This in-class clinic is adapted from the excellent tutorial at groundsforargument.org/drupal/node/601 . I made it into a PowerPoint so we could do it together as a class (and then look at some sample quotations and interpretative statements from our assigned texts). By Rebecca Stanton
A poem about the resilience of Filipinos. This could also be the first lesson in the subject 21st Century Filipino Literature taught in the Senior High
A poem about the resilience of Filipinos. This could also be the first lesson in the subject 21st Century Filipino Literature taught in the Senior High
Dive into the vibrant tapestry of 21st-century Philippine literature as it unfolds along the rich timeline of the nation's literary history. This topic examines the dynamic dimensions of Philippine literary evolution, exploring the contemporary voices, themes, and narratives that shape the nation's cultural identity. Discover the diverse range of literary works, authors, and emerging trends that make the 21st century a compelling chapter in the ongoing story of Philippine literature.
The two basic approaches used for monitoring of payment gateway operation include transaction velocity tracking mechanism and internal audit. Learn more at #UniPayGateway: unipaygateway.com
Dive into the vibrant tapestry of 21st-century Philippine literature as it unfolds along the rich timeline of the nation's literary history. This topic examines the dynamic dimensions of Philippine literary evolution, exploring the contemporary voices, themes, and narratives that shape the nation's cultural identity. Discover the diverse range of literary works, authors, and emerging trends that make the 21st century a compelling chapter in the ongoing story of Philippine literature.
The two basic approaches used for monitoring of payment gateway operation include transaction velocity tracking mechanism and internal audit. Learn more at #UniPayGateway: unipaygateway.com
CyclePhilly - Media Architecture Biennale Finalist PresentationCorey Acri
CyclePhilly is a smartphone app for recording your bicycle trips. Data from the app can be used by regional transportation planners in the Philadelphia area to make Philly a better place to ride. CyclePhilly is a Code for Philly project.
CyclePhilly was nominated for an award in participatory architecture and urban interaction at the Media Architecture Biennale in Aarhus, Denmark. This is a presentation I gave along with CyclePhilly co-creators Lloyd Emelle and Kathryn Killebrew.
IOSR Journal of Mathematics(IOSR-JM) is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal that provides rapid publication (within a month) of articles in all areas of mathemetics and its applications. The journal welcomes publications of high quality papers on theoretical developments and practical applications in mathematics. Original research papers, state-of-the-art reviews, and high quality technical notes are invited for publications.
Handout created by Justine White www.richlandcollege.edu.docxAASTHA76
Handout created by Justine White www.richlandcollege.edu/englishcorner
The English Corner at Richland College
Paragraphing and the Tell, Show, Share Method
Paragraphing is sectioning and organizing your essay into paragraphs. Paragraphs are a visual
way of dividing your essay into sections organized by a unifying idea. Paragraphs help your
reader visually know when you change ideas. Without paragraphs, the reader is overwhelmed by
the sheer amount of words on a page. Paragraphing helps reduce confusion when reading by
focusing on only one point at a time. How you organize a paragraph helps the reader understand
what point you are trying to make in relation to your thesis. Focus and organization are the keys
to a good paragraph.
Focus
Each paragraph needs to focus on one main idea or claim. Your introduction should focus on
introducing your topic and providing a roadmap of what you will be writing about in your body
paragraphs. Your introduction needs to include your thesis statement as well (See the handout on
Creating Thesis Statements for more information about strong thesis statements).
All of your body paragraphs need to focus on one idea that supports your thesis (your claim)
stated in the introduction. For an argument essay, each body paragraph should be a reason that
supports your thesis. For a literary analysis, each body paragraph should be a different aspect of
the poem or literature (symbolism, metaphor, character, setting, voice, tone) that proves the
thesis. For a visual analysis, each body paragraph should be an aspect of the visual (color,
background, foreground, framing, juxtaposition, superimposition) that proves your thesis. See
the handouts Ten Tips for a Visual (or Literary) Analysis for more help with writing those
papers.
Organization
When putting your body paragraphs together, think about how they flow. Is the flow logical?
You might organize chronologically or thematically depending upon your purpose (literary
analysis versus visual analysis). Argument essays should be organized on the strength of your
evidence. Begin with a strong claim, put your weaker claims in the middle, and end with your
strongest evidence. That way your reader finishes your essay with your best argument.
The Tell, Show, Share Method
All body paragraphs include three main parts: the topic sentence, the evidence, and the
explanation or analysis. The Tell, Show, Share method is a mnemonic device to help you
remember the parts of a well-developed paragraph.
Tell: your claim (topic sentence)
Show: your evidence (quotes, examples, statistics, analogies, anecdotes)
Share: your opinion, explanation, or analysis (answer the so what, who cares, why does it
matter questions)
The Tell, Show, Share method reminds you to open with a topic sentence and close with your
own ideas. You shouldn’t have a quote opening or closing a paragraph. Opening with a quote
means that you have forgotten to m.
1 How to Write a Analytical Essay Writing an analyti.docxhoney725342
1
How to Write a Analytical Essay
Writing an analytical essay can seem daunting, especially if you've never done it before. Don't
worry! Take a deep breath, buy yourself a caffeinated beverage, and follow these steps to create
a well-crafted analytical essay.
What do you want to analyze?
Your analysis must have the following four sections:
Introduction
Summary
Analysis
Conclusion (optional)
Part 1: Prewriting your essay
1. Understand the objective of an analytical essay. An analytical essay means you will
need to present some type of argument, or claim, about what you are analyzing. Most
often you will have to analyze another piece of writing or a film, but you could also be
asked to analyze an issue, or an idea. To do this, you must break the topic down into parts
and provide evidence, either from the text/film or from your own research, that supports
your claim.
For example, "Stanley Kubrick's The Shining uses a repeating motif of Native American
culture and art to comment on America's history of colonizing Native Americans' lands" is an
analytical thesis. It is analyzing a particular text and setting forth an argument about it in the
form of a thesis statement.
2. Decide what to write about. If you are writing this for a class, your teacher will
generally assign you a topic (or topics) to write about. Read the prompt carefully. What is
the prompt asking you to do? However, sometimes you will have to come up with your
own topic.
If you're writing an analytical essay about a work of fiction, you could focus your
argument on what motivates a specific character or group of characters. Or, you could
argue why a certain line or paragraph is central to the work as a whole. For example:
Explore the concept of vengeance in the epic poem Beowulf.
If you're writing about a historical event, try focusing on the forces that contributed to
what happened.
If you're writing about scientific research or findings, analyze your results.
2
3. Brainstorm. You may not immediately know what your thesis statement should be, even
once you've chosen your topic. That's okay! Doing some brainstorming can help you
discover what you think about your topic. Consider it from as many angles as you can.
[2]
Look for repeated imagery, metaphors, phrases, or ideas. Things that repeat are often
important. See if you can decipher why these things are so crucial. Do they repeat in the
same way each time, or differently?
How does the text work? If you're writing a rhetorical analysis, for example, you might
analyze how the author uses logical appeals to support her argument and decide whether
you think the argument is effective. If you're analyzing a creative work, consider things
like imagery, visuals in a film, etc. If you're analyzing research, you may want to
consider the methods and results and analyze whether the experiment is a good design.
A mind map can be hel ...
Introduction to Thesis Statements (High School)Ashley Bishop
I wrote this for my 9th graders to introduce them to writing a thesis statement. It includes a short quiz mid-way through and has them write their own thesis statement for an essay they are already writing.
Writing a Persuasive Paragraph or Essay Choose a deba.docxbillylewis37150
Writing a Persuasive Paragraph or Essay
Choose a debatable topic
A debatable topic has two valid arguments. Your topic should be one about which you know something. The more
evidence you can provide, the more likely you are to sway your audience. You must plan on doing research and your
essay must be documented properly.
Formulate an argumentative thesis
Some topics have been discussed so often they are tired, uninteresting and not worthy of discussion. Choose a
current topic. Because the purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince readers to accept your position, your thesis
must take a stand. One way to make sure that your thesis actually does take a stand is to formulate an antithesis, a
statement that takes an arguable position opposite from yours.
Define your terms
You must make clear the terms you use in your argument. Be careful to use precise language in your thesis, avoiding
vague words such as wrong, bad, right and immoral, which convey different meaning to different people.
Accommodate your audience
Who are your readers? Are they unbiased observers or people deeply concerned about the issue you are discussing?
Are they skeptical, hostile, emotional or unconcerned? How will you convince each type?
Consider opposing arguments
You must know how to refute opposing arguments. Do this by showing that opposing views are untrue, unfair,
illogical, unimportant or irrelevant. Discuss the limitations of the opposing view. When you acknowledge an
opposing view, do not distort it or present it as ridiculously weak. This tactic, called creating a straw man, could
seriously undermine your credibility.
Gather evidence
Build your argument on assertions, claims you make about a debatable topic backed by evidence which is
supporting information in the form of examples, statistics or expert opinion. Document your evidence carefully.
Establish your credibility
Establish your credibility by finding common ground, demonstrating knowledge, and maintaining a reasonable tone.
Demonstrate knowledge about your subject by personal experiences and research. Make certain that you document
source material very carefully. For your instructor, an undocumented quotation or even an incorrect date can call an
entire paper into question. Use reasonable language, not emotionally charged language that will turn away the
reader.
Present your points fairly
Avoid distorting evidence and quoting out of context. In other words, be honest.
Don’t Apologize
Never suggest that you don't know what you're talking about or that you're not enough of an expert in this subject
that your opinion would matter. Avoid phrases like, "In my humble opinion....I'm not sure, but....." Make a BOLD
statement and proceed with confidence!
Don’t Refer to Yourself
Do not announce what you are about to do in the essay. "In this paper, I will.......... The purpose of this essay is
to......." JUST DO IT! Do not.
Lague 1 Writing about Literature The type of pape.docxDIPESH30
Lague 1
Writing about Literature
The type of papers you will write and how to write them
For this course, you will be writing literary analysis as formal essays for the midterm and
final exams. They are persuasive in nature. According to William Whitla in his book The English
Handbook: A Guide to Literary Studies, a persuasive essay “attempts to persuade a reader that
the position you are defending is valid . . . . Your case will depend on your evidence, and how
you marshal it for your purposes (88). The evidence used in literary analysis consists of
quotations from the text(s) that support your assertion (thesis) and your interpretation of those
quotations. The biggest difference between what I am describing here and a “research paper” is
that you do not need to do outside research to support your ideas. All the evidence you need is
embedded in the author’s work. Of course, that means you have to read closely and think
carefully about what the author writes in the text(s), but that is part of the study of
literature. Also, the text(s) really are sources for your paper; therefore, you must document every
quotation. This is also true for paraphrases of action and speech in the text(s). In this course, you
must use MLA documentation guidelines. This includes both in-text notations and a Works Cited
page. (Note: This document illustrates the use of introductory signals and in-text notations,
also called parenthetical citations, for all paraphrases and quotations and includes a Works Cited
page, all following MLA guidelines.)
When you receive an assignment, Whitla writes that you must first “separate [the] subject
matter from the formal requirement” (89), like the number of texts/authors your must cover than
the length of the paper. You need to satisfy all the formal requirements of the assignment to earn
Lague 2
your best grade. Then, you have to consider the subject matter of the assignment. Whitla
explains, “Many assignments state or assume an abstract concept, a theme, a mode of character
analysis, or state a position, and then ask you to apply that concept to a limited number of texts .
In many cases, it is clear that . . . the principle is really not open to question” (90). At other
times, you may be allowed to choose your own subject matter. Finally, you need to look at what
the assignment says about the subject matter, looking for key words that explain how you need to
address them. Here is an example from a possible Shakespeare module in this course.
Writing Prompt:
Whether Shakespeare’s sonnets are addressed to the dark lady or the young man,
themes of beauty and love run deeply through all of them. This statement is true
in both those sonnets that follow a more traditional approach and those challenge
the traditional conventions of sonnet-making. Write a 300-word essay, posted in
the appropriate discussion forum, that discusses how Shakespeare develo ...
Paper 2 Assignment POT 2002.Assignment Write a 1000 wor.docxhoney690131
Paper 2 Assignment
POT 2002
.
Assignment: Write a 1000 word paper (= 3-4 pages, double-spaced) on one of the
following topics:
1.) In The Prince, Machiavelli writes: “And let no one resist my opinion on this
with that trite proverb, that whoever founds on the people founds on mud.”
According to Machiavelli, how should a prince “found on the people”? How does
his advice ultimately benefit the people?
2.) Take a look of the foundations of the social contract in both Hobbes and
Locke. How do their different assumptions about human nature and the state of
nature inform their theories? How does this result in their different conceptions
of civil society/government? Identify and analyze at least two different
assumptions and speak about the implications for their theories.
Papers cannot be submitted by email under any circumstances
Guidelines for Papers
1. Your paper is supposed to be an interpretation of some aspect of the
work(s): in other words, an argument concerning some aspect of the work
based on analysis of relevant textual evidence. Your paper is not supposed
to be a summary of the work, a statement of your opinion about the work, or a
discussion of its historical significance or relevance. Frame your paper as an
investigation of why and how the author makes the argument he or she does
rather than simply saying what is said. Turn your topic into an argument.
2. Give a clear statement of your argument at the beginning of your paper.
3. Unify your paper with a single argument with a logical development from one step of
the argument to the next. Do not make your paper a collection of separate points or
examples.
4. Every time you state that the author states or argues something you should
have evidence to support your statement, either in the form of a quotation or a specific
textual reference. Only quote what you need for your purposes. Try to look at your
quotations as something more than mere evidence, and instead as material that you
can analyze (break down into its parts in order to interpret it) in order to make your
argument.
5. Use clear and simple language, but a formal style. Obscurity is not profundity. Make
sure that you know the meaning of the words you use. You are writing a formal paper,
not an email message. Avoid colloquial or chatty language. Do not use contractions:
not using them reminds you of the appropriate level of discourse for your paper.
Criteria for assessing your work:
1. Do you have a clear statement of your argument?
2. Do you provide relevant evidence?
3. Are your reasoning and writing clear and effective?
4. Do you demonstrate understanding of the work(s) you are analyzing?
5. To what degree do you address the most important questions and problems
posed by the work(s) you are interpreting?
Warning: If your paper is effectively a summary of the work rather than an interpretation
of it, then the best grade you can possibly receive .
1 Outline Structure for Literary Analysis Essay I. .docxShiraPrater50
1
Outline Structure for Literary Analysis Essay
I. Catchy Title
II. Paragraph 1: Introduction (Use HATMAT)
A. Hook
B. Author
C. Title
D. Main characters
E. A short summary
F. Thesis
III. Paragraph 2: First Body Paragraph
A. Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
B. Context for the quote
1. Who says it?
2. What’s happening in the text when they say it?
C. Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
D. Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
E. Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph)
IV. Paragraph 3: Second Body Paragraph
A. Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
B. Context for the quote
1. Who says it?
2. What’s happening in the text when they say it?
C. Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
D. Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
E. Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph
V. Paragraph 4: Third Body Paragraph
A. Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
B. Context for the quote
1. Who says it?
2. What’s happening in the text when they say it?
C. Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
D. Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
E. Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph
VI. Conclusion (You do not necessarily have to follow this order, but include the following):
A. Summarize your argument.
B. Extend the argument.
C. Show why the text is important.
2
Parts to a Great Essay
same as above, just worded differently
1. A Catchy Title
2. Introduction: the opening paragraph. The introduction should include the
following:
a. Hook, Author, Title, Main Characters, A Short Summary, Thesis
b. Hook: The beginning sentences of the introduction that catch the reader’s
interest. Ways of beginning creatively include the following:
A startling fact or bit of information
A meaningful quotation (from the work or another source)
A rich, vivid description
An analogy or metaphor
c. Introductions should identify the work of literature being discussed, name
the author, and briefly present the issue that the body of your essay will
more fully develop (your thesis). Basically, introductions suggest that
something interesting is occurring in a particular work of literature.
3. Body: The body of your paper should logically and fully develop and support your
thesis.
a. Each body paragraph should focus on one main idea that supports your
thesis statement.
b. These paragraphs include:
i. A topic sentence – a topic sentence states the main point of a
paragraph: it serves as a mini-thesis for the paragraph. You might
think of it as a signpost for your readers—or a headline—something
that alerts them to the most important, interpretive points i ...
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1. Literary evidence needs to be
explained
Source:
http://www.groundsforargument.org
/drupal/node/602
2. IN A NUTSHELL
• Literary evidence = a quotation from the text that supports the
argument you are making about the how to interpret the text.
• Literary evidence can be interpreted in many different ways.
• Therefore, when you provide a quotation from a text as
evidence, you need to be sure to explain clearly how that
evidence supports your interpretation.
• Most people writing about literature make the following two
moves:
1. Introduce the quotation in a way that makes
readers focus on what you want them to see in it.
2. After you quote, take the time to explain exactly
how the language of that quotation supports the
point you’re making.
3. What to look for
Read the following paragraph from a paper on Frost’s “Stopping by
Woods on a Snowy Evening.” What is the argument? How does the
evidence presented support the argument? How do you know?
4. So….
Does quoting from the text automatically
mean you are presenting evidence to support
your argument?
5. NO!
Quotations from the text only count as evidence if
they are framed within the context of your
argument and linked to your claim. This means:
1.Make sure your thesis (or question) is clearly
articulated.
2.Make sure you introduce the quotation with a
sentence that tells readers what to look for in it.
3.Make sure you take time AFTER the quotation to
explain exactly how the wording / details of the
quotation support the point you’re making.
6. NO!
Quotations from the text only count as evidence if
they are framed within the context of your
argument and linked to your claim. This means:
1.Make sure your thesis (or question) is clearly
articulated.
2.Make sure you introduce the quotation with a
sentence that tells readers what to look for in it.
3.Make sure you take time AFTER the quotation to
explain exactly how the wording / details of the
quotation support the point you’re making.
7. NO!
Quotations from the text only count as evidence if
they are framed within the context of your
argument and linked to your claim. This means:
1.Make sure your thesis (or question) is clearly
articulated.
2.Make sure you introduce the quotation with a
sentence that tells readers what to look for in it.
3.Make sure you take time AFTER the quotation to
explain exactly how the wording / details of the
quotation support the point you’re making.
8. NO!
Quotations from the text only count as evidence if
they are framed within the context of your
argument and linked to your claim. This means:
1.Make sure your thesis (or question) is clearly
articulated.
2.Make sure you introduce the quotation with a
sentence that tells readers what to look for in it.
3.Make sure you take time AFTER the quotation to
explain exactly how the wording / details of the
quotation support the point you’re making.
9. NO!
Quotations from the text only count as evidence if
they are framed within the context of your
argument and linked to your claim. This means:
1.Make sure your thesis (or question) is clearly
articulated.
2.Make sure you introduce the quotation with a
sentence that tells readers what to look for in it.
3.Make sure you take time AFTER the quotation to
explain exactly how the wording / details of the
quotation support the point you’re making.
Quotations are never self-explanatory.
10. Let’s try again: Instead of the vague
“Yet this is not
always the case,” the
student now explains
specifically what they
are arguing
The quotation is now
introduced by a
sentence that tells
readers what they
should be looking for
in it, instead of being
“dropped in” with no
clues or context
Quotation is now
followed by an
explanation showing
exactly how specific
words in the quoted
stanza support the
interpretation
11. Note that many interpretations of the
same text are possible!
What’s important is to make sure that WHATEVER
your interpretation is, you have supported it with
textual evidence – and EXPLAINED the evidence:
12. Note that many interpretations of the
same text are possible!
What’s important is to make sure that WHATEVER
your interpretation is, you have supported it with
textual evidence – and EXPLAINED the evidence:
13. To summarize:
As evidence, a passage from a poem or a novel
works very differently than other kinds of data.
That’s because literary evidence is rarely treated
as an absolute fact that directly proves a point.
Instead, most readers see literature as requiring
interpretation before it can support an
argument. This means that when you write about
literature, you need to explain the specific
language of your evidence more thoroughly than
if you’re mentioning, say, an historical event.
14. Another example
Look at the following passage from one of William
Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets. In this quotation, the
speaker writes about love:
What kind of point does this passage prove????
15. Principle #1: Introduce a quotation in a
way that helps readers recognize what
you want them to see in it.
16. Principle #2: After you quote, explain
exactly how the language of that quotation
supports the point you’re making.
17. In sonnet 18, the speaker doesn’t focus on how his lover is like a beautiful summer
day. Instead, he clearly emphasizes the shortcomings of such a comparison:
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date… (Sonnets 18, ll.1-4)
Here the speaker proposes a comparison between his addressee and a summer day
—only he does so in the form of a question: “Shall I” make this comparison, he
asks? The use of the question, rather than an assertion, becomes significant
because the question form allows for doubt. As one reads further, it becomes clear
that he should not have done so, because this comparison does not do justice to
his beloved. That beloved, Shakespeare notes, is “more lovely and more
temperate” than a summer’s day, making the conceit a false one. He returns to this
idea in the fourth line, where he explains that summer’s “lease”—that is, its length
—has “too short a date.” Unlike the beauty of his addressee, summer’s loveliness is
impermanent. Shakespeare only compares his beloved to the summer in order to
reject that comparison as false, imperfect, and unworthy of the person to whom he
speaks.
18. Now let’s try it in real time:
• http://www.groundsforargument.org/drupal/node
Editor's Notes
This is the answer to Q1 on handout.
Missing:
What is actual thesis? What does student mean by “Yes this is not always the case”? What does “this” refer to? (NB avoid using “this” as pronoun.)
“…he writes:” -- gives readers no signposts about what they should be looking for in the quotation
“Therefore”…..WHEREfore? Hhow has this quotation backed up the thesis (watever it may be)? No explanation of what the quotation is supposed to reveal / demonstrate.
A good portion—but not all—of this stanza deals with questions of ownership and property. As the writer shows, according to her interpretation the narrator seems primarily concerned with “whose woods these are.” This owner, according to the writer, becomes a character in the poem even if “he” is absent. As you can see, the writer needs to explain these ideas explicitly, so that her readers can see how she draws her conclusions about this quotation.
When reading, though, you might have disagreed with this interpretation. Maybe the poem seems to be about feelings of censorship or idleness versus productivity. If that were the case, that’s okay: so long as the writer has done an effective job explaining why she thinks the words she quotes support her claim, then her interpretation remains plausible.
Uses strategy of complicating a topic that was discussed in class
Uses strategy of bringing in outside information that changes the way we see the evidence.
This is the answer to Q2 on handout.
If you’re like most readers, you’d find that question pretty confusing. In fact, you probably found these four lines difficult to understand at all. That’s because we provided no explanation of this quotation—no extra writing telling you what to look out for or what these lines mean. If you introduce your evidence like this when you’re writing about literature, your readers will be similarly confused.
You probably had an easier time making sense of these four lines with just a little bit of introduction. That’s because the writer of this paper also makes an assertion—a local claim or interpretation—about the passage she’s quoting. That quotation makes more sense because it can now be seen as evidence of a specific interpretation.
When you offer a passage from a literary text, one good way to start is by stating the point you want to make about that quotation. That way, your readers will have a clearer sense of what that quotation is about even before they read it. Importantly, they’ll also understand that quotation as evidence of an argument that you’re making.
While the introductory sentences provide a useful context for reading and understanding this quotation, the quotation alone doesn’t fully support the writer’s interpretation of it. Indeed, you can see how complicated it is to show that opening assertion by looking at the explanation that follows the quotation. That explanation goes through the quotation line by line explaining how its specific words and phrases make the point that this writer is trying to make.
This writer has to focus on specific parts of the quotation at hand—note, for example, how it emphasizes parts of lines 1, 2, and 4, but leaves line 3 alone. That’s because line 3 simply illustrates a point already raised. While it might be crucial evidence for a different interpretation (one that focuses, say, on nature imagery), it doesn’t add much to this writer’s argument. When you go to explain evidence, you have to be similarly selective in order to help your reader focus on the specific words and phrases that matter to your argument.
Close reading is a good safeguard against misinterpretation: [SEE QUESTION 3 ON HANDOUT!!]
if you’re really paying attention to the words, form, and figurative language used in a passage, then you won’t make the mistake of trying to force a literary work to say something that it is not saying.
Close readings can also make your larger argument more complex: they allow you to spot parts of the text where a pattern is broken, or even to find evidence that contradicts your claim so that you can think more comprehensively and fully about what you think the text is doing.
Literature, as you can see, requires careful attention to detail—otherwise it might not make much sense at all. When you’re writing about literature, then, you’ll need to be ready not just to find evidence that supports your larger argument. You’ll also need to interpret that evidence for your reader, and explain how its details support your interpretation.