+ Literary Analysis Writing Reminders

+ Formal Writing Avoid you, I, in my opinion, etc. Avoid contractions Avoid huge, big, a lot, exclamation points Avoid slang Avoid abbreviations (vs., ok, etc.) Avoid conversational words: Well, as you know… Heck, nope, etc. Now, the way I see it…

+ Organizational Reminders Papers must have an introduction (Timed Writing: it should be short – a couple of sentences) with your Thesis statement (last sentence of the introduction Papers need a conclusion (once again, short in a timed writing). DO NOT merely re-hash your whole paper. Body paragraphs must have TOPIC SENTENCES. These need to relate to the THESIS. All sentences in your body paragraphs need to support the topic sentence and/or thesis statement.

+ Focus FOCUS = the subject + the main idea about the subject Everything should work to establish, maintain, and develop the focus of the sentence, paragraph, or essay Purpose – everything is chosen and arranged to achieve this end Each body paragraph should use examples, details, quotes, and commentary to explore/explain/prove the thesis/topic sentence

+ Integrate quotes Quotes must be properly integrated into your paper. No free-floating quotes No ending a paragraph with a quote No beginning a paragraph with a quote Leave quotes out of your introduction and conclusion except in RARE occasions

+ Analyzing Writing Prompts Select a novel, play, or epic … then Write an essay in which you Analyze How the character’s experience With exile is Both alienating and enriching, and How this experience Illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.

+ Analyze Prompts continued Read the passage carefully. Then Write an essay in which you Define the narrator’s attitude towards the characters and Show how he directs the reader’s perceptions Of those characters Through his use of stylistic devices such as Imagery Diction Narrative structure Choice of specific details

+ Effective Leads: Exemplar In the wrong hands, fire can be a dangerous and destructive thing, but in the right hands, it can be used for its true purpose – revitalization, light, and hope. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, illustrates the two sides of fire quite clearly. Fire is first a destructive tool used to burn books and destroy the rebellious thoughts of the people. However, by the end of the novel, fire is seen as life-giver, a sign of hope.