Perfecting the Writing ProcessName ___________________________________________________

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Perfecting the Writing Process Name

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We are going to spend some time working together as a class to perfect some of the elements of writing a good analysis of literature. Utilizing the short stories we’ve read in class, we will break down the processes for writing thesis statements, an introduction, a quote sandwich, and a conclusion. You will want to take notes on this sheet as we work on each piece of the writing process in class.

Thesis Statements

The most important part of an analysis is the thesis statement. This is what you will set out to prove in the rest of your essay, therefore you will want to write it first. This will enable you to set up your thesis with an appropriate introduction, and it will help you determine what types of quotes you will need to back up your claims.

You will construct a thesis statement for your essay based on the topic you have chosen. Consider the topic we are working on as a class and then…

Turn the question of the topic around to make it into a statement. It should include the title (in quotes, italicized or underlined) and author, and contain a statement and an opinion.

Example: What is the function of the setting in Of Mice and Men? Choose one or two of the settings from the novella and explain its function. Does it establish mood (specify the mood)? Does it create conflict? Does it reveal information about a character? Why is the setting important? (Prompt)

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the marsh where George and Lennie stay on their way to the ranch, and where Lennie returns to hide at the end of the novel, establishes mood by evoking feelings in the reader that prepare them for the events that will take place in those settings. (Thesis)

Thesis statement: _____________________________________________________________________________

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Introductions

After writing a thesis statement, you can go back a construct an introduction that will lead in to your major claim properly. You will need the following information in your introduction:

 Title (in quotation marks because this is a short story)

 Author’s full name

 Any characters’ full names who you’ll discuss in your essay

 A brief summary of the story including plot points relevant to your thesis

 Thesis statement – this is your final sentence of your intro

Based on the information provided here, how many times does that mean you will list the title and author of the literature you are analyzing?? _______________

Quote Sandwiches

Now that you have an introduction and you have established your claim in your thesis statement, you are ready to select quotes from the literature to support your claim in your body paragraphs. The number of quotes you will need and body paragraphs you will have to write will vary based on the assignment, but you will always follow the same procedure for incorporating a quote into your paper.

Step 1: Select a quote that is meaningful to your thesis statement. In other words, find a quote that PROVES what you’ve said in your thesis statement. Everything has to relate back to the main point you are trying to make in that thesis, so make sure the quotes you choose are evidence of that claim.

Step 2: Set up your quotation with the proper citation. This will ensure that you have given credit for that quote to the literature you are pulling if from, and therefore do not plagiarize your work.

 All quotes from literature must be enclosed in quotation marks.

 All quotes must include a page number where the quote was found in the literature in parentheses AFTER the quotation marks.

 All quotes should include a period at the END of the citation (after the parentheses).

Example: “A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make

no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets

sick” (5).

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Step 3: Create an explanation for your quote. An explanation will be placed before your quote in order to set up the literature for the reader of your essay. It answers the who, what, why, where, when, and how of the story or book at the point in the plot from where your quote was pulled. In other words, what is happening in the story just before your quote occurs? You will need to include a speaker tag in your explanation in order to identify which character is speaking- or to establish the author (narrator) as the speaker.

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Step 4: Create an elaboration about your quote. This is where you will take your reader beyond what

can be found in the literature and show how this quote PROVES your thesis statement. Elaboration is

using one’s powers of observation to draw inferences and then to reflect upon the importance or

impact of those inferences. Elaboration digs deeper and makes complex connections through

comparing or contrasting, through questioning, through challenging preconceived notions, through

stepping in and walking around in someone else’s shoes, understanding others’ motivations, feelings,

and emotional reactions. This should be 100% your voice as the writer- a completely original thought

from your minds based on your quote’s relationship to the thesis.

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Step 5: “Sandwich” your quote with its citation in between the explanation and elaboration. Ta da! You now have a quote sandwich!! YUM  Repeat this process as necessary, depending on the assignment guidelines, utilizing topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph and transitions in between each sandwich.

Conclusions

Once you have constructed the required number of quotes into the required number of body

paragraphs, you will have adequately supported your thesis statement and will therefore be ready to wrap your essay up with a conclusion. You will need the following information in your conclusion:

 Theme of essay- RESTATE your thesis with the author and title

 Restatement of main ideas- RESTATE your topic sentence(s)

 Clincher statement- Why does this matter in the context of the literature you have analyzed?

In total, how many times are you REQUIRED to list the title and the author of the literature you are analyzing? ____________

Other Reminders

Keep the following things in mind whenever you are working on a formal literary analysis

Perfecting the Writing ProcessName ___________________________________________________