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8/9/2019 Literary Analysis OWL
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Writing a Literary Analysis
BRIAN YOTHERSBrought to you in cooperation with the Purue Online Writing La!
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What is Literary
Analysis"
It#s literary$
It#s an analysis$
It#s %
An Argument!
It &ay also in'ol'e research on an analysis o(seconary sources$
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I&portant Literary)oncepts
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How )an I Learn *ore"
Check your library for:
• +arious han!oo,s o( literary ter&s
•Nu&erous introuctions to literary criticis&an theory- wiely a'aila!le$
E.a&ple/ A Handbook to Literature,
Har&on0Hol&an
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How is it 1Literary2"
3sually- a literary analysis will in'ol'e adiscussion of a text as writing- thus the ter&literary- which &eans 1ha'ing to o with letters$2
This will in'ol'e the use o( certain concepts thatare 'ery speci4cally associate with literature$
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What is an Analysis"
An analysis o( a literary wor, &ay iscuss/
How the various components o( an ini'iualwor, relate to each other$
How two separate literary wor,s eal with similarconcepts or forms$
How concepts an (or&s in literary wor,s relate tolarger aesthetic- political- social- econo&ic- orreligious contexts$
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How is LiteraryAnalysis
An Argu&ent"
Writing an Argument:
• When writing a literary analysis- you willfocus on specic attribute(s o( thete.t5s6$
• When iscussing these attri!utes- youwill want to &a,e sure that you are
making a specic arguable point(thesis a!out these attri!utes$
• You will defend this point with reasonsan evidence rawn (ro& the te.t$
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Thesis State&ents
Which is the best Thesis State&ent"
Moby-Dick is a!out the pro!le& o( e'il$
Moby-Dick is !oring an pointless$
Moby-Dick is a!out a !ig- white whale$
The use o( 1whiteness2 in Moby-Dick illustratesthe uncertainty o( the &eaning o( li(e that Ish&aele.presses throughout the no'el$
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How to SupportA Thesis State&ent
"vidence and #upport:
• Inclue e.a&ples from the text/
7irect 8uotations Su&&aries o( scenes Paraphrases
• )ite other critics$ opinions
• 7iscuss the te.t#s historical and social context
• Always re&e&!er to rea care(ully an highlightuse(ul passages an 8uotes$
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What is aSeconary Source"
#econdary #ources:
• A !oo, or article that iscusses the te.t you are iscussing$
• A !oo, or article that iscusses a theory relate to theargu&ent you are &a,ing$
• A !oo, or article that iscusses the social an historical
conte.t o( the te.t you are iscussing$
9or e.a&ple/ In iscussing )haucer#s Pardoner’s Tale- Lee Patterson argues that/ 1:
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How o I 9inSeconary Sources"
%ou might consult:• Acae&ic 7ata!ases
• EX: The MLA International iblio!ra"hy • The 7ictionary o( Literary Biography• 7iscipline;speci4c sources/
EX: A#erica: History and Li$e $or A#erican Literature• Other search engines• A !i!liography that is part o( your te.t• Your instructor
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IntegratingSeconary Source
• When you use seconary sources- !e sure to showhow they relate to your thesis$
• &on$t overuse any one seconary source- or (orthat &atter- seconary sources in general
• 'emember that this is your paper- yourargu&ent%the seconary sources are
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Recap/ Literary
Analysis
When writing a literary analysis:
Be (a&iliar with literary ter&s$
Analy=e speci4c ite&s$
*a,e an a argu&ent$
*a,e appropriate use o( seconary sources$
)onsult instructors an tutors (or help whenneee$
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Where to >o(or *ore Help
Purue 3ni'ersity Writing La!- Hea'ilon ??@
)hec, our we! site/ http/00owl$english$purue$eu
E&ail !rie( 8uestions to OWL *ail/https/00owl$english$purue$eu0contact0owl&ailtutors
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/https://owl.english.purdue.edu/contact/owlmailtutorshttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/contact/owlmailtutorshttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/
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The En
WRITIN> A LITERARY ANALYSIS
BRIAN YOTHERSBrought to you in cooperation with the Purue Online Writing La!