductory
paragraph).
Your claim must control the entire
paragraph. Everything that comes after the
claim (evidence and analysis) should set out
to prove the claim is true.
CONTEXT
Plot context sets up what is happening in the
story at the time the evidence is used.
You need to set up the evidence with the
necessary context to provide brief background
and to locate the reader in the text.
Context is also important because you must show
that you are using evidence in context.
You cannot simply choose any evidence to fit your
claim and argument. It must be correct. It must
be in context.
Without context, your reader may feel “lost.”
Finally, context should be brief and relevant.
Do not give a lot of “book summary.”
INTEGRATED EVIDENCE
You must integrate your evidence.
You cannot let evidence “stand alone” or
be a sentence by itself.
Either lead into the quote or exit the quote
with your own words.
Alternatively, you can take phrases from
the quote and use them in your sentence.
CITATION
At the end of the sentence, you need to
identify the origin of the evidence.
Example: blah blah blah” (Smith 36).
ANALYSIS
Analysis is an examination and discussion of how
and why the evidence proves the controlling idea
of your topic sentence or claim.
You need to provide analysis so your reader
understands how it proves your point.
The best way to create analysis is to answer the
question, “How does this evidence prove my claim
is true?”
DO NOT use the phrase “this quote shows” or
something similar.
DO NOT simply repeat what the evidence says.
REPEAT
Repeat the context, evidence, and analysis
as needed, until you have fully supported
the claim.
THINK – WRITE - SHARE
THINK: On your own, take a moment to think
about the following question: What do you need
to include in a literary analysis paragraph?
WRITE: On your own, write down the required
elements of a literary analysis paragraph.
SHARE: After writing your list, share and discuss
with a partner. Did you remember to include
everything?
THE PARAGRAPH
CLAIM
CONTEXT
INTEGRATED EVIDENCE
CITATION
ANALYSIS
REPEAT
For today’s workshop, we are going to
focus on integrating evidence correctly.
WHY USE EVIDENCE?
• Textual evidence is used to support your
thesis/argument. It is not used to make
the argument for you.
• The evidence helps you to prove that your
thesis/argument is true.
• Evidence gives credibility to your
thesis/argument.
HOW DO YOU
USE EVIDENCE?
• First, carefully select the best parts of the text
to support your thesis/argument.
• Second, abridge the selection to only the most
relevant and strongest evidence. Look for the
“power words and passages.”
• Third, integrate the evidence into your own
writing. -- Remember, the evidence is there to
support your argument, not to make it for you.
• Make any changes necessary so that the
evidence flows grammatically with your writing.
What is
“Evidence Integration”?
Evidence integration means incorporating
the evidence into your own writing.
You cannot let evidence “stand alone”
or be a sentence by itself.
Do not simply “drop in” your evidence.
You must connect the evidence with your
own words by using “signal phrases” or by
“weaving” it into your sentences.
THINK – WRITE - SHARE
THINK: On your own, take a moment to think about the
following questions:
Why is it important to use evidence?
What steps are necessary in selecting and using evidence?
What is evidence integration?
WRITE: On your own, record your thoughts and answers
to the above questions.
SHARE: After writing your thoughts and answers, share
and discuss with a partner. What questions do you still
have? What do you wonder about evidence integration?
How Do I
Integrate Evidence?
Standard Evidence Integration:
At a minimum, you must either lead into the
evidence or exit the evidence with your own
words. These are called “signal phrases.”
Natural Evidence Integration:
When possible, you should take phrases from the
evidence and use them within your own sentence.
This technique makes your argument “flow”
better, as you “weave” the evidence with your
own thoughts.
Standard
Evidence Integration
Standard Evidence Integration:
•
•
This type of integration uses “signal phrases” to
introduce a piece of evidence.
It is preferable to use this type of integration when you
want to attribute the idea to its source.
•
•
Henry David Thoreau explained, “I went to the woods because I wished
to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I
could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived.”
Standard integration should be connected to your
argument and integrated in a way to allow your reader
to understand the relevance of the selected evidence.
Standard
Evidence Integration
Do not leave your evidence “naked.” Make
sure it is clearly connected to your argument.
WRONG:
Grendel describes how he knows it is
time to start his war again. “I feel my anger
coming back, building like invisible fire, and at
last, when my soul can no longer resist, I go up"
(Gardner 9).
Why is this wrong? Note how the evidence is standing alone as
its own sentence. You can not do this. You must either lead into the
evidence, or lead out of it with your own words.
Standard
Evidence Integration
WRONG:
Grendel describes how he knows it is time to
start his war again. “I feel my anger coming back, building
like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no longer
resist, I go up" (Gardner 9).
CORRECT:
Grendel describes how he knows it is time to
start his war again. He states, “I feel my anger coming back,
building like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no
longer resist, I go up" (Gardner 9).
FIXING THE ERROR: In this example, by simply adding
the phrase “He states,” the evidence is now integrated with
the writing.
Standard
Evidence Integration
WRONG:
When Grendel listens to the Shaper’s songs,
he learns about the origin of his being. “He told of an
ancient feud between two brothers which split the world
between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark
side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed (51)”.
CORRECT:
When Grendel listens to the Shaper’s songs,
he learns about the origin of his being. He says, “He told of
an ancient feud between two brothers which split the world
between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark
side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed (51)”.
Standard
Evidence Integration
WRONG:
Grendel is overcome with emotion when he
first sees Wealtheow. “She was beautiful, as innocent as
dawn on winter hills. She tore me apart as once the
Shaper’s song had done” (100).
CORRECT:
Grendel is overcome with emotion when he
first sees Wealtheow. He states, “She was beautiful, as
innocent as dawn on winter hills. She tore me apart as once
the Shaper’s song had done” (100).
Standard
Evidence Integration
Avoid over using the phrase the author says, “yada yada yada.”
Vary your integration signal phrases when using standard integration.
acknowledges
comments
describes
maintains
reports
adds
compares
disputes
notes
responds
admits
concedes
emphasizes
observes
shows
agrees
confirms
endorses
points out
states
argues
contends
illustrates
reasons
suggests
asserts
declares
implies
refutes
summarizes
claims
denies
insists
rejects
writes
GROUP WRITING TASK:
(1) Read the “Three Little Pigs” story.
(2) Using some of the above signal phrases, discuss how you can
integrate the example “dropped in” quotes, and then re-write them so
that they are integrated using “standard quote” integration.
How to use
“Natural”
Evidence Integration
Natural
Evidence Integration
Whenever possible, try to integrate the
evidence so that it flows “naturally” with
your own writing. Instead of integrating
the evidence by using something like:
the character states, “yada yada yada,”
use the evidence as an integrated part of
your own writing. It makes it better!
Natural
Evidence Integration
Remember, evidence should never be used to make the
argument for you; it should be used to support your
argument.
Natural evidence integration makes the evidence a part
of your own writing, leading to better support.
When done correctly, if you were to remove the
quotation marks, you should not be able to tell where
your words end and the evidence begins. This
technique strengthens your writing, and it is the
preferred method in college.
Natural evidence integration leads to better analysis –
which is the point in an analysis writing assignment!
Natural
Evidence Integration
• Watch the following clip from The Colbert Report,
where Stephen Colbert uses natural quote
integration to incorporate quotes from a memo
about Wheat Thins.
• Pay attention to how his words flow “naturally”
with the quotes he selects.
• http://vimeo.com/46314038 - Begin clip at 1:53
How to Use Natural
Evidence Integration
Use brackets [ ] and ellipses . . . to change verbs or other parts of the
evidence when necessary. Remember: Literature must be written
about in the PRESENT TENSE. So, if you need to change the tense of a
verb, use a bracket [ ] to indicate the change.
Example of Standard Integration: Dwight is a bully who takes
out his anger and insecurity on those who are weaker than he is. The
narrator states, "This made him furious; on the way back to the car
he would kill anything he saw. He killed chipmunks, squirrels, blue
jays, and robins"(Wolff 171).
Example of Natural Integration: Dwight is a bully who takes
out his anger and insecurity on those who are weaker than he is.
While hunting, he boosts his ego by "kill[ing] anything he [sees]. He
kill[s] chipmunks, squirrels, blue jays, and robins" (Wolff 171).
How to Use Natural
Evidence Integration
Also, natural evidence integration means making the evidence
“flow” with your own writing, as if it were a part of your own
thought, which means you must also keep the writing in 3rd
person. Again, use brackets [ ] to indicate a change to person.
Example of Standard Integration: Grendel becomes aware of
an evil force surrounding him. He states, “I’d be surprised, I had to
admit, if anything in myself could be as cold, as dark, as centuries old
as the presence I felt around me” (54).
Example of Natural Integration: Grendel becomes aware of
an evil force surrounding him, yet he does not believe that “anything
in [himself] could be as cold, as dark, as centuries old as the presence
[he feels] around [him]” (54).
How to Use Natural
Evidence Integration
Also, natural evidence integration means making the evidence “flow”
with your own writing, as if it were a part of your own thought, which
means you must also keep the writing in 3rd person. Again, use
brackets [ ] to indicate a change to person.
Finally, with natural evidence integration, you may need to ad or omit
a word or two in order for the evidence to grammatically fit your
sentence or to make it clearer.
When you add words, put them in brackets. If you omit any words,
indicate with ellipses. Also, keep in mind that you can only insert or
omit words provided you do not change the meaning of the evidence.
THINK – WRITE - SHARE
THINK: On your own, take a moment to think about the
following questions:
What is the difference between standard quote integration and
natural quote integration?
What are some steps you may need to take in order to use natural
quote integration?
WRITE: On your own, record your thoughts and answers
to the above questions.
SHARE: After writing your thoughts and answers, share
and discuss with a partner. What questions do you still
have? What do you wonder about natural evidence
integration?
Natural
Evidence Integration
CORRECT, BUT “JUST OK”:
Grendel describes how he knows it is time to start his war
again. He states, “I feel my anger coming back, building
like invisible fire, and at last, when my soul can no longer
resist, I go up" (Gardner 9).
BEST! NATURAL EVIDENCE INTEGRATION:
Grendel knows it is time to start his war again, as he
begins to “feel [his] anger coming back, building like
invisible fire” (Gardner 9).
DISCUSS: What is the difference in integration?
Natural Evidence
Integration Examples
Standard: When Grendel meets men for the first
time, he states, “I knew I was dealing with . . . the
most dangerous things I’d ever met” (Gardner 27).
Natural: When Grendel meets men for the first
time, he comes to believe that they are “the most
dangerous things [he has] ever met” (Gardner 27).
DISCUSS: What is the difference in integration?
Natural Evidence
Integration Examples
Standard: After listening to the Shaper,
Grendel states, “I fled . . . torn apart by
poetry” (Gardner 44).
Natural: After listening to the Shaper,
Grendel feels confused and “torn apart by
poetry” (Gardner 44).
DISCUSS: What is the difference in integration?
Natural
Evidence Integration
Standard: When Grendel listens to the Shaper’s songs,
he learns about the origin of his being. He says, “He told of
an ancient feud between two brothers which split the world
between darkness and light. And I, Grendel, was the dark
side, he said in effect. The terrible race God cursed” (51).
Natural: When Grendel listens to the Shaper’s songs, he
learns about the origin of his being. He hears the story of
“an ancient feud between two brothers which split the world
between darkness and light,” and Grendel discovers that he
was “the dark side . . . [t]he terrible race God cursed” (51).
DISCUSS: What is the difference in integration?
Natural
Evidence Integration
Standard: Grendel is overcome with emotion when he
first sees Wealtheow. He states, “She was beautiful, as
innocent as dawn on winter hills. She tore me apart as once
the Shaper’s song had done” (100).
Natural: Grendel is overcome with emotion when he
first sees Wealtheow. He sees her as “beautiful” and
“innocent,” and her beauty “[tears him] apart as once the
Shaper’s song had done” (100).
DISCUSS: What is the difference in integration?
Natural
Evidence Integration
• Use brackets [ ] and ellipses . . . to change verbs or other parts of the evidence
when necessary.
• Remember: Literature must be written about in the PRESENT TENSE. So, if you
need to change the tense of a verb, use a bracket [ ] to indicate the change.
• Also, natural evidence integration means making the evidence “flow” with your own
writing, as if it were a part of your own thought, which means you must also keep
the writing in 3rd person. Again, use brackets [ ] to indicate a change to person.
• Finally, with natural evidence integration, you may need to ad or omit a word or two
in order for the evidence to grammatically fit your sentence or to make it clearer.
• When you add words, put them in brackets. If you omit any words, indicate with
ellipses. Also, keep in mind that you can only insert or omit words provided you do
not change the meaning of the evidence.
GROUP WRITING TASK: Paying attention to the rules of
natural evidence integration, discuss how you can change
your “standard integration examples,” and re-write them so
that they are integrated “naturally.”
Evidence Integration
Review
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
• DO NOT let evidence stand alone!
Grendel is evil. “Grendel came, hoping to
kill / Anyone he could trap on this trip to
high Herot.”
• DO Integrate the evidence!
Grendel is an evil creature who
“hop[es] to kill / Anyone he [can] trap
on [his] trip to high Herot” (lines 3-4).
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
• Do Not let evidence stand alone!
– Grendel goes to Herot. “Out from the
marsh . . . bearing God’s hatred.”
• Do Integrate the Evidence!
– When Grendel comes “out from the
marsh,” he stalks toward Herot “bearing
God’s hatred” (lines 1 – 2).
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
• Do Not lead into evidence with
“In line blah blah blah”
– In line 21 Raffel says that “his heart . . .”
• Do give context with integration:
– As Grendel enters Herot and sees the sleeping
men, “his heart . . .”
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
• Do Not Lead Into Evidence with
“In the story it says . . .”
– In the story it says, “he journeyed forever
joyless.”
• Do give context with integration:
– Grendel’s trip to Herot is not one filled with
great excitement; it is a trek that he
“journey[s], forever joyless” (line 11).
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
Do Not
leave evidence in wrong tense!
(Remember: literature is written about in present tense!)
– As Grendel enters Herot and sees the
sleeping men, “his heart laughed.”
Do fix the tense!
– As Grendel enters Herot and sees the
sleeping men, “his heart laugh[s].”
(Use [] brackets to make any changes necessary to correct the
tense, or make the sentence fit grammatically or for better
understanding.)
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
• Do Not leave evidence “as is” if it does not make
sense grammatically!
– As Grendel enters Herot and sees the sleeping men,
“his heart laughed, he relished the sight, intending
to tear the life from those bodies.”
• Do add words as needed to make the sentence work!
– As Grendel enters Herot and sees the sleeping men,
“his heart laugh[s], [and] he relishe[s] the sight,
intending to tear the life from those bodies” (lines
21 – 22).
INTEGRATING EVIDENCE
Before
During
&
After
Writing
ASK YOURSELF:
• Is my chosen evidence RELEVANT and is it
THE BEST evidence to support my thesis?
• Do not choose evidence that has nothing (or
almost nothing) to do with supporting your
thesis.
• Do not choose only the most obvious evidence.
• Try to find some great evidence not discussed in
class, so that I can see your thinking – not mine.
ASK YOURSELF:
• Have I abridged the evidence down to the
most supportive, relevant, essential, and
focused parts?
• Use lengthy quotes sparingly!
• Use the evidence to support your argument;
do not use the evidence to make the argument
for you.
ASK YOURSELF:
• Have I changed the verb inflections,
added words, or deleted words as needed
to fit the grammatical structure and
understanding of my sentence?
• Remember: Literature is written about in the
present tense! Make changes to the evidence as
needed using brackets [ ] to fit that tense.
• It is okay to add words to the evidence, using
brackets [ ], in order to make the sentence
clearer, as long as it does not change the
meaning of the evidence.
ASK YOURSELF:
• Have I asked questions of my evidence?
(Example: how specifically does this
evidence support my argument?)
• Interact with the text! Break the evidence
down. Ask your evidence questions and then
answer them!
SAY – WRITE - DO
SAY: With a partner, discuss the evidence integration in your writing
assignment.
Have you integrated all of your evidence?
What kind of integration did you use? Standard? Natural?
How can you improve your integration?
WRITE: Re-write your evidence so that (1) all is integrated correctly
using both standard and natural evidence integration. You must use
natural evidence integration with at least one quote. Vary your
integration so that it is done most effectively. (Note: You may not need
to use the whole quote – only select the most relevant, “powerful” parts.
Remember to fix for present tense and third person!
DO: Attach your rewritten evidence integration to your writing
assignment and turn in.