A Step-By-Step Guide On

Writing The Literature Essay

Holy Cross High School: Grade 11 Literature Essay Guidance
Acknowledgements
• 2007 Valli Rao, Kate Chanock, Lakshmi Krishnan
• Youtube publications- Mrs Williams (Animal Farm Essay)
So the how to:
• The Literature in its entirety.
• The Set-Up of the Literature Essay.
• The Structure.
• The Process.
• The Breakdown.
• The Requirements.
• The Plaigarism aspect.
A few FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
• What is a Literature Essay/Study?
• A literary analysis essay is an academic assignment that examines and
evaluates a work of literature or a given aspect of a specific literary piece. It
tells about the big idea or theme of a book you've read.
• What is a Literature Review?
• A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal
articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question.
• It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation, or research paper, in order
to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.
What is the commonality here, and what are
the differences?
• The Literature Essay VS The Literature Review:
• Similarities:
✓ Both are academic in nature
✓ Reviewing a given source
✓ Quite similar in terms of a given question/s for assessing the source
• Differences:
 The Literature Essay is an analysis of a specific literary piece
 The Literature Review is about the survey of scholarly sources and forms part of a
dissertation
 The Literature Essay is more honed in on your literature as a reviewed piece based on
the actual literature
 The Literature review is an overview of a collective of information for research purposes
within a thesis or dissertation study
 The purpose of a Literature Essay
• The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to carefully examine and sometimes evaluate
a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature.
• As with any analysis, this requires you to break the subject down into its component
parts.
• Examining the different elements of a piece of literature is not an end in itself but
rather a process to help you better appreciate and understand the work of literature as
a whole.
• For instance, an analysis of a poem might deal with the different types of images in a
poem or with the relationship between the form and content of the work.
• If you were to analyze (discuss and explain) a play, you might analyze the relationship
between a subplot and the main plot, or you might analyze the character flaw of the
tragic hero by tracing how it is revealed through the acts of the play.
• Analyzing a short story might include identifying a particular theme (like the difficulty
of making the transition from adolescence to adulthood) and showing how the writer
suggests that theme through the point of view from which the story is told; or you
might also explain how the main character’s attitude toward women is revealed
through his dialogue and/or actions.
What is the purpose of the Literature Essay-
That may be similar to a Literature Review?
• You are able to familiarise yourself with the current state of knowledge on
your topic
• To inform yourself that you aren’t repeating what others have already done
• To enable yourself to identify the gaps in your own knowledge and that of
the topic, as well as unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic
• Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to
existing research and what new insights it will contribute.
Explaining a bit more in depth

Theoretical Framework Methodology

• A theoretical framework consists of • The definition of methodology is the
concepts and, together with their branch of logic that studies reasoning
definitions and reference to relevant or is the way something is done.
scholarly literature, existing theory An example of methodology is the
that is used for your particular way an experiment was carried out.
study. The theoretical framework
must demonstrate an understanding
of theories and concepts that are
relevant to the topic of your research
paper and that relate to the broader
areas of knowledge being considered.
Taking an active step towards
the structure
Explaining the structure of your Essay
 An Essay Planning Template
Essay Planning Template
Before you write your essay, plan the points you want to make, and find evidence to back up your ideas. Try
using P.E.E.L. to help you structure each paragraph.

Make your POINT in a Topic Sentence – this is a statement about what point your paragraph will make.
Explanation – this is where you demonstrate that you understand the point made, and explain how it supports
your point.
Example – this is evidence to back up your point.
Link – this is where you sum-up your point and link it to the question. Use a connective to link it to the
introduction of your next idea.
Essay question:
Write it in this space
Break up the question into parts
INTRODUCTION
Write down the key words that you
Will include in your introduction.
Paragraph 1 Paragraph 2 Paragraph 3
Topic sentence / key idea Topic sentence / key idea Topic sentence / key idea
Explanation (interpretation) Explanation (interpretation) Explanation (interpretation)
Example / Evidence Example / Evidence Example / Evidence
(substantiation) (substantiation) (substantiation)
Link to argument/ question/ next Link to argument/ question/ next Link to argument/ question/ next
paragraph paragraph paragraph
Paragraph 4 Paragraph 5 Paragraph 6
Topic sentence / key idea Topic sentence / key idea Topic sentence / key idea
Explanation (interpretation) Explanation (interpretation) Explanation (interpretation)
Example / Evidence Example / Evidence Example / Evidence
(substantiation) (substantiation) (substantiation)
Link to argument/ question/ next Link to argument/ question/ next Link to argument/ question/ next
paragraph paragraph paragraph
CONCLUSION:
Plan a conclusion by referring back to the question
Draw your argument to a close
Remember no new ideas.
Start with a suitable connective.
 Points to Remember
• Writing is the sharpened, focused expression of thought and study.
• As you develop your writing skills, you will also improve your perceptions and
increase your critical abilities.
• Writing ultimately boils down to the development of an idea.
• Your objective in writing a literary analysis essay is to convince the person
reading your essay that you have supported the idea you are developing.
• Unlike ordinary conversation and classroom discussion, writing must stick with
great determination to the specific point of development.
• This kind of writing demands tight organization and control.
• Therefore, your essay must have a central idea (thesis), it must have several
paragraphs that grow systematically out of the central idea, and everything in it
must be directly related to the central idea and must contribute to the
reader’s understanding of that central idea.
Three principles of a Literature Essay:
1. Your essay must cover the topic you are writing about.
2. Your essay must have a central idea (stated in your thesis) that
governs its development.
3. Your essay must be organized so that every part contributes
something to the reader’s understanding of the central idea.
The aspects of a solid Essay
The makings of a great literature essay
The Thesis Statement
• The thesis statement tells your reader what to expect:
• It is a restricted, precisely worded declarative sentence that states the
purpose of your essay -- the point you are trying to make.
• Without a carefully conceived thesis, an essay has no chance of success.
• The following are thesis statements which would work for a 500-750 word
literary analysis essay:
• Gwendolyn Brooks‟s 1960 poem “The Ballad of Rudolph Reed” demonstrates how
the poet uses the conventional poetic form of the ballad to treat the unconventional
poetic subject of racial intolerance.
• The fate of the main characters in Antigone illustrates the danger of excessive pride.
• The imagery in Dylan Thomas‟s poem “Fern Hill” reveals the ambiguity of humans‟
relationship with nature. Typically, the thesis statement falls at the end of your
introductory paragraph.
The Introduction
• The introduction to your literary analysis essay should try to capture your reader’s interest. To bring immediate focus to
your subject, you may want to use a quotation, a provocative question, a brief anecdote, a startling statement, or a
combination of these. You may also want to include background information relevant to your thesis and necessary for the
reader to understand the position you are taking. In addition, you need to include the title of the work of literature and
name of the author. The following are satisfactory introductory paragraphs which include appropriate thesis statements:
A. What would one expect to be the personality of a man who has his wife sent away to a convent (or perhaps has had
her murdered) because she took too much pleasure in the sunset and in a compliment paid to her by another man? It
is just such a man—a Renaissance duke—who Robert Browning portrays in his poem “My Last Duchess.” A character
analysis of the Duke reveals that through his internal dialogue, his interpretation of earlier incidents, and his actions,
his traits—arrogance, jealousy, and greediness—emerge.
B. The first paragraph of Alberto Alvaro Rios’s short story “The Secret Lion” presents a twelve-year-old boy’s view of
growing up—everything changes. As the narrator informs the reader, when the magician pulls a tablecloth out from
under a pile of dishes, children are amazed at the “stay-the-same part,” while adults focus only on the tablecloth itself
(42). Adults have the benefit of experience and know the trick will work as long as the technique is correct. When
people “grow up,” they gain this experience and knowledge but lose their innocence and sense of wonder. In other
words, the price paid for growing up is a permanent sense of loss. This tradeoff is central to “The Secret Lion.” The key
symbols in the story reinforce its main theme: change is inevitable and always accompanied by a sense of loss.
C. The setting of John Updike’s story “A & P” is crucial to the reader’s understanding of Sammy’s decision to quit his job.
Even though Sammy knows that his quitting will make life more difficult for him, he instinctively insists upon rejecting
what the A & P represents in the story. When he rings up a “No Sale” and “saunter[s]” out of the store, Sammy leaves
behind not only a job but the rigid state of mind associated with the A & P. Although Sammy is the central character in
the story, Updike seems to invest as much effort in describing the setting as he does Sammy. The title, after all, is not
“Youthful Rebellion” or “Sammy Quits” but “A & P.” The setting is the antagonist of the story and plays a role that is as
important as Sammy’s.
The Body of the Essay and the Importance of Topic Sentences
• The term regularly used for the development of the central idea of a literary
analysis essay is the body.
• In this section you present the paragraphs (at least 3 paragraphs for a 500-750
word essay) that support your thesis statement.
• Good literary analysis essays contain an explanation of your ideas and evidence
from the text (short story, poem, play) that supports those ideas.
• Textual evidence consists of summary, paraphrase, specific details, and direct
quotations. Each paragraph should contain a topic sentence (usually the first
sentence of the paragraph) which states one of the topics associated with your
thesis, combined with some assertion about how the topic will support the central
idea. The purpose of the topic sentence is twofold:
1. To relate the details of the paragraph to your thesis statement.
2. To tie the details of the paragraph together.
• The substance of each of your developmental paragraphs (the body of your
essay) will be the explanations, summaries, paraphrases, specific details, and
direct quotations you need to support and develop the more general statement
you have made in your topic sentence.
The following is the first developmental paragraph after one of the introductory
paragraphs (C) above:
Sammy's descriptions of the A & P present a setting
that is ugly, monotonous, and rigidly regulated. The
chain store is a common fixture in modern society, so
TOPIC SENTENCE the reader can identify with the uniformity Sammy
describes. The fluorescent light is as blandly cool as
the "checkerboard green-and-cream rubber tile
floor" (486). The "usual traffic in the store moves in
one direction (except for the swim suited girls, who
move against it), and everything is neatly organized
and categorized in tidy aisles. The dehumanizing
routine of this environment is suggested by Sammy's
offhand references to the typical shoppers as
EXPLANATIONS AND TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
"sheep," "house slaves," and "pigs” (486). These
regular customers seem to walk through the store in
a stupor; as Sammy indicates, not even dynamite
could move them out of their routine (485).
This paragraph is a strong one because it is developed through the use of quotations, summary, details, and
explanation to support the topic sentence. Notice how it relates back to the thesis statement.
The Conclusion
• Your literary analysis essay should have a concluding paragraph that gives
your essay a sense of completeness and lets your readers know that they
have come to the end of your paper.
• Your concluding paragraph might restate the thesis in different words,
summarize the main points you have made, or make a relevant comment
about the literary work you are analyzing, but from a different perspective.
• Do not introduce a new topic in your conclusion.
• Below is the concluding paragraph from the essay already quoted above (A)
about Browning's poem "My Last Duchess":
• If the Duke has any redeeming qualities, they fail to appear in the poem. Browning's
emphasis on the Duke's traits of arrogance, jealousy, and materialism make it
apparent that anyone who might have known the Duke personally would have based
his opinion of him on these three personality "flaws." Ultimately, the reader’s opinion
of the Duke is not a favorable one, and it is clear that Browning intended that the
reader feel this way.
The additional aspects you are required to
address when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
The Title
• Robert Browning's Duke: A Portrayal of a Sinister
The Title of Your Essay It is essential that you give your Man The A & P as a State of Mind Theme in "The
essay a title that is descriptive of the approach you are Secret Lion": The Struggle of Adolescence
taking in your paper. Just as you did in your
introductory paragraph, try to get the reader's
attention. Using only the title of the literary work you
are examining is unsatisfactory. The titles that follow
are appropriate for the papers (A, B, C) discussed
above:
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Your Audience In other words, it is not necessary to "retell" the work
of literature in any way. Rather, it is your role to be the
Consider the reader for whom you are writing your explainer or interpreter of the work—to tell what
essay. Imagine you are writing for not only your certain elements of the work mean in relation to your
professor but also the other students in your class central idea (thesis). When you make references to
who have about as much education as you do. They the text of the short story, poem, or play, you are
have read the assigned work just as you have, but doing so to remind your audience of something they
perhaps they have not thought about it in exactly the already know. The principle emphasis of your essay is
same way. to draw conclusions and develop arguments. Be sure
to avoid plot summary.
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Using Textual Evidence The skillful use of textual evidence -- summary,
paraphrase, specific detail, and direct quotations --
can illustrate and support the ideas you are
developing in your essay. However, textual evidence
should be used judiciously and only when it directly
relates to your topic. The correct and effective use of
textual evidence is vital to the successful literary
analysis essay.
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Summary If a key event or series of events in the literary work
support a point you are trying to make, you may want
to include a brief summary, making sure that you
show the relevance of the event or events by explicitly
connecting your summary to your point. Below is an
effective summary (with its relevance clearly pointed
out) from the essay already quoted above on "The
Secret Lion" (B):

The boys find the grinding ball, but later attempt to

bury it (SUMMARY). Burying it is their futile attempt
to make time stand still and to preserve perfection
(RELEVANCE).
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Paraphrase You can make use of paraphrase when you need the
details of the original, but not necessarily the words of
the original: paraphrase to put someone else's words
into your own words. Below is an example (also from
the paper on "The Secret Lion") of how to "translate"
original material into part of your own paper:

• Original:
• "I was twelve and in junior high school and
something happened that we didn't have a name
for, but it was nonetheless like a lion, and roaring,
roaring that way the biggest things do."

• Paraphrase:
• Early in the story, the narrator tells us that when he
turned twelve and started junior high school, life
changed in a significant way that he and his friends
could not quite name or identify.
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Specific Detail Various types of details from the text lend concrete
support to the development of the central idea of
your literary analysis essay.

These details add credibility to the point you are

developing.

Below is a list of some of the details which could have

been used in the developmental paragraph from the
paper on John Updike's short story "A & P" (see the
paragraph again for which details were used and how
they were used). "usual traffic" "fluorescent lights"
"checkerboard green-and-cream rubber-tile floor"
"electric eye" shoppers like "sheep," "house slaves,"
and "pigs" neatly stacked food dynamite
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Using Direct Quotations 1. Brief quotations (four lines or fewer of prose and
three lines or fewer of poetry) should be carefully
Quotations can illuminate and support the ideas you introduced and integrated into the text of your paper.
are trying to develop. A judicious use of quoted Put quotation marks around all briefly quoted
material will make your points clearer and more material. Prose example: As the "manager" of the A &
convincing. As with all the textual evidence you use, P, Lengel is both the guardian and enforcer of "policy"
make sure you explain how the evidence is relevant— (487). When he gives the girls "that sad Sunday-
let the reader know why the quotes you cite are school-superintendent stare," the reader becomes
significant to your argument. Below are guidelines and aware of Lengel‟s character as the A & P's version of a
examples that should help you effectively use dreary bureaucrat who "doesn't miss much" (487).
quotations: Make sure you give page numbers when necessary.
Notice that in this example the page numbers are in
parenthesis after the quotation marks but before the
period.
 The additional aspects you are required to address when writing your
essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Using Direct Quotations Prose example: The first paragraph of "The Secret Lion"
introduces the narrator as someone who has just entered
Quotations can illuminate and support the ideas you are adolescence and is uncertain what to make of it: I was twelve
trying to develop. A judicious use of quoted material will make and in junior high school and something happened that we
your points clearer and more convincing. As with all the didn't have a name for, but it was there nonetheless like a
textual evidence you use, make sure you explain how the lion, and roaring, roaring that way the biggest things do.
evidence is relevant—let the reader know why the quotes you Everything changed. Just that. Like the rug, the one that gets
cite are significant to your argument. Below are guidelines and pulled -- or better, like the tablecloth those magicians pull
examples that should help you effectively use quotations: where the stuff on the table stays the same but the gasp! from
the audience makes the staying-the-same part not matter. Like
2. Lengthy quotations should be separated from the text of that. (41-42) Make sure you give page numbers when
your paper. More than four lines of prose should be double necessary. Notice in this example that the page numbers are
spaced and indented ten spaces from the left margin, with the in parenthesis after the period of the last sentence.
right margin the same as the rest of your paper. More than
three lines of poetry should be double spaced and centered
on the page. Note: do not use quotation marks to set off these
longer passages because the indentation itself indicates that
the material is quoted.
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Using Direct Quotations Brackets are used here because there is no way of
knowing who "he" is unless you add that information.
3. If any words are added to a quotation in order to Brackets are also used to change the grammatical
explain who or what the quotation refers to, you must structure of a quotation so that it fits into your
use brackets to distinguish your addition from the sentence.
original source. Example: The literary critic John
Strauss asserts that "he [Young Goodman Brown] is Example: Strauss also argues that Hawthorne
portrayed as self-righteous and disillusioned" (10). "present[s] Young Goodman Brown in an ambivalent
light” (10). Brackets are used here to add the "s" to
the verb "present" because otherwise the sentence
would not be grammatically correct.
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Using Direct Quotations
Example (omission from middle): This maxim claims
4. You must use ellipsis if you omit any words from the that "Early to bed . . . makes a man healthy, wealthy,
original source you are quoting. and wise." Ellipsis formed by three dots used in place
of the words "and early to rise."
Ellipsis can be used at the beginning, in the middle, or
at the end of the quotation, depending on where the Example (omission from end): He said, "Early to bed
missing words were originally. and early to rise makes a man healthy . . . ." Ellipsis is
formed by four dots before the quotation marks -- the
Ellipsis is formed by either three or four periods with a fourth dot is really a period which ends the sentence.
space between each period. Original: "Early to bed
and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and
wise." Example (omission from beginning): This
behavior ". . . makes a man healthy, wealthy, and
wise." Ellipsis formed by three dots after the
quotation marks.
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Using Direct Quotations

5. Use a single line of spaced periods to indicate the

omission of an entire line of poetry.

Example: The Duke seems to object to the fact that his

"last Duchess" is not discriminating enough about
bestowing her affection: She looked on, and her looks
went everywhere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . The dropping of the daylight in the west, The
bough of cherries some officious fool Broke in the
orchard for her, while the white mule She rode around
the terrace -- like and each Would draw from her alike
the approving speech…. (Browning 24-30)
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Punctuating Direct Quotations

You will be able to punctuate quoted materials

accurately if you observe the following conventions
used in writing about literature:

1. When the quoted material is part of your own

sentence, place periods and commas inside the
quotation marks. Example: According to the
narrator of "The Secret Lion,” change was "like a
lion," meaning that its onset is sudden and
ferocious. The comma is inside the quotation
marks.
2. When the quoted material is part of your own
sentence, but you need to include a parenthetical
reference to page or line numbers, place the
periods and commas after the reference. Example:
The narrator of "The Secret Lion" says that the
change was "like a lion" (Rios 41). The period is
The additional aspects you are required to address
when writing your essay
The “Nitty Gritty Bits”
Punctuating Direct Quotations Example (part of original): The Duke shows his
indignation that the Duchess could like everyone and
3. When the quoted material is part of your own everything when he says, "Sir, 'twas all one!"
sentence, punctuation marks other than periods and (Browning 25). The exclamation point is placed inside
commas, such as question marks, are placed outside the quotation marks because it appears in the original.
the quotation marks, unless they are part of the
quoted material. 4. When the original material you are quoting already
has quotations marks (for instance, dialog from a
Example (not part of original): Why does the narrator short story), you must use single quotation marks
of "The Secret Lion" say that the change was "like a within the double quotation marks. Example: Lengel
lion"? The question mark is placed after the quotation tries to stop Sammy from quitting by saying, “„Sammy,
marks because it does not appear in the original -- it you don't want to do this to your Mom and Dad‟"
ends a question being asked about the story. (Updike 486).
 Discipline Field

Topic

Underlying Question
 Introduce discipline/field/context and topic
Why is this topic interesting from the perspective of the
discipline/field?
[also consider how interested you are in the topic]

I
n Focus
As necessary, indicate relevant debate, previous research,
t problem, definitions, scope in time & place, etc.
r
o
Roughly,
d
10-15% of
essay u Signpost structure of argument
length c Tell the reader the sequence of your sections/issues in the body
of your essay
t
i
o
n

Indicate thesis statement

(your main line of argument)
Indicate your answer to the underlying question
 Section:
Context/theory
Background
Paragraph Paragraph Structure
Paragraph

Thesis Statement Supported By Evidence

1 paragraph
Section: = 1 main idea
1st Issue = 100/150/200 words
Analyse/evaluate
Paragraph
B Paragraph Topic sentence
Roughly,
o (the main idea in the
80% of
essay d paragraph: feeds into
Section:
y section/issue)
length 2nd Issue
Analyse/evaluate
Paragraph
Supporting sentences
Paragraph
(evidence, examples)
Section:
3rd Issue
Concluding/linking
Analyse/evaluate
sentence
Paragraph
Paragraph
 Draw together your findings/analysis from each section of your
argument

C
o
n
c
Roughly,
l
5-10% of
essay u State your conclusion/evaluation/researched thesis, based on
your findings
length s
i
o
n

Consider the implications of your evaluation for the

debate/problem in your discipline/field
Mock Literature Essay
• Write a mock essay based on the following topic:

• What role do violence and terror play in Napoleon’s control, rule, and
power? Write a thesis statement that addresses Napoleon’s use of
violence and terror to rule over others. Use specific quotes and
examples from the novel to justify your statement. Include page
numbers for all in-text citations from Animal Farm.
Additional assistance for you to review

Mrs Williams- Animal Essay