ENC 1101 Literary Analysis Essay Instructions
In a literary analysis essay, your primary role is NOT to summarize the story, but to provide an analysis of the story. You do this by discussing themes, tone, imagery, the sources of tension, and by using your interpretive questions to develop a thesis statement.
First:
Select one of your interpretative questions. The answer to this question is your thesis statement.
Second:
Identify 2-3 themes in the essay from the list I provided you in class. Select themes that support your thesis statement. For each theme you select, extract specific examples and quotes from the story to support it. You should have 3-4 examples per theme for an essay of this length.
For example, if your thesis statement pertains to the role of women in the story, you would select 2-3 themes related to the role of women (e.g. gender roles, loneliness, motherhood).
Third:
Now you are ready to begin drafting your essay. Create an outline of your ideas to help you organize your ideas.
Essay Organization
Your essay can be organized as in the following order:
Introduction – summarize the story in 2-3 paragraphs. Discuss the characters, plot, setting, climax, and resolution. Your thesis statement should go at the end of your introduction. Your introduction should discuss the tone of the essay, using contextual examples to support your analysis.
Your introduction should:
• Pose your interpretive question about the text • Show why your question is interesting, problematic, and significant • Present relevant background about the story • Present your thesis statement—a one-sentence answer to your interpretive question
Body paragraphs – Each body paragraph should focus on one of the themes you have selected. For each theme you discuss, you should have quotes/examples from the short story AND you must provide an analysis of the quote from the story. Why is this part of the story an example of the theme you selected? What does it mean?
Your body paragraphs should develop and support your thesis using textual details and quotations and argument.
Conclusion – Summarize your thesis and interpretations of the themes you identified in the short story.
Your summary should:
• Return to your question and suggests why your answer is significant • Address the larger implications of your interpretation
Formatting Instructions
• 12 point font, Times New Roman • 1” Margins on all side • Length: 4-5 pages. • Provide in-text citations when using quotes. Use the following format: (p. 649) • Turnitin match: max 25% if you have 4 FULL pages. And can only be matches on quotes
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