To write a literary analysis, you must focus on the main elements of a piece of writing that make it stand out as a literary work. Develop ideas and discuss certain elements in the analysis in order to create a clear and real essay.
Step
Method 1 of 7: Developing Thesis
Step 1. Write a thesis
A thesis is a sentence (or several) sentences that describe the main idea of your writing and the answers to the questions posed by your writing. To form a solid thesis, think about the following:
- What am I arguing about?
- What is my reason?
- Should I organize the reasons/evidence I found?
Step 2. Write a short thesis sentence
A good thesis sentence should:
- Mention the three main points you want to make clear in the core of the essay.
- Review your argument settings.
- Explain the significance of your argument.
- It appears in the first paragraph, because the thesis sentence serves as an introduction to the approach you used to research the literary work. In general, the thesis sentence appears at the end of the first paragraph, so that it can let the reader know what the essence of your writing will be like.
Step 3. Revise your thesis
Often times, as writing develops, so will the thesis. Feel free to change the thesis sentence so that it can accurately summarize your writing after you have written it.
Method 2 of 7: Supporting Arguments: Introductory Paragraph
Step 1. Write a strong and compelling introduction
This is where your writing begins-the first impression should be assertive, engaging, and encouraging the reader to keep reading. Some ideas you can try starting with:
- Relevant quotes or anecdotes. These quotes or anecdotes can be indirect or direct, depending on the text you are analyzing.
- Interesting facts or questions.
- Confession of counter arguments.
- Irony, paradox or analogy
Step 2. End the introduction with a thesis sentence
The thesis sentence should look like it introduces the content of the article.
Method 3 of 7: Supporting Arguments: Core Paragraph
Step 1. Develop a compelling core paragraph
This is where you will provide evidence to support your argument. The standard core is three paragraphs, although longer essays require more core paragraphs.
- In answering written questions, think about what evidence you have to make a statement. How does it relate to the overall theme? Is there a piece of evidence that you forgot?
- Read carefully (close reading) and analyze several factors in your literary analysis. You can discuss character development-how an individual changes from beginning to end. You can focus on fatal character flaws and research the faults of your chosen character.
- Consider focusing on the setting and theme of the literary work you are researching. Emphasize the ways in which these elements contribute to the overall quality of your writing.
- An essay will fail if the author prefers to ignore some elements that do not fit into his thesis. Make sure your argument is deselected and select a section of the text to study, and a section of text to ignore.
- Emphasize one main point per paragraph in this section. There is no need to express all the evidence into a single idea.
Step 2. Consider the context
If the author uses heavy symbolism and other elements in his writing to hide the intent of his literary work, examine his experience. What happened in his life? Does your argument fit this situation?
- Context must develop a specific point of view on the text. You could argue that the story is a product of the culture and times in which it emerged. To follow up on the argument, write down details about the historical aspects of the literary work inside and outside the text.
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feel free to use a second source (text from another author).
- Books and articles discussing the same writing
- Books and articles discussing theory related to the text
- Books or articles that discuss the historical and social context of the text
Method 4 of 7: Supporting Arguments: Conclusion
Step 1. Conclude the analysis with a strong conclusion
Summarize your entire writing in the last paragraph. The conclusion should cover all the main points you made in the previous elements of your literary analysis. However, the conclusion should also touch on the implications of your argument.
- Don't repeat the points that have been made over and over
- Suggest next steps
- Make connections between genre and context
Method 5 of 7: General Guide
Step 1. Choose an attention-grabbing title
You can endure not creating a title until the end of time, when your writing has been written and the arguments are clearly stated.
Step 2. Write in “present tense” if using English
Regardless of the time of writing, write in colloquial terms: “This orange peel floats in the water, carrying its innocence with it”.
Step 3. Write in the pronoun faithful
Don't use "me" or "you".
Some professors may allow the use of first or second person pronouns. If so, you can express the level of excitement you felt while reading the text (If this is still your assignment and the teacher allows it). You can discuss the quality of the text that impressed you the most, the reasons you found, or that you didn't feel that the main character in the story was trustworthy
Step 4. Use literary terms
Literary terms will make your writing look information-rich, balanced, and well thought out. Some examples of literary terms include:
- Allusions: Brief or indirect references to well-known characters or events.
- Irony: A reference to the way a person, situation, statement, or circumstance is not what it seems.
- Metaphor: A type of figurative language in which a sentence is made to explain something that turns out to have a different meaning, but actually doesn't.
Step 5. Use secondary sources
Secondary sources can be used to support arguments. However, remember that secondary sources should be second priority. This is what you write - use other writers' opinions as support for your argument - not do it all. Secondary sources can be obtained in several ways:
- “MLA International Bibliography” (MLA International Bibliography)
- “Dictionary of Literary Biography” (Dictionary of Literary Biography)
- Ask your teacher or professor.
Method 6 of 7: Things to Avoid
Step 1. Don't summarize the plot of a literary work
Your writing is intended as an analysis, not a summary.
Step 2. Don't confuse the words of the story characters with the author's point of view
The two things are very different-make sure your argument includes only one of them.
Step 3. Don't plagiarize
Plagiarism will frustrate you right away.
Method 7 of 7: Editing and Polishing
Step 1. Check for spelling and grammatical errors
You can use a spell-check, but it's not 100% accurate.
Step 2. Ask others to review your writing
After reading the same thing over and over again, your eyes won't notice any mistakes and good flow of writing. Ask a friend to check the grammar, content, and clarity of your writing.
Step 3. Check to make sure you meet all the writing guidelines
Every professor is different-make sure you know what kind of writing he prefers before submitting your analysis:
- Margin
- Page numbering
- Writing bibliography
Step 4. Review the introduction
Is the introductory part:
- Interesting readers?
- Have a variety of sentence structures (for the flow of writing)?
- Written from general to specific?
- End with a thesis statement?
Step 5. Review the main paragraph
Is your core paragraph:
- Have a topic sentence?
- Have a good shift?
- Have an effective, well-placed quote?
- Have a closing at the end of each paragraph?
Step 6. Review the conclusion section
What is the conclusion part:
- Starting with a rewritten thesis?
- Suggest next steps?
- Connect something?
- Summarizing well?
Tips
- Make sure you have a clear understanding of the essay assignment before writing the analysis. The main rule is to always follow the teacher's instructions and guides.
- Write a brief analysis and make sure you relate everything in the analysis to the thesis sentence.
- Don't rush into evaluating your writing before putting it together to make sure you don't accidentally use someone else's words. In other words, double check to make sure you're not plagiarizing.
