Modern students are not keen on reading much. And why should they if they can watch a bright movie or play a fascinating computer game instead?
But no matter whether they take delight in reading or not, it’s still a part of the educational process. There is a list of books they have to get acquainted with, and it only gets bigger when the learner goes to college or other higher educational institutions.
But reading is one thing. Students might be asked to write their own reflections on the book from a critical and analytical standpoint. That’s where the issues might emerge.
You can easily avoid any uncertainty and complexity of the writing process if you know how to perform this or that type of assignment. Today you’ll get a better idea of how to compile an essay on any of the literary analysis topics. You will obtain comprehensive guidelines that would help you structure your paper and deliver your ideas in a logical and clear way.
What Should You Know About a Literary Analysis Essay First
If you think that you will summarize the plot of the book in a literary analysis paper and that would be it, you are badly mistaken. In fact, this type of essay has nothing to do with a summary. It is a piece of writing that focuses on the critical analysis of the work or its aspect. It delivers an estimation of the literary devices, the word choice, ideas, plot twists, or other aspects the author of the work uses to gain the desired effect. You should demonstrate how the use of the writing style or devices impacted the message of the story.
What You Can Dwell on in Your Literary Analysis Essay
If you got the concept of the literary analysis paper right, you probably know that it’s related to one of the aspects of the literary piece. Here is a guide to writing the literary analysis essay through the wisely chosen topic:
- plot: review how the book is structured, if there are any techniques like foreshadowing or flashback, if there are any unexpected plot twists and how they set the mood of the work;
- idea: dwell on one of the ideas or messages of the work, how it is expressed through the book, how the author develops the theme;
- character: explain how the author describes the character, what role it has in the whole book composition, what’s the mission of the character in the book, how it affected other characters;
- setting: describe the setting of the story and how it affects the mood, elaborate any hidden implication of the setting in the book;
- figure of speech: define the most prominent figures of speech and how they help convey the message;
- writing style: give details on the style the author uses, how the chosen style helps deliver the core ideas;
- imagery: share the images or symbols the author uses and their role in the perception of the plot.
Classic Literary Analysis Essay Structure
Before you begin writing your paper, we would strongly recommend reading the original book or other literary work you are going to analyze. Of course, summaries can save you tons of time, but you won’t feel the work’s atmosphere, language, and more. Moreover, someone’s point of view will be imposed on you, and you won’t have a chance to shape your ideas.
Then, carefully work out the statement (which you’ll be using in the introduction, by the way). Briefly speaking, a statement is a carefully formulated sentence that gives an idea of what you are going to talk about in your paper. It’s a sort of a spoiler that would guide the paragraphs of your essay in the right direction.
For example,
The freedom of the human mind has a huge impact on the development of society according to ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand.
Once you are done with formulating the thesis, you can switch to the outline. It’s a short plan that would be showing what ideas you will be dwelling on in a particular section of the essay. You’ve got to think of the:
- introduction;
- several body paragraphs;
- conclusion.
Introduction
So, everyone tells you that the introduction to your essay should be impressive, catchy, and fascinating. That’s where most problems occur because you set high expectations which you can’t meet right away.
If you are not an artisan of words and it takes ages to build at least one sentence, just make a deal with yourself. Your introduction has to be informative and give a general idea of what you will be sharing with the reader. That’s the main objective of it.
If you are in the right mood, go fancy and craft an outstanding introduction that would impress your teacher. If you are not, that is ok. Go with anything that you can make. Anyway, we will give you some tips on how to start your work:
- provocative question;
- quote from the book;
- anecdote;
- actualization of the problem.
The introduction should include the author and the title of the book. It should give immediate attention to your topic. Do not forget to add the thesis statement by the end of the first paragraph.
Example:
Chaos. Destruction. Crisis. That’s how the world looks like when the greatest human minds are harnessed by short-sighted, dumb, and miserable people. The world is collapsing and no one has the nerve to put things into order and admit the mistake. That’s what we see in the brilliant work of Ayn Rand ‘Atlas Shrugged.’ She insists that the freedom of the human mind has a huge impact on the development of society.
Body
An average essay (500-800 words long) should have at least three paragraphs that would be supporting the statement. Each paragraph has to provide one argument to prove the thesis. Do not mix several ideas in one section. This is no good for the understanding of your point and the subject matter. Just remember that every paragraph should advocate one idea only.
Besides, open the paragraph with the topic sentence. It should be simple and short, yet give the reader a spoiler to what this passage will be about. Then you can dwell on the explanation of your viewpoint, which you can support with quotes.
As you use quotes, please note that it makes sense to use the direct reference only when the quotation is short and is one sentence long. In other cases, it’s better to paraphrase or summarize the idea of the passage you would like to add to your work. Here is how to write a literary analysis essay examples:
Example:
‘Who is John Galt?’ These words are the sign of despair, fear, and helplessness. People in the novel tend to utter them more frequently when the whole country depends on villains who deny rationality and the power of the mind. Destroyed plants and hungry jobless people have become the reality, while so many opportunities for growth are blindly blocked. The revolutionary engine that was abandoned in the plant could have made a technological revolution, but that would never happen in a society that disregards the greatest human virtue - reasoning power.
Conclusion
As you come to the end of your paper ensure that you make it clear that you are wrapping it up. At first, paraphrase the thesis avoiding direct copying. Express the same idea but in other words. Then, summarize the core points of your work in several short sentences. Add your own impression and state the role of the book in the world of literature.
Stay away from introducing new ideas in the conclusion. This is a big mistake that might reduce the points for your essay.
Example:
Humans can survive only when they rely on the power of their minds. When the world is run by smart principled visionaries, only then it thrives. Once it appears in the hands of foolish and stubborn people, society is doomed to death. ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand is a warning to the forces that neglect human nature and the power of intelligence.
Sounds Too Complicated for You?
Indeed, a literary analysis essay is one of the toughest written assignments. If you do not have enough resources to devote to this assignment, you can always get your paper written by a masterful expert. Tell us more about your assignment and we will connect you with the appropriate writer who will deliver a high-grade essay just on time.