ESSAY: WRITING AN ANALYSIS ESSAY

Description

A literary analysis essay is a way for students to respond to a text they have read by making an argument about the text and supporting it with analysis. The purpose is to choose a specific aspect of a text rather than the work as a whole, and to make an argument about it, which is supported by evidence within the text itself. This type of essay requires you to pay close attention to a piece of literature (in this case, the novel The Scarlet Letter).

To write this essay, you will need to choose something about The Scarlet Letter to analyze, such as a theme, writing technique, or story element. You will then decide on an interpretative stance about the concept you are analyzing, and then you will present evidence from the book to support that stance.

Analysis essays follow a specific structure and order, and should not contain personal opinion statements but rather be written in the 3rd person (no I, we or you). Typically, analysis essays follow the chronological order of events in the book. They are also written in present tense as though the events of the story are happening now. While we typically want to write about the events in past tense, writing about literary works is different because if you read/watch it then everything is again happening in the present.

Example:

• Correct: Elizabeth Bennet is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. She falls in love with Mr. Darcy, though their relationship is shaky at first.
• Incorrect: Elizabeth Bennet was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. She fell in love with Mr. Darcy, though their relationship was shakey at first.

You will be writing about the required book you have read for this unit.

• Understand the purpose for an analysis
• Analyze and interpret theme, purpose, meaning and technique in a work
• Develop a well written analysis essay

• Analyze: to examine carefully the content and structure for the purpose of interpreting or explaining
• Theme: the subject, purpose or message of a work; the author’s embedded thesis
• Writing techniques: the literary devices an author uses to convey their purpose and message (theme, figurative language, foreshadowing, flashback, flash-forward, point of view, setting, character, plot, etc.)

1. Review the book and your notes, particularly on the aspect you want to analyze and the ideas/events/quotes that support your intended argument.

2. Revise your previous thesis statement and outline if needed. The thesis should be the last sentence in the introduction.

3. Utilize your outline to write the essay; include your final outline above your essay. Your essay should be 600-900 words long.

• Your essay should contain at least three direction quotes with citations. Remember to not exceed the 15% quotation limit.

• MLA formatted paper
• Alphanumeric outline with the thesis at the top
• Essay of at least 600-900 words
• At least three quotes from the story to support your argument WITH parenthetical citations.
• Works cited page

• Grading Rubric
• Formatting a paper in MLA
• Documenting sources
• Writing thesis statements
• Using sources/quotes
• Differences between Summary and Analysis