Honors English 10 Literary analysis Guidelines



English 11 - Literary Analysis Guidelines

Ms. Rubin

Welcome to the wonderful world of literary analysis! I hope you will enjoy the journey you will take to becoming a more critical reader and astute writer. For this first analysis (there will be more), we will focus on character, plot and theme. You will choose a prompt to respond to, but each of your essays will differ based on the characters and other elements you choose to analyze.

Writing a Literary Analysis

A literary analysis is a careful examination of the book or play after you complete it. It is a critical evaluation and analysis of the story’s elements and the writer’s techniques.

Think about the characters, setting, plot, theme and use of literary elements; evaluate their effectiveness throughout the book or play. Following is a guideline of paragraphs to be used to help you make your analysis and evaluation. For your literary analysis, you will include: an introduction, a summary of the novel, analysis of a character, a literary device, a discussion of the theme, and have a conclusion. You will use quotes from the story.

Discuss specific incidents and settings, but remember that a literary analysis is not a plot summary and does not tell what the story is “about.”

Fill out the following for your essay:

1) Thesis: _____________________________________________________

2) Character: _______________________

3) Literary Device: ____________________________

4) Theme: __________________________________

Structure of the Analysis – 5 paragraphs

In the first paragraph, you should include the title and author; remember to underline the title each time you use it. Your thesis statement must be sharply focused and encompass a thematic element expressed by the author. (5-6 sentences)

The second and third paragraphs will analyze a major character and literary device, as well as the development of each. Note the changes in the characters and literary devices throughout the story. Consider what we “learn” from them. Explain in detail and use quotes to support your observations. (8-10 sentences)

Your fourth and most important paragraph is the interpretation of theme. NEVER be cliché or simplistic. A statement of theme establishes a universal message that is weaved throughout the story and hinges on the characters’ development and plot development. Discuss how the characters change and grow and how the literary elements establish and communicate the thesis (theme) of the story. Don’t forget to use quotes reflecting the 3-S Method to support your main ideas. (8-10 sentences)

Your conclusion follows the elements of good writing and offers insight regarding your thesis. You will briefly reflect on the main characters’ development and how they were agents of the thematic message. While you revisit your thesis statement and main points presented in you essay, you do not introduce any new ideas that take away from your argument in your conclusion. End your essay with a final thought that is interesting and academic. (4-5 sentences)

MLA Format Rules! (It ain’t pretty, but it’s required.)

1. Font size: 12; Font type: Times New Roman ONLY

2. Double-spaced throughout.

3. No cover page or frou-frou graphics please.

4. Do not skip extra lines between paragraphs.

5. Proper MLA heading and pagination.

6. Use third person, present tense (formal) voice throughout the essay.

Other important information:

1. You must submit your final draft to by 7:30 pm on the due date. Submissions made after this time will be counted late and incur the appropriate penalty.

2. You must turn in a hard copy to me on the due date during class, or it will be considered late and incur a penalty.

Due dates: You will get a stamp for all of these and they will be added to your 1st quarter grade

First Paragraph 9/8

Second Paragraph 9/10

Third and Fourth Paragraph 9/11

Fifth Paragraph 9/14

Color Coding Draft in Class 9/17

Final draft and submitted to 9/18

How to Use Quotation Marks

Using Quotation Marks

The primary function of quotation marks is to set off and represent exact language (either spoken or written) that has come from somebody else. The quotation mark is also used to designate speech acts in fiction and sometimes poetry. Since you will most often use them when working with outside sources, successful use of quotation marks is a practical defense against accidental plagiarism and an excellent practice in academic honesty. The following rules of quotation mark use are the standard in the United States, although it may be of interest that usage rules for this punctuation do vary in other countries.

The following covers the basic use of quotation marks. For details and exceptions consult the separate sections of this guide.

Direct Quotations

Direct quotations involve incorporating another person's exact words into your own writing.

1. Quotation marks always come in pairs. Do not open a quotation and fail to close it at the end of the quoted material

2. Capitalize the first letter of a direct quote when the quoted material is a complete sentence.

Mr. Johnson, who was working in his field that morning, said, "The alien spaceship appeared right before my own two eyes."

3. Do not use a capital letter when the quoted material is a fragment or only a piece of the original material's complete sentence.

Although Mr. Johnson has seen odd happenings on the farm, he stated that the spaceship "certainly takes the cake" when it comes to unexplainable activity.

4. If a direct quotation is interrupted mid-sentence, do not capitalize the second part of the quotation.

"I didn't see an actual alien being," Mr. Johnson said, "but I sure wish I had."

5. In all the examples above, note how the period or comma punctuation always comes before the final quotation mark. It is important to also realize that when you are using MLA or some other form of documentation, this punctuation rule may change.

When quoting text with a spelling or grammar error, you should transcribe the error exactly in your own text. However, also insert the term sic in italics directly after the mistake, and enclose it in brackets. Sic is from the Latin, and translates to "thus," "so," or "just as that." The word tells the reader that your quote is an exact reproduction of what you found, and the error is not your own.

Mr. Johnson says of the experience, "it's made me reconsider the existence of extraterestials [sic]."

6. Quotations are most effective if you use them sparingly and keep them relatively short. Too many quotations in a research paper will get you accused of not producing original thought or material (they may also bore a reader who wants to know primarily what YOU have to say on the subject).

Source:

Literary Analysis Rubric

Ms. Anderson

|CATEGORY |Excellent |Good |Average |Approaching |Needs much improvement |

|Intro & |Intro and conclusion are |Intro and conclusion are |Intro and conclusion are |Intro and conclusion are |Intro and conclusion are weak |

|conclusion |clear and developed. Thesis |clear but need more |clear and have some |minimal and lacks |and unclear. Thesis does not |

| |is complex, addresses theme |development. Thesis is |development. Thesis |development. Thesis makes an|address theme and does not |

| |and guides entire paper. |interesting, addresses theme|addresses theme and guides |attempt to address theme but|guide paper. |

| | |and guides paper. |entire paper. |may be unclear. | |

|Character |Character analysis analyzes |Character analysis analyzes |Character analysis analyzes |Character analysis analyzes |Character analysis analyzes |

|analysis |the development of the |character completely using |character some but needs |character minimally and may |character at a surface level. |

| |character completely using |details and examples. |more examples and details. |have few examples and |There are few examples or none|

| |significant detail with |Character may be explored in|Character is not explored in|details. Character is not |used for support. Character is|

| |relevance to the other |relation to others. |relation to others or the |explored in relation to |not explored in relation to |

| |characters and the theme of | |theme. |others or the theme. |others or the theme. |

| |the novel. | | | | |

|Literary elements|Literary elements are |Literary elements are |Literary elements are |Literary elements are listed|Literary elements are not |

| |explored and analyzed with |explored and analyzed with |analyzed with using clear |but not analyzed and there |explored or explained. There |

| |insight using clear examples |using clear examples and |examples. |are few or no examples for |are no examples given for |

| |and connection to theme. |connection to theme. | |support. |support of main points. |

|Theme |Theme is analyzed completely |Theme is analyzed with |Theme is analyzed with |Theme is not analyzed but |Theme is not analyzed. No |

| |with interesting, original |original insight. Several |insight. Statements may be |merely stated. Statements |examples or weak examples are |

| |insight. Several examples are|examples are used to support|cliché or unoriginal. Some |may be cliché or unoriginal.|used to support statements. |

| |used to support analysis. |analysis. |examples are used to support|Few examples are used to | |

| | | |analysis. |support analysis. | |

|Conventions |Exceptionally strong control |Strong control of standard |Control of standard writing |Limited control of standard |Little control of standard |

| |of standard writing |writing conventions. The |conventions. Minor errors |writing conventions. Errors |writing conventions. Frequent,|

| |conventions. The writer uses |writer uses them effectively|that do not impede |begin to impede readability.|significant errors impede |

| |them effectively to enhance |to enhance communication. |readability. | |readability. |

| |communication. Errors are few|Errors are few and minor. | | | |

| |and minor. | | | | |

|3S method - |3S method is used correctly |3S method is used throughout|3S method is used but needs |3S method is used some but |3S method is rarely or not |

|support |throughout essay. Analysis |essay. Analysis and |to be used more throughout |may require more throughout |used. Analysis of quotes is |

| |and interpretation of quotes |interpretation of quotes is |essay. Analysis of quotes |essay. Analysis of quotes is|minimal but attempted and at |

| |is insightful and |demonstrates clear |demonstrates understanding |minimal but attempted and at|times may show comprehension |

| |demonstrates clear, original |understanding of the text. |of the text. |times may show comprehension|of the text. |

| |understanding of the text. | | |of the text. | |

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