high school literary analysis essay outline

Literary Analysis Essay Writing

Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Outline - A Step By Step Guide

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How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay - A Step-by-Step Guide

Interesting Literary Analysis Essay Topics & Ideas

Have you ever felt stuck, looking at a blank page, wondering what a literary analysis essay is? You are not sure how to analyze a complicated book or story? 

Writing a literary analysis essay can be tough, even for people who really love books. The hard part is not only understanding the deeper meaning of the story but also organizing your thoughts and arguments in a clear way.

But don't worry!

In this easy-to-follow guide, we will talk about a key tool: The Literary Analysis Essay Outline. 

We'll provide you with the knowledge and tricks you need to structure your analysis the right way. In the end, you'll have the essential skills to understand and structure your literature analysis better.   So, let’s dive in!

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• 1. How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay Outline?
• 2. Literary Analysis Essay Format 
• 3. Literary Analysis Essay Outline Example
• 4. Literary Analysis Essay Topics 

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay Outline?

An outline is a structure that you decide to give to your writing to make the audience understand your viewpoint clearly. When a writer gathers information on a topic, it needs to be organized to make sense.

When writing a literary analysis essay, its outline is as important as any part of it. For the text’s clarity and readability, an outline is drafted in the essay’s planning phase.

According to the basic essay outline, the following are the elements included in drafting an outline for the essay:

• Introduction
• Thesis statement
• Body paragraphs

A detailed description of the literary analysis outline is provided in the following section.

Literary Analysis Essay Introduction

An introduction section is the first part of the essay. The introductory paragraph or paragraphs provide an insight into the topic and prepares the readers about the literary work.

A literary analysis essay introduction is based on three major elements:

Hook Statement: A hook statement is the opening sentence of the introduction. This statement is used to grab people’s attention. A catchy hook will make the introductory paragraph interesting for the readers, encouraging them to read the entire essay.

For example, in a literary analysis essay, “ Island Of Fear,” the writer used the following hook statement:

“As humans, we all fear something, and we deal with those fears in ways that match our personalities.”

Background Information: Providing background information about the chosen literature work in the introduction is essential. Present information related to the author, title, and theme discussed in the original text.

Moreover, include other elements to discuss, such as characters, setting, and the plot. For example:

“ In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the fears of Jack, Ralph, and Piggy and chooses specific ways for each to deal with his fears.”

Thesis Statement: A thesis statement is the writer’s main claim over the chosen piece of literature. 

A thesis statement allows your reader to expect the purpose of your writing. The main objective of writing a thesis statement is to provide your subject and opinion on the essay.

For example, the thesis statement in the “Island of Fear” is:

“...Therefore, each of the three boys reacts to fear in his own unique way.”

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Literary Analysis Essay Body Paragraphs

In body paragraphs, you dig deep into the text, show your insights, and build your argument.

 In this section, we'll break down how to structure and write these paragraphs effectively:

Topic sentence: A topic sentence is an opening sentence of the paragraph. The points that will support the main thesis statement are individually presented in each section.

For example:

“The first boy, Jack, believes that a beast truly does exist…”

Evidence: To support the claim made in the topic sentence, evidence is provided. The evidence is taken from the selected piece of work to make the reasoning strong and logical.

“...He is afraid and admits it; however, he deals with his fear of aggressive violence. He chooses to hunt for the beast, arms himself with a spear, and practice killing it: “We’re strong—we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!”(91).”

Analysis: A literary essay is a kind of essay that requires a writer to provide his analysis as well.

The purpose of providing the writer’s analysis is to tell the readers about the meaning of the evidence.

“...He also uses the fear of the beast to control and manipulate the other children. Because they fear the beast, they are more likely to listen to Jack and follow his orders...”

Transition words: Transition or connecting words are used to link ideas and points together to maintain a logical flow.  Transition words  that are often used in a literary analysis essay are:

• Furthermore
• Later in the story
• In contrast, etc.

“...Furthermore, Jack fears Ralph’s power over the group and Piggy’s rational thought. This is because he knows that both directly conflict with his thirst for absolute power...”

Concluding sentence: The last sentence of the body that gives a final statement on the topic sentence is the concluding sentence. It sums up the entire discussion held in that specific paragraph.

Here is a literary analysis paragraph example for you: 

Literary Essay Example Pdf

Literary Analysis Essay Conclusion

The last section of the essay is the conclusion part where the writer ties all loose ends of the essay together. To write appropriate and correct concluding paragraphs, add the following information:

• State how your topic is related to the theme of the chosen work
• State how successfully the author delivered the message
• According to your perspective, provide a statement on the topic
• If required, present predictions
• Connect your conclusion to your introduction by restating the thesis statement.
• In the end, provide an opinion about the significance of the work.

For example,

“ In conclusion, William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies exposes the reader to three characters with different personalities and fears: Jack, Ralph, and Piggy. Each of the boys tries to conquer his fear in a different way. Fear is a natural emotion encountered by everyone, but each person deals with it in a way that best fits his/her individual personality.”

Literary Analysis Essay Outline (PDF)

Literary Analysis Essay Format 

A literary analysis essay delves into the examination and interpretation of a literary work, exploring themes, characters, and literary devices. 

Below is a guide outlining the format for a structured and effective literary analysis essay.

Formatting Guidelines 

• Use a legible font (e.g., Times New Roman or Arial) and set the font size to 12 points.
• Double-space your essay, including the title, headings, and quotations.
• Set one-inch margins on all sides of the page.
• Indent paragraphs by 1/2 inch or use the tab key.
• Page numbers, if required, should be in the header or footer and follow the specified formatting style.

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Example

To fully understand a concept in a writing world, literary analysis outline examples are important. This is to learn how a perfectly structured writing piece is drafted and how ideas are shaped to convey a message. 

The following are the best literary analysis essay examples to help you draft a perfect essay. 

Literary Analysis Essay Rubric (PDF)

High School Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Outline College (PDF)

Literary Analysis Essay Example Romeo & Juliet (PDF)

AP Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Middle School

Literary Analysis Essay Topics 

Are you seeking inspiration for your next literary analysis essay? Here is a list of literary analysis essay topics for you:

• The Theme of Alienation in "The Catcher in the Rye"
• The Motif of Darkness in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• The Psychological Complexity of Hamlet's Character
• Analyzing the Narrator's Unreliable Perspective in "The Tell-Tale Heart"
• The Role of Nature in William Wordsworth's Romantic Poetry
• The Representation of Social Class in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
• The Use of Irony in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
• The Impact of Holden's Red Hunting Hat in the Novel
• The Power of Setting in Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
• The Symbolism of the Conch Shell in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"

Need more topics? Read our literary analysis essay topics blog!

All in all, writing a literary analysis essay can be tricky if it is your first attempt. Apart from analyzing the work, other elements like a topic and an accurate interpretation must draft this type of essay.

If you are in doubt to draft a perfect essay, get professional assistance from our essay service .

We are a professional essay writing company that provides guidance and helps students to achieve their academic goals. Our qualified writers assist students by providing assistance at an affordable price. 

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Literary Analysis Essay

Literary Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Guide with Examples

Published on: Aug 22, 2020

Last updated on: Mar 25, 2024

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Literary Analysis Essay - Step by Step Guide

Interesting Literary Analysis Essay Topics & Ideas

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Writing a literary analysis essay may seem intimidating at first, but we're here to simplify the process for you. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps of creating an effective outline that will enhance your writing and analytical abilities. 

Whether you're a seasoned student or new to literary analysis, mastering the art of outlining will help you organize your thoughts and express your ideas with clarity and precision. 

Let's dive in!

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The Basics of Literary Analysis Writing

Before diving into the specifics of the outline, let's grasp the fundamental elements of a literary analysis essay .

At its core, this type of essay requires a thoughtful examination and interpretation of a literary work. Whether it's a novel, poem, or play, the aim is to analyze the author's choices and convey your insights to the reader.

The Significance of an Outline

An outline is important for two reasons: It helps you organize your ideas and allows readers to follow along easily.

 Think of it as a map for your essay. Without structure, essays can be confusing. By using an outline, you ensure that your writing is clear and logical, keeping both you and your readers on track.

Literary Analysis Essay Format

Let’s take a look at the specific and detailed format and how to write a literary analysis essay outline in simple steps: 

Outline Ideas for Literary Analysis Essay

Here are sample templates for each of the outlined ideas for a literary analysis essay:

Five Paragraph Essay

This format is a traditional structure for organizing essays and is often taught in schools. It consists of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph focuses on one main point or argument.

MLA Formatted Graphic Organizer 

This format is designed to help organize your ideas according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting guidelines. It ensures that your essay is properly structured and formatted according to MLA standards.

Compare and Contrast Essay on Two Texts 

This format compares and contrasts two texts, highlighting similarities and differences. This is a common method used to analyze literature. There are two common methods: point by point and block method.

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Literary Analysis Essay Examples Outline 

Let’s take a look at the literary analysis essay outline examples in easily downloadable PDF format:  

Literary Analysis Essay Outline Middle School

Literary Analysis Outline Graphic Organizer

Critical Analysis Essay Outline Example

Character Analysis Essay Outline

Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Here are some literary analysis essay topics you can take inspiration from: 

• Analyze the corrupting influence of power in Shakespeare's "Macbeth."
• Explore the symbolism of the green light in "The Great Gatsby" and its connection to the American Dream.
• Examine Holden Caulfield's journey of self-discovery and identity in "The Catcher in the Rye."
• Understand the use of magical realism in "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and its reflection of Latin American culture.
• Unravel the impact of race, class, and social hierarchy on moral justice in "To Kill a Mockingbird."
• Investigate feminist themes and gender roles in "Jane Eyre": Independence, equality, and the quest for autonomy.
• Examine the theme of fate versus free will in Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" and its tragic consequences.
• Analyze the allegorical critique of totalitarianism in George Orwell's "Animal Farm."
• Explore survival and resilience in "Life of Pi" through the protagonist's journey of faith and self-discovery.
• Understand existential themes in "The Stranger": Absurdity, alienation, and the search for meaning in an indifferent world.

Need more topic ideas? Check out our ‘ literary analysis essay topics ’ blog and get unique ideas for your next assignment.

In conclusion, crafting a literary analysis essay outline is a critical step in the writing process. By breaking down the essay into manageable sections and organizing your thoughts effectively, you'll create a compelling and insightful analysis that engages your readers. 

Remember, practice makes perfect, so don't hesitate to revise and refine your outline until it reflects your ideas cohesively.

In case you are running out of time you can reach out to our essay writing service. At CollegeEssay.org , we provide high-quality college essay writing help for various literary topics. We have an extensive and highly professional team of qualified writers who are available to work on your assignments 24/7.

Get in touch with our customer service representative and let them know all your requirements.

Also, do not forget to try our AI writing tool !

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8.2: Outlining for Literary Essays

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• Page ID 101131

• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

Outlining Basics

The purpose of an outline is twofold: first, to help you organize your ideas. Second, to help readers follow along with your ideas. Think of an outline as a map for your essay. An essay without some kind of structure often flounders because readers get lost. The following are basic principles of essay organization that should help you craft logically organized papers that keep readers (and you!) on track.

• Always include a clear thesis . Think of this as the essay's destination. It essentially tells readers where the essay is going. Without a clear destination, readers might wonder why they are there, reading the essay in the first place!
• Keep one main idea per paragraph. Including a topic sentence—a one-sentence summary of the paragraph's main idea—is an effective way to keep the paragraph focused. Think of each topic sentence as a mini-thesis in support of the essay's overall thesis.
• Include evidence to support all claims. Usually, one quote or paraphrase per paragraph is an effective use of evidence. Spend at least 2-3 sentences analyzing and explaining each quote.
• Be flexible. An essay changes over time. Be willing to adapt and adjust the outline to fit the needs of the essay. If it doesn't serve your essay, let it go.

General Essay Template

This essay template is not meant to be prescriptive (the end all, be all), but to provide a commonly used essay structure students can adapt to write their own essays. As with any learning resource, students should choose organizational methods to enhance their learning and writing process.

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Sentence 1: hook.

Captures readers' attention and interest through a quote, one or two-sentence short story, or a startling statistic.

Sentence 2-3: Context/Background

Helps readers understand where the essay fits into the scholarly discourse by providing background information on the essay topic. For example, you might briefly summarize your research on your topic (what other people/scholars have said about your topic) or you might give historical background on your topic, depending on the essay prompt.

Sentence 4: (The) Thesis statement

Articulates the main argument of the essay. It should be short, specific, debatable, and clear.

Sentence 5: Essay map/sign post

Uses the last sentence(s) of the introduction to transition into body paragraphs. This may look like a "map" where you state the main arguments you will make in your essay. For example, this argument is true because of reason X, reason Y, and reason Z. Basically, you give readers an idea of where the essay is going.

Paragraphs 2-10+: Body Paragraphs

Sentence 1: topic sentence.

Summarizes the main argument or point of the paragraph.

Sentence 2: Present e vidence

Present evidence in the form of quotes or paraphrasing from authoritative primary or secondary sources, which supports the paragraph main idea, as well as the thesis main idea. The more scholarly the source, the better; check with your librarian if you are unfamiliar with in-text citations.

Sentence 3: Analyze, interpret, and e xplain evidence

Use your own words to do so. While what the information means may be clear to you, the writer, you should not assume that readers will understand the information. Explain everything within reason.

Sentence 4: Contextualize evidence

Show how evidence relates to and supports your thesis statement

Sentence 5: Transition

Introduce the next paragraph topic by using a linking word, phrase, or idea. This will improve your essay's organization and "flow."

Final Paragraph: Conclusion

Sentence 1: restate thesis statement.

State the thesis using new words. This helps readers remember the focus of the essay.

Sentence 2-3: Briefly summarize main arguments

Present a summary of the essay's main arguments. Again, this reminds readers of your main points in case they have forgotten.

Sentence 4-5: Explain the significance

Indicate the significance of your analysis and/or research to other scholars in your field/scholars of the subject or topic/society in general. This is also called the "takeaway." Your readers should feel like they learned something new or are seeing the literature in a new light.

General Essay Advice

• Be as specific as possible.
• Stay on topic. All information in the essay should work towards proving your argument. (Use it or lose it.)
• Use the known-new contract. Every sentence should "flow" into the next sentence, unless intentionally breaking the flow to make a point. This is achieved by using repeated words, ideas, or phrases from one sentence to the next.
• Practice ethical attribution. Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism can result in an F for the essay and the course, and can even result in expulsion. When in doubt, ask your professor or librarian. Using ethical attribution is the best way to avoid plagiarism, as it also helps you build credibility as a writer and literary scholar.
• For more information on essay writing—specifically works cited/references, citation, and formatting (MLA)—please visit the chapter on Ethical Attribution .

Literary Analysis Essay

Literary Analysis Essay Writing

Last updated on: May 21, 2023

Literary Analysis Essay - Ultimate Guide By Professionals

By: Cordon J.

Reviewed By: Rylee W.

Published on: Dec 3, 2019

A literary analysis essay specifically examines and evaluates a piece of literature or a literary work. It also understands and explains the links between the small parts to their whole information.

It is important for students to understand the meaning and the true essence of literature to write a literary essay.

One of the most difficult assignments for students is writing a literary analysis essay. It can be hard to come up with an original idea or find enough material to write about. You might think you need years of experience in order to create a good paper, but that's not true.

This blog post will show you how easy it can be when you follow the steps given here.Writing such an essay involves the breakdown of a book into small parts and understanding each part separately. It seems easy, right?

Trust us, it is not as hard as good book reports but it may also not be extremely easy. You will have to take into account different approaches and explain them in relation with the chosen literary work.

It is a common high school and college assignment and you can learn everything in this blog.

Continue reading for some useful tips with an example to write a literary analysis essay that will be on point. You can also explore our detailed article on writing an analytical essay .

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What is a Literary Analysis Essay?

A literary analysis essay is an important kind of essay that focuses on the detailed analysis of the work of literature.

The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to explain why the author has used a specific theme for his work. Or examine the characters, themes, literary devices , figurative language, and settings in the story.

This type of essay encourages students to think about how the book or the short story has been written. And why the author has created this work.

The method used in the literary analysis essay differs from other types of essays. It primarily focuses on the type of work and literature that is being analyzed.

Mostly, you will be going to break down the work into various parts. In order to develop a better understanding of the idea being discussed, each part will be discussed separately.

The essay should explain the choices of the author and point of view along with your answers and personal analysis.

How To Write A Literary Analysis Essay

So how to start a literary analysis essay? The answer to this question is quite simple.

The following sections are required to write an effective literary analysis essay. By following the guidelines given in the following sections, you will be able to craft a winning literary analysis essay.

Introduction

The aim of the introduction is to establish a context for readers. You have to give a brief on the background of the selected topic.

It should contain the name of the author of the literary work along with its title. The introduction should be effective enough to grab the reader’s attention.

In the body section, you have to retell the story that the writer has narrated. It is a good idea to create a summary as it is one of the important tips of literary analysis.

Other than that, you are required to develop ideas and disclose the observed information related to the issue. The ideal length of the body section is around 1000 words.

To write the body section, your observation should be based on evidence and your own style of writing.

It would be great if the body of your essay is divided into three paragraphs. Make a strong argument with facts related to the thesis statement in all of the paragraphs in the body section.

Start writing each paragraph with a topic sentence and use transition words when moving to the next paragraph.

Summarize the important points of your literary analysis essay in this section. It is important to compose a short and strong conclusion to help you make a final impression of your essay.

Pay attention that this section does not contain any new information. It should provide a sense of completion by restating the main idea with a short description of your arguments. End the conclusion with your supporting details.

You have to explain why the book is important. Also, elaborate on the means that the authors used to convey her/his opinion regarding the issue.

For further understanding, here is a downloadable literary analysis essay outline. This outline will help you structure and format your essay properly and earn an A easily.

DOWNLOADABLE LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY OUTLINE (PDF)

Types of Literary Analysis Essay

• Close reading - This method involves attentive reading and detailed analysis. No need for a lot of knowledge and inspiration to write an essay that shows your creative skills.
• Theoretical - In this type, you will rely on theories related to the selected topic.
• Historical - This type of essay concerns the discipline of history. Sometimes historical analysis is required to explain events in detail.
• Applied - This type involves analysis of a specific issue from a practical perspective.
• Comparative - This type of writing is based on when two or more alternatives are compared

Examples of Literary Analysis Essay

Examples are great to understand any concept, especially if it is related to writing. Below are some great literary analysis essay examples that showcase how this type of essay is written.

A ROSE FOR EMILY LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

THE GREAT GATSBY LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

If you do not have experience in writing essays, this will be a very chaotic process for you. In that case, it is very important for you to conduct good research on the topic before writing.

There are two important points that you should keep in mind when writing a literary analysis essay.

First, remember that it is very important to select a topic in which you are interested. Choose something that really inspires you. This will help you to catch the attention of a reader.

The selected topic should reflect the main idea of writing. In addition to that, it should also express your point of view as well.

Another important thing is to draft a good outline for your literary analysis essay. It will help you to define a central point and division of this into parts for further discussion.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Literary analysis essays are mostly based on artistic works like books, movies, paintings, and other forms of art. However, generally, students choose novels and books to write their literary essays.

Some cool, fresh, and good topics and ideas are listed below:

• Role of the Three Witches in flaming Macbeth’s ambition.
• Analyze the themes of the Play Antigone,
• Discuss Ajax as a tragic hero.
• The Judgement of Paris: Analyze the Reasons and their Consequences.
• Oedipus Rex: A Doomed Son or a Conqueror?
• Describe the Oedipus complex and Electra complex in relation to their respective myths.
• Betrayal is a common theme of Shakespearean tragedies. Discuss
• Identify and analyze the traits of history in T.S Eliot’s ‘Gerontion’.
• Analyze the theme of identity crisis in The Great Gatsby.
• Analyze the writing style of Emily Dickinson.

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We at 5StarEssays.com can help you get a custom paper as per your specified requirements with our do essay for me service.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What should a literary analysis essay include.

A good literary analysis essay must include a proper and in-depth explanation of your ideas. They must be backed with examples and evidence from the text. Textual evidence includes summaries, paraphrased text, original work details, and direct quotes.

What are the 4 components of literary analysis?

Here are the 4 essential parts of a literary analysis essay;

No literary work is explained properly without discussing and explaining these 4 things.

How do you start a literary analysis essay?

Start your literary analysis essay with the name of the work and the title. Hook your readers by introducing the main ideas that you will discuss in your essay and engage them from the start.

How do you do a literary analysis?

In a literary analysis essay, you study the text closely, understand and interpret its meanings. And try to find out the reasons behind why the author has used certain symbols, themes, and objects in the work.

Why is literary analysis important?

It encourages the students to think beyond their existing knowledge, experiences, and belief and build empathy. This helps in improving the writing skills also.

What is the fundamental characteristic of a literary analysis essay?

Interpretation is the fundamental and important feature of a literary analysis essay. The essay is based on how well the writer explains and interprets the work.

Law, Finance Essay

Cordon. is a published author and writing specialist. He has worked in the publishing industry for many years, providing writing services and digital content. His own writing career began with a focus on literature and linguistics, which he continues to pursue. Cordon is an engaging and professional individual, always looking to help others achieve their goals.

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46 Student Essay Example 2 (Literary Analysis) in MLA

Dr. Sandi Van Lieu

**For a video overview of this essay, see further down on this page.

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• Student essay example by Janelle Devin and used with permission.

The RoughWriter's Guide Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Sandi Van Lieu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Teaching Literary Analysis

Guide students through the five steps of understanding and writing literary analysis: choosing and focusing a topic, gathering, presenting and analyzing textual evidence, and concluding.

Literary analysis is a vital stage in the development of students' critical thinking skills. Bloom's Taxonomy illustrates that analysis should come at the fourth level, right after comprehension and application. What this means is that students must be able to understand and describe the text before they are able to analyze its elements.

Teaching literary analysis is often a daunting and overwhelming task. After all, it is essentially guiding students slowly through the process of critical thinking and understanding literature. That’s not a simple undertaking. Most importantly, with so many ways to go about doing it, where to begin?

To guide students toward discovering literature all on their own, the steps of this process need to be introduced in a simplified form. It's very important for the student to understand that literary analysis is indeed a process where there is no right or wrong answer. This empowers students to be passionate about their topics and, most importantly, encourages them to look beyond the words on the page.

1. Choose a Topic

Some students need guidance when choosing a topic, but others have ideas that they would like to explore. Topics can be divided into the main literary elements:

• Literary devices

2. Focus the Topic

Here is where many students will need to do a lot of brainstorming, outlining, and specific thinking about the element on which they would like to focus.

• The brainstorming process involves mapping out the different aspects of the chosen element.
• Make a choice by narrowing down the selection and focusing the ideas.
• Come up with a question to answer (thesis statement): What do you want to explore about the topic? Why does it stand out to you?
• Answer the "why" question. Instead of letting students simply describe the text, "why" pushes them to analyze and even synthesize. This aspect is vital to student understanding, as most of the time a teacher is able to identify a relevant thesis related to modern-day issues and concepts. Here is where real-world application, analysis, and synthesis can begin to form in this piece of writing.

3. Gather Textual Evidence

Collecting material to answer or support your question is often a time-consuming stage, because most of the close reading will occur here. It's important for students to know that they're allowed to research the topic or text before starting to write. Many students feel that they should not be using Google or Wikipedia to research their texts. Here is where the teacher can have an honest discussion about digital citizenship, and how to tell credible academic sources from non-credible ones.

Show students that close reading and gathering evidence doesn't have to be a mundane, one-dimensional task.

• Identify common themes, repetitions, and patterns.
• Categorize elements, tone, and narrative style.
• Highlight characterization, setting, and foreshadowing.
• Label character types, symbols, and metaphors.

4. Introduce, Evidence, Analyze

Learning through writing and literary analysis happens through stages (see Bloom's Taxonomy ). At this stage of writing, students have already accomplished remembering, understanding, and applying. Next comes analysis.

Students should introduce their point in one or two clear topic sentences. Next, it's important to provide evidence that supports the main topic in order to convince the reader of the stated point of view. There are a few ways students can add their evidence.

• Quotation: When providing evidence word for word from a primary or secondary source, students should be reminded to use quotation marks only if the words have not been altered.
• Summary: Students summarize a piece of evidence by restating it in a shorter form using their own words.
• Paraphrase: Students explain a piece of evidence using their own words.

At this stage, it's important to use the lesson as a reminder to cite and give credit for words and ideas that belong to others. A conversation with the class about academic honesty is very important to help them understand intellectual property. This conversation will also prepare them for honesty and ethics in the real or academic world.

This critical stage is often a learning curve for many students. It's important that the teacher helps them distinguish between descriptive writing and analytical writing. Descriptive writing answers the "who," "what," "where," and "how" questions. It often tends to summarize the text. Analytical writing , however, answers to the "why" question. When students consider the question, "Why is this point important?", it pushes them beyond mere description into ideas that are convincing, argumentative, and defend a position.

5. Conclusion

A strong conclusion outlines the main ideas of the essay, but it also works to provide a solution to a real-life problem. Students can focus on concluding with what they hope to get out of their analysis, or provide closure to the topic. Most importantly, students should seize the conclusion as an opportunity to provide their own opinion and reflection about their process of analyzing the text. The self-reflection here would be a vital key for teachers to assess the writing process and a great opportunity to provide essential feedback to the student.

Please share your own experiences in teaching students about literary analysis.

Crafting a Comprehensive Literary Analysis Essay Outline With Examples

May 18, 2023

May 18, 2023 | Blog

As the name suggests, a literary analysis scrutinizes and evaluates a given text. It is one of the most enjoyable essays regarding literary criticism and comment.f

You are required to break down a piece to identify its constituent elements so that you can understand and appreciate a piece of literature.

For instance, an analysis of a play might look into how a subplot relates to the main plot.

An analysis of a poem might look into the symbolism used by the poet or even the connection between the content and the form.

When analyzing a play or a novel, you could focus on the protagonist’s character flaw and how the writer reveals it in the text.

A literary analysis should convince a reader of your interpretation of the text.

Preparation and organization are critical factors if you are to come up with an excellent literary evaluation essay .

A literary analysis outline will help you with both factors, i.e., preparation and organization.

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How To Write A Literary Analysis Essay Outline

When reading literature in your classes, teachers ask you to write a literary analysis to prove your skills and knowledge. To analyze any book or short story, you need to break it down into small parts and examine how they all work. This is when a literary analysis outline will come in handy.

An outline is like a skeleton. It’s the structure that your writing needs to have to make sense and be understood by an audience.

An outline is a great way to help you organize your thoughts and ideas about an argument, making it easier for readers to follow.

The order of information makes your writing readable by logically distributing the data and also helps convince them that what you’re saying has merit.

How do you make a literary analysis essay clear and readable? Well, the answer is by crafting an outline for it to follow.

You should take this first step in the planning phase of your work before writing or thinking about any other part of it.

A well-constructed essay outline, which usually includes the following components:

• Introduction
• Thesis statement
• Body paragraphs

The basic literary analysis essay outline includes the following elements: introduction/background information, main points, supporting evidence, and conclusion.

The following is a guide on a literary analysis outline with illustrations from the analysis of ‘ The Lonely, Good Company of Books ’ by Richard Rodriguez and other literary pieces.

1 The Introduction

The introduction is the first essential part of an essay. The introductory paragraph introduces the topic and draws your attention towards it. This opening paragraph usually seeks to introduce readers to subjects they may not have been aware of.

A good introduction should engage readers so they will be interested in reading the rest of the essay.

You should start your introduction with a quote, a provocative question, a controversial statement, or a brief anecdote.

In the introduction of a literary analysis essay, it is important to include background information related to your thesis that will guide the reader to the position you will take.

A literary analysis essay introduction is grounded on three key components: Hook sentence, background information, and thesis statement.

1) Hook Sentence: A hook sentence is the introductory paragraph’s phrase or first sentence. A hook statement aims at grabbing readers’ attention. It’s not enough to just have a catchy opening paragraph, but it should be able to keep them interested and make sure they read the whole essay.

A hook sentence can take any type, such as a quotation or a factual statement. It’s important to choose the right one for your intro, depending on what tone and theme you’re going for.

2) Background Information: Providing all necessary background information in the introduction is essential. The author and title are important aspects that need to be discussed, and any other element related to characters, setting, or plot.

3) Thesis Statement: Before you even start working on your introduction, you need to develop a thesis.

A thesis is a statement that informs your reader point you are trying to prove and what to expect in your essay.

Your thesis statement should come at the end of your introduction.

In a thesis statement for a literary analysis, do not:

• Address the reader
• Use the first-person narrator
• Tell the reader what they will read

The following is an example of a good introduction:

How much do you read? How much information do you retain after reading? The Lonely, Good Company of Books by Rodriguez exploits the misconception of the meaning and purpose of reading by students that have proved lethal in the long run. Reading can be very productive as a mode of learning as it assists in widening the individual’s scope of knowledge and horizon, but it is futile if done for the sake of. Reading a complicated large volume of books by students without absorbing the content, thus failing to learn, is a complete waste of time, as realized by the author later on since initially, his major purpose for reading was acknowledgment by his teachers.

Your introduction should not:

• Include statements designed to impress rather than add meaning to your work.
• Be equivocal, i.e., be open to more than one interpretation.
• Hugely praise the work of literature under analysis.

2 Body Paragraphs

In this section, you expound on points that support your thesis.

You are supposed to explain a point and use textual evidence (from the play, novel, poem, etc.).

You can paraphrase textual evidence, summarize it, or use direct quotes.

Each idea should be in its paragraph.

Additionally, each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence .

This sentence ties the supporting points to the main idea and connects the paragraph to the thesis statement.

To give shape and structure to the text, all body paragraphs should be written using a template incorporating specific elements: Topic sentence, evidence, analysis, transition words , and concluding sentence.

1) Topic sentence : This is the first sentence of your paragraph. This sentence should contain the main point of your paragraph. You should structure the introductory sentence of each paragraph to introduce the audience to what you’re about to say. To best layout your points, use a clear sentence for readers to know where you are going with this argument

For example:

“The first boy, Jack, believes that a beast truly does exist….”

2) Evidence: Evidence is needed to support the claim made in the topic sentence. The chosen article must have convincing points that make it logical and strong.

“…He is afraid and admits it; however, he deals with his fear of aggressive violence. He hunts for the beast, arms himself with a spear, and practices killing it: “We’re strong—we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!”(91).”

3) Analysis: Some might think that writing a literary analysis essay is just about reading and analyzing the literature, but it’s so much more. A writer must provide evidence to support their topic sentence and explain how they understand this evidence to convey meaningfully.

A literary essay requires a writer to make their analysis known. This serves as an opportunity for readers curious about how you have interpreted this evidence to understand their meaning and significance.

“…He also uses the fear of the beast to control and manipulate the other children. Because they fear the beast, they are likelier to listen to Jack and follow his orders…”

4) Transition words are often used in a literary analysis essay. Also referred to as connecting words, like “yet” and “but,” they link ideas together to maintain a logical flow while you’re writing your paper.

Commonly used transition words in literary analysis essays include the following:

• In contrast
• Later in the story
• Furthermore

“…Furthermore, Jack fears Ralph’s power over the group and Piggy’s rational thought. He knows both direct conflicts with his thirst for absolute power…”

Concluding sentence: The concluding sentence is the last paragraph that sums up and wraps up an entire discussion. It should summarize all of your ideas while leaving readers curious to read more about what you have written so far.

Each paragraph in a literary analysis essay should contain these elements to make your work compelling.

The following is a body paragraph of the literary analysis essay we introduced above:

Rodriguez’s experience illustrates the weakness in the education system that overemphasizes certain concepts like reading but fails to provide proper guidelines concerning the reason for its importance and how to go about it. For instance, Rodriguez just knew reading was vital for his success academically. Still, he had no idea why or how, just like most students, and since academic excellence is the center of the education system, they fail to find out and tug along due to their teachers’ support. Also, most students’ orientation to reading is always poor. They fail to understand that the information from books is a guideline in the learning process and can be challenged, just like Rodriguez.

This is a good body paragraph because it starts with a topic sentence related to the thesis.

The introductory sentence is then developed through explanations, summaries, and paraphrasing of text from the book.

3 The Conclusion

The conclusion sums up your essay and lets your reader know you have come to an end.

It should provide your essay with a sense of completeness by restating the thesis and summarizing the main points in the essay’s body.

Concluding paragraphs should be engaging and creative. Add the following information to conclude your essay:

• State how your topic is related to the theme of the chosen work
• State how successfully the author delivered the message
• According to your perspective, provide a statement on the topic
• If required, present predictions
• Connect your conclusion to your introduction by restating the thesis statement.
• In the end, provide an opinion about the significance of the work.

The following is a conclusion of the literary analysis of ‘ The Lonely, Good Company of Books ’ used as an example for this guide:

It makes no sense to read a large volume of books without learning. Reading as a learning method is good but requires proper directives regarding purpose, reading methods, and book selections since not all books are productive. Furthermore, the focus on reading should be placed on understanding, and students whose satisfaction in reading does not reflect the joy of learning new things should be discouraged early. So, it is about time students evaluated whether they read to learn or to gain praise from their instructors and peers.

This conclusion starts with a restatement of the thesis, then a summary of the main points.

It finishes strongly due to the last sentence’s call to action.

Note that the conclusion is your last chance to convince your reader you have strong, valid, and relevant arguments.

So, you should not make the mistake of writing a literary analysis conclusion in a rush.

In your conclusion, do not:

• Introduce a new idea
• Write an overblown remark about the author’s work

Sample Literary Analysis Essay Outline (PDF)

 what is the best analysis format.

All literary analysis and academic assignments have a specific format from the instructor and style that you must follow. However, if a suggested style has not been mentioned, the best for literary writing such as this is MLA. The Modern Language Association citation format is most commonly used when writing papers within the liberal arts and humanities disciplines.

Literary Analysis Essay Examples

The best way to understand a concept in the writing world is through written examples. Written examples help you learn how perfectly structured pieces are drafted, and ideas are shaped to convey messages. The following literary analysis essay samples will give you an idea of what it takes to create one.

Literary Analysis Essay Rubric (PDF)

Literary analysis essay example for high school (pdf), literary analysis essay example for college (pdf), literary analysis essay example romeo & juliet (pdf), literary analysis essay topics.

If you’re looking for a great literary analysis essay topic, look no further! The experts at EssayFreelanceWriters.Com have compiled the following list of literary analysis topics. From classic literature to modern philosophy, they’ve got it all covered.

• To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
• The Princess Bride by William Goldman
• Corrupting influence of ambition in Macbeth
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Women and misogyny in Hamlet
• Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen

Get Help from the Experts with your Paper

That’s how to write a literary analysis outline. It would be best to devote enough time to your   literary analysis essay outline. It can ensure the success of your whole work. That said, if you still cannot develop an excellent literary analysis essay, contact us for professional help.

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Literary Analysis Essay Outline Organizer| High School, PDF & Google

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Use this literary analysis (or response to literature) graphic organizer to help students organize their analysis essays. There are planning sections for the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion on both the print and Google version.

Printable PDF Outline

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Who should purchase this resource?

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This graphic organizer is ready to go upon purchase! You will download a printable PDF that contains the printable versions and links to the Google versions! You can print and pass it out in class today!

Looking for more essay resources? Check these out!

Personal Narrative Essay Unit (with Editable Rubric)

Compare and Contrast Essay Outline Graphic Organizer

Persuasive Essay Outline Graphic Organizer (PDF & Google Slides)

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