1. Writing an Analysis for High School
AEC Model

2. Standards
ELACC8RL1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
This will also apply to the majority of your 9th-12th grade common core literary reading and writing standards

3. Analyzing a Topic
Look at your essay topic and figure out what it is asking you to do.
Figure out what you want to say about your topic (Assertion)
Figure out the evidence you will use to support your topic (Direct quotations and paraphrasing)
Figure out how you will divide the information into paragraphs

4. The House of the Scorpion Prompt
In The House of the Scorpion, the theme of prejudice and discrimination based on stereotypes is prevalent throughout the text. Write a well developed, multi paragraph essay showing how the theme develops throughout the story. Use specific details and evidence from the text to support your argument.

5. What is AEC?
AEC is a formula for writing. A lot of high school teachers at RHS love it and suggest it to make literary analysis easier for you.
It stands for:
Assertion
Evidence
Commentary

6. What is Assertion?
Assertion is a statement that offers an opinion about a subject or something to prove about a subject.
It’s basically like a thesis statement or a controlling idea
Set up your sentence like this:
Subject + something to prove
Subject + opinion

7. Sample Assertion based on the queen in Snow White
Writing Prompt: Describe the queen’s attitude about herself in the fairytale Snow White. An assertion will answer the prompt: In the fairytale Snow White, the queen is vain.

8. Look back at the Prompt for our Book, and write your own assertion now
In The House of the Scorpion, the theme of prejudice and discrimination based on stereotypes is prevalent throughout the text. Write a well developed, multi paragraph essay showing how the theme develops throughout the story. Use specific details and evidence from the text to support your argument.

9. What is Evidence
The evidence offers an example to support your assertion.
This evidence or concrete detail, is a specific example from the text that proves the opinion offered by the assertion.
Evidence sentences should include:
A transition
A contextual lead in
A concrete detail (Quotation, fact, paraphrasing)
(TLC)

10. Here is an example from Snow White
Assertion: In the fairytale Snow White, the queen is vain.
Evidence: For example, when the queen wakes up every morning, she looks into her magic mirror, and she says, “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”
Find the:
Transition
Contextual Lead in
Concrete Detail/Quotation

11. Your Evidence for this Essay
In The House of the Scorpion, your evidence will be your quotations. You only need to select 3-6 of them for now (1-2 per paragraph), but you may certainly do more if you like!
Be sure to introduce each quote with a transition and a contextual lead in.

12. What is Commentary
Commentary explains why the evidence supports the opinion given in the assertion.
It explains the thinking behind your example
You should have 2 commentary sentences for each example (in general)

13. Commentary Example for Snow White
Topic Sentence: In the fairytale Snow White, the queen is vain. Evidence: For example, when the queen wakes up every morning, she looks into her magic mirror, and she says, “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Commentary 1: Looking in the mirror daily and praising her own beauty is a self-centered act. Commentary 2: The queen is more concerned about her own appearance than anything else in her life.

14. In the Scorpion Essay…
You will simply use your analysis paragraphs to help you build your commentary sentences.

15. A Basic Paragraph
Generally, a body paragraph in an essay will go like this:
Topic Sentence (mini assertion)
Evidence
Commentary
Conclusion/transition Sentence

16. Fancy Body Paragraph Topic Sentence Lead in/Evidence (Quote)
Commentary (Explain the quote)
Commentary (Explain the Quote)
It just depends on the specific requirements.

17. In High School, Never Use:
I, Me, My
You
This shows…
This proves…
The teachers will expect you to use FORMAL register in an analysis piece. This is different from extemporaneous argument/expository where we could use Casual Register.

18. To earn your grade, you must:
Have an intro with
A lead in
An assertion
Have evidence that:
Uses 3-6 Quotations (1-2/body paragraph)
Has transitions and lead ins
Has correct citations
Has quotations formatted correctly
Have 2 or more pieces of commentary for each quotation
Have a conclusion
Have correct punctuation
Have correct capitalization
Have correct usage