Passage Analysis Writing Notes

General Thoughts About Writing About Literature Underline titles of full works (quotation marks are for shorter works like poems, short stories, songs) Differentiate between the author and the narrator Avoid contractions (write out the words) Avoid using the pronoun “you” Instead, use a person, one, people, etc.

Avoid empty adverbs and adjectives Write in present tense Avoid personal pronouns (I, we, my, me, etc.” Eliminate phrases such as “I believe,” “I think,” Be careful of “if” statements. Focus on what is in the text rather than hypothesizing about what could have been Avoid empty adverbs and adjectives “this very exciting book” “extremely interesting plot”

Avoid overly blunt wording Examples: “In this passage. . .” “My thesis is. . .” “This quotes shows. . .”

When writing about a passage: First think about why the passage is important to the work as a whole Does it: reveal character? relate to a theme? contribute to plot or a portion of plot? repeat or stress certain words? contain symbolism that is important in the work? illuminate a conflict? make a new idea or concept obvious?

Next, pinpoint very specific portions of the passage to use to prove the overall point you’re making. You should only use these words in your paragraph Your explanation/analysis should use these words to fully explain the overall importance of the passage to the work as a whole.

When Incorporating Quotations Be sure that they fit into your sentences in a way that is grammatically correct: When Cole responds, he says, “. . . . .” Peter’s forgiveness is proven by his words: “. . .” Do not begin your analysis with “this quote” or “this quotation” Instead use a noun to introduce: Cole’s words indicate. . . Peter’s response shows. . . Use Analysis Verbs! (list to follow!)

Citations Should Look Like This: “No, Cole thought he should not be here” (Mikaelsen 25). Cole says, “When I hurt you, I hurt myself, too. I don’t think I’ll ever heal froom what I did to you, but I’m sorry, Peter” (Mikaelsen 237).

When Writing Just One Paragraph Don’t try to include too much! Focus on just the one idea in your claim Be sure that your paragraph does not read like a list of items, rather than a thought-out paragraph

Writing Claims What is the difference between these two claims? Which is better? In Touching Spirit Bear, a fictional novel written by Ben Mikaelsen, the main character, Cole Matthews, realizes that one can never get rid of anger; this realization allows him to make his anger more controllable and also helps on the path to Peter Driscal’s forgiveness. In Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, the second passage is significant to this realistic fiction novel as a whole.