Honors English 9 Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Literary Analysis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Pick a literary element to analyze: Note: Be thinking about your examples when you a. Theme write your thesis. You could say “several themes are b. Conflict presented” and list three themes in your body c. Setting paragraphs. Or, you could say, “one main theme runs throughout the novel,” and then provide three d. Characterization examples of how that theme is fleshed out. e. Symbolism Narrow that general idea into a thesis statement:  For example, “In Stephen Crane’s novel The Red Badge of Courage, several themes are presented.” (This would be a good thesis statement for someone who wanted to write about theme).  Watch one of these recorded lessons if you need help writing a thesis statement or learning about one of the literary elements: The Red Badge of Courage Recorded Lessons Gather quotes from the story that are related to this topic and will prove your thesis statement. You need three quotes for this paper, one for each body paragraph. These quotes can be quite short; even part of a sentence is fine. Include page numbers. Fill in the bare bones house first. This helps you clarify the thesis and three examples that support it. (This does not need to be in complete sentences.) Then, fill in the sample outline on the next page. Use this outline to write your essay. Follow MLA formatting guidelines: MLA Format Include a Works Cited in your paper (see the MB for a sample WC): The Red Badge of Courage Works Cited Proofread! Revise! Proofread! Revise! Read through the grading rubric very carefully to make sure you will get full credit in every category. Make changes as needed. To see the rubric, click here: The Red Badge of Courage Literary Analysis Rubric Include the link to your Check my Work Report at the end of your paper: Running a Check My Work Report Bare Bones House Thesis statement: Example 1: Example 2: Example 3: Honors English 9 Sample Outline: Paragraph 1: Introduction (something creative to start your paper: ________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ (For ideas on “hooks,” click here: Writing an Introductory Paragraph) Last sentence of P1 = Thesis statement:__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ (Transition word/phrase needed) Paragraph 2: First topic sentence that proves your thesis statement (for example, one theme from the story): ______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________     Example(s) from the story: ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Lead into the quote (your thoughts/intro to the quote):________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ *Quote(s) from the story (with page number): _______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis of the quote/your reflections of the quote: __________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ (Transition word/phrase needed) Paragraph 3: Second topic sentence that proves your thesis statement (for example, another theme from the novel): _______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________     Example(s) from the story: ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Lead into the quote (your thoughts/intro to the quote):________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ *Quote(s) from the story (with page number): _______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis of the quote/your reflections of the quote: __________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Honors English 9 (Transition word/phrase needed) Paragraph 4: Third topic sentence that proves your thesis statement (for example, another theme from the novel): ______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________     Example(s) from the story: ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Lead into the quote (your thoughts/intro to the quote):________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ *Quote(s) from the story (with page number): _______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Analysis of the quote/your reflections of the quote: __________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ (Transition word/phrase needed) Paragraph 5: Conclusion (Wrap up your paper with final thoughts/reflections. Do not simply restate your thesis) _________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ * Don’t forget to “sandwich” your quotes with your own thoughts/explanation. One idea is: lead up to the quote, include the quote, and then explain what the quote means or adds to your thesis. For more help in adding quotes to your paper, click here: Adding Quotes to the Literary Analysis To view a sample paper and see what your final draft should look like, click here: Sample Literary Analysis * Please be sure you are logged into Connexus when viewing this document in order for the hyperlinks to work. *