Literary criticism

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UNIT 8:
Writing Literary
Criticism

2. 8 Steps to Write a
Great Literary
Analysis Essay

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1. Read the text carefully
- read it several times until
you have a clear
understanding of the message
and purpose.

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Model
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2. Brainstorm a topic
-brainstorm a potential topic.
This is the hardest part for students.

5. 3. Collect and interpret
-consider what kind of
evidence there is to support
each potential topic.
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6. 4. Write a thesis
-the thesis is the central
argument you’re presenting in
your topic.

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5. Develop and organize your
arguments.
- time to dig in and start
organizing it all in a
cohesive paper.

8. 6. Write a rough draft.
-time for the culmination
of all your hard prep work.
Remember, this version of
your essay doesn’t have to be
perfect.

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7. Refine your arguments and review.
-are any of this passages you’ve
written repetitive. Is there more
concise way to your point.

10. 8. Get another opinon and finalize
-ask someone to review it.
Fresh eyes can catch small mistakes
in spelling and grammar, or larger
errors in structure or content.

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2. Incoporating evidence and
textual references to support
arguments
Using Evidence
- a writer must convince her
audience of the validity of her
argument by using evidence
effectively.

12. The process of putting together your argument is
called analysis--it interprets evidence in order to
support, test, and/or refine a claim. The chief
claim in an analytical essay is called the thesis. A
thesis provides the controlling idea for a paper
and should be original (that is, not completely
obvious), assertive, and arguable. A strong thesis
also requires solid evidence to support and
develop it because without evidence, a claim is
merely an unsubstantiated idea or opinion.

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When Should You Incorporate Evidence?
Once you have formulated your
claim, your thesis (see the WTS
pamphlet, " How to Write a Thesis
Statement," for ideas and tips), you
should use evidence to help strengthen
your thesis and any assertion you make
that relates to your thesis.

14. Offer evidence that agrees
with your stance up to a
point, then add to it with
ideas of your own.

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Present evidence that contradicts your
stance, and then argue against (refute)
that evidence and therefore strengthen
your position.

16. Use sources against each other, as if they
were experts on a panel discussing your
proposition.
Use quotations to support your assertion,
not merely to state or restate your claim.
Weak and Strong Uses of Evidence

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In order to use evidence effectively,
you need to integrate it smoothly into
your essay by following this pattern:
State your claim.
Give your evidence, remembering to
relate it to the claim.

18. Comment on the evidence to show how it
supports the claim.
To see the differences between strong and
weak uses of evidence, here are two
paragraphs.

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Weak use of evidence
Today, we are too self-centered. Most
families no longer sit down to eat
together, preferring instead to eat on the
go while rushing to the next
appointment (Gleick 148). Everything is
about what we want.

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Stronger use of evidence
This is a far better example, as the
evidence is more smoothly integrated
into the text, the link between the claim
and the evidence is strengthened, and
the evidence itself is analyzed to provide
support for the claim.

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Using Quotations: A Special Type of
Evidence
One effective way to support your claim is to
use quotations. However, because quotations
involve someone else's words, you need to
take special care to integrate this kind of
evidence into your essay. Here are two
examples using quotations, one less effective
and one more so.

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Ineffective Use of Quotation
Today, we are too self-centered. "We are
consumers-on-the-run . . . the very
notion of the family meal as a sit-down
occasion is vanishing. Adults and children
alike eat . . . on the way to their next
activity" (Gleick 148). Everything is about
what we want.

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This example is ineffective because
the quotation is not integrated with
the writer's ideas

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A More Effective Use of Quotation
Today, Americans are too self-centered. Even our
families don't matter as much any more as they
once did. Other people and activities take
precedence, as James Gleick says in his book,
Faster. "We are consumers-on-the-run . . . the
very notion of the family meal as a sit-down
occasion is vanishing. Adults and children alike
eat . . . on the way to their next activity"

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The second example is more
effective because it follows the
guidelines for incorporating
evidence into an essay.

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REMEMBER:
Discussing the significance of
your evidence develops and
expands your paper!

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Questions to Ask
Yourself When Revising
Your Paper

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Have I offered my reader evidence to
substantiate each assertion I make in
my paper?
Do I thoroughly explain why/how my
evidence backs up my ideas?
Do I avoid generalizing in my paper
by specifically explaining how my
evidence is representative?

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Do I provide evidence that not only
confirms but also qualifies my paper's
main claims?
Do I use evidence to test and evolve my
ideas, rather than to just confirm them?
Do I cite my sources thoroughly and
correctly?

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1.Read more
- An important part of being
analytical involves being alert and
remaining stimulated.
2. Build your mathematical skills
Mathematics involves solving an
equation step-by-step to reach an
answer

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3. Play brain games
- Brain games challenge you
to think deeply and logically.

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4. Learn something new
- expanding your knowledge
can improve your analytical
skills.

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5.Pay attention to detail
-Paying attention to detail and
being observant is a great way to
improve your analytical skills
because it allows you to process
the way things work and interact

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6. Join a debate club
- Working in a group
setting allows you to come
together with others to discuss
ideas, problems and various
situations

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• This refers to the interest
of the learners. This is a
critical part of the model as
it is the initial hook of the
learner’s attention.
ATTENTION

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• This component refers to
the usefulness of the
learning content so the
learner’s could create a
connection between it and
the real world.
RELEVANCE

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• This component develops
the expectation of success
and progress among the
learners, and at the same
time give the learners the
opportunity to control their
learning processes.
CONFIDENCE

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7. Take an exercise class
Exercising more frequently can
help improve your cognitive abilities.
Regarding exercise classes,
memorizing the next steps in a
workout routine is a great way to
help develop your analytical skills

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8. Keep a journal
Recording your day’s events
gives you time to reflect. When
things don’t turn out as planned, you
can learn from these mistakes and
take them into account for your
future actions.

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9. Ask questions
When someone asks
questions, they’re often asking for
clarification and understanding.

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10. Download apps
While not all apps can help
improve your analytical skills,
many brain game and
organizational apps can.

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10. Download apps
-While improving your
analytical skills takes practice,
there are several methods you can
take to ensure you stay motivated

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THANK
YOU!