Literary Analysis Paragraph Structure 2022

LITERARY ANALYSIS

Writing

Taking your writing skills to the 8th grade level!

What is LITERARY ANALYSIS writing?

Literary refers to any type of literature (books, plays, poems).

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​Analysis refers to a close examination or study of a topic to gain a better understanding.

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​Literary analysis = making a claim about literature & carefully proving it

​What is in a THESIS statement?

Step 1: Write your Thesis

​Your thesis must include 3 things!

Poll

YOUR THESIS MUST INCLUDE WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING?

• TITLE 

• AUTHOR

• EVIDENCE

• EXPLANATION

• PROMPT/CLAIM

​PROMPT: Discuss the theme of a classic children's story.

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In Charles Perrault's timeless tale, Little Red Riding Hood, the theme is that things are not always as they seem.

​Literary Analysis Thesis Statements must include:

• ​TITLE

• ​AUTHOR

• ​PROMPT = state claim/restate prompt

Multiple Choice

PROMPT: Choose a character from a story by Edgar Allan Poe and discuss the cause of his downfall.

Which of the following is the BEST thesis statement?

TITLE, AUTHOR, PROMPT (Claim)!

• In Poe's well-known tale, The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator's hubris leads to his downfall.

• In Edgar Allan Poe's famous story, The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator fears the Old Man's eye.

• In The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator's fear of death and his hubris lead to his downfall.

• In Poe's well-known tale, the narrator's experiences reveal a lot about Poe's real life.

The rest of the essay is about ...​

​Integrating Evidence in 3 main steps!

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Integrating​: combining one thing with another to make it whole

Evidence: a quote or specific detail from the text that supports your claim

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​Step #2 ​ Introduce the evidence

• ​Set the scene = background information

• ​Give a basic idea about what is happening when the quote occurs.

  • DO NOT summarize the whole plot!

  • ​Remember that even people who read the story need help knowing which scene you're writing about.

​How could we introduce this quote from The Tell-Tale Heart?

​“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”

Multiple Choice

Which is the best introduction to evidence for this quote: 

“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”

• The story begins with a narrator's confession of murder.  He first explains that he is not mad, but rather, has acute hearing.

• The narrator has a disease that sharpens his senses.  He commits a murder and conceals the body.

• Hearing things is really important in the story, because this foreshadows the heartbeat at the end.

• The narrator is mad, so he kills a man because of his evil eye.  He conceals the body and lies to the police.

​Step #3(A) Evidence tag

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• ​WHO is speaking

• ​HOW the quote is being used/said/written

• WHAT​ is the context of the situation

• Tag + Comma + Quote

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• ​In an expository essay, which is about nonfiction, you can simply write "the author" or "the text" as the who and "states" or "claims" as how

​How could we add an evidence tag to this quote from The Tell-Tale Heart?

​“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”

Multiple Choice

Which is the best evidence tag for this quote: 

“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”

• After admitting to the reader he committed a murder, the narrator calmly explains,

• When the narrator is sitting in a prison cell, text says,

• In the beginning of the story the madman screams,

• According to author Edgar Allan Poe,

​Step #3(B) Choose the right EVIDENCE

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• ​Find evidence that connects to the prompt

• Not obvious plot detail

• ​Does it have to be a quote? (a quote is a line pulled from the text - it does not necessarily have to be something a character said)

​On the next slide, choose what you think is the best evidence for this prompt:

​PROMPT: Choose a character from a story by Edgar Allan Poe and discuss the cause of his downfall.

Poll

PROMPT: Choose a character from a story by Edgar Allan Poe and discuss the cause of his downfall.

Which of the following is the BEST evidence?

• ​“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”

• "But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded...”

• "I admit the deed! Tear up the planks!"

• “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night.”

​Step #3(C) Add Citation = cite your source

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• Give CREDIT or it's STEALING!

• PLAGIARISM is a crime.

• Use author last name & page number​

• ​No P or PP or PG or #!!!!

• ​If no author is listed, use the editor, title or website. If there is no page number, use a paragraph # or leave it blank! (Ask a teacher!)

​How could we add citation to this quote from The Tell-Tale Heart?

​“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct citation for this quote: 

“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”

• "I heard many things in hell." (Poe, 1).

• "I heard many things in hell" (Poe #1).

• "I heard many things in hell." (Poe 1).

• "I heard many things in hell," (Poe 1).

​Step #4 Explain

• HOW your quote supports your claim

• ​WHY it's important

• ​NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER write "this quote shows" or "this evidence proves"! Just write what it shows and explain what it proves!

​How could we explain how the quote below proves this claim?

CLAIM: In Poe's well-known tale, The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator's hubris leads to his downfall.

​QUOTE: "But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded...”

IN YOUR EXPLANATION...

• A helpful strategy to use when explaining your evidence is to use a chunk of your quote in your explanation.

• This is not required, but it is effective!

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​​QUOTE: "But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded...”

• ​EXAMPLE: In his description of the events, not only does the narrator feel confident about the deed, but he repeats his prideful desire that others "should have seen" him do it (Poe 11).

Step #5 Conclusion

• Wrap it up!

• ​Refer back to key words from your claim

• ​Use a verb that shows how your quote proves your claim:

​ illustrates, demonstrates, exemplifies, proves, highlights

​NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER write "as I've shown" or "as you can see"!

​How could we conclude an essay about this claim?

CLAIM: In Poe's well-known tale, The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator's hubris leads to his downfall.

Multiple Choice

Which is the best conclusion for this claim: 

In Poe's well-known tale, The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator's hubris leads to his downfall.

• In sum, the narrator has hubris.

• In conclusion, the narrator ends up confessing to his crime.

• The Tell-Tale Heart is about a proud character who commits a terrible crime.

• Throughout the story, Poe illustrates that the ultimate downfall of the narrator is the result of his own hubris.

TIPS if you want to VEX your ENGLISH TEACHERS...

​WARNING: The following STYLE no-no's should only be used if you plan to drive your English teachers to madness.

• ​Personal pronouns (you, we, us, I)

​I think, I feel, I believe, I suppose

• ​Wishy-washy words, like "maybe" or "possibly"

​ALWAYS WRITE IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!

• ​The word QUOTE!

• ​Contractions: can't, haven't, isn't, doesn't

• ​Past tense & slang

​Every time you read, the story "happens" again.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence contains no common errors?

• All in all, I feel that hubris is the cause of his downfall.

• In this quote, we see the narrator's hubris.

• As a result of his hubris, the narrator fails to see that he isn't going to get away with the murder.

• When the narrator was confessing, he probably sounded nervous to the officers.

• The narrator's hubris is demonstrated through his desperate confession of murder.