Literary Analysis Essay Writing Recommendations

Academic

Being a student and writing a literary analysis essay are almost synonymous. It is impossible to go to school and avoid this writing assignment. Even though not all students may be excited to complete this task, there is hardly a chance that they will be deprived of this opportunity. If you are one of such students, the following article will be useful for you. We will provide you with useful recommendation on this type of essay writing and help you understand better what literary analysis essay is.
How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay

What Is a Literary Analysis Essay?

This type of essay requires a student to write a deep analysis of some literary work. The complexity of this task is that alongside with analytical thinking, the students will also need much time to get their work done. Even if you are a good writer, you may not always have an opportunity to get the paper written on time. However, even those students who do not consider writing to be their strong side can succeed in literary analysis essay writing by following certain rules. However, in order to write an essay, you will have to be aware of what happens in the book, which presupposes that you read it first.

Literary Analysis

Analyzing a literary work is a time-consuming task. In order to come up with a good paper, you will have to understand the events described in a book, which automatically leads to breaking in into smaller parts and outlining key elements of the narration. However, literary analysis differs from a summary plot. Actually, summary plot can be a part of analysis essay but definitely not its main part. The focus of an analysis essay should be placed at detailed investigation of problems hidden somewhere between the lines.

how to start literary analysis essay

Analysis Essay Writing

The process of such essay writing will be easier, if it is divided into smaller parts and done step-by-step. It will help a writer to understand the process better and concentrate on separate parts properly. If you follow recommendations provide below strictly, you will be able to avoid problems and deliver a high-quality paper without making much efforts. So, if you are ready to enlarge your knowledge on literary analysis paper writing, let us start.

Thorough preparation/reading of literary work

The first step in writing process is to read a book/poem/novel and, what is most important, understand it! Reading a summary of a plot may not be a good idea, as it does not help in comprehending the hidden message of an author. However, it may be useful after reading the book in order to clearly see the whole picture and better understand the background of the story. Only after this step is completed, you can move on to the next activity.

Make notes and review the specific terms

Reading a long book may result in the fact that you forget some episodes or do not remember them clearly. It is a normal thing unless you take notes. Writing down the important moments and taking notes on things which seem essential is a good practice. It will give you an opportunity to review the information you need without looking it in a book and wasting your precious time.

Make sure you understand the assignment

Every paper writing is based on some specific instructions, which have to be followed. In case you do not understand the instructions, you may write an off-topic paper and get a low mark. Regardless of the fact th an t it may sound obvious, you still have to make sure that the assignment is clear to you. In case you have problems with comprehending the task, you can always ask the teacher for additional explanation. Sometimes, literary analysis essay may require more than just analyzing the content of the book. You may be asked to make a research on what other scholars think about problems revealed in a piece of writing you are analyzing, etc.

Introductory part

The first three steps were preparatory. After they are done, you can actually go down to the writing process. The general structure of the analysis essay is similar to the one of other papers. Consequently, you will have to start from introduction and thesis statement. The aim of the introductory part is to make the readers interested in what you write. As a result, it is recommended to start your paper with some hook or question, which will be further answered in the paper. The other way of starting essay is to use some quote or a shocking fact. Regardless of what approach you will choose, grabbing readers’ attention is a first step to success. After winning the attention of the audience, you will have to work on the most important part of the introduction, which is thesis statement. Thesis plays a role of a road map of the whole paper. It sets a tone and provides your stand and determines the focus of the essay. No matter what your purpose is, you should clearly state it in thesis. Moreover, the importance of a thesis statement is also in that it helps a writer to narrow down his writing to some specific problem or theme and keep him/her focused. It is important to pay special attention to the introductory part of the paper, as it can influence a decision of the audience on whether to read the rest of the paper or not.

literary essay analysis

Analysis

You should start analyzing the literary work with determining different literary devices. They may include main symbols, characters or key themes. The best way to do it is to refer to the previously made notes. Remember, that each of these elements may require specific approach in order to see the connection between them. You will understand that everything is done properly only if all the elements of a puzzle will come together and form a single picture. For example, if you are assigned with a task of analyzing the book The Lord of the Rings, and you are free to choose a topic you like, you can dwell on symbolism in it. In this case, your thesis can be written with focus on a ring as a symbol of power. Consequently, it will give a clear understanding what the paper will be about. Moreover, if this topic is chosen, you can also make a connection between power and how it influences people, corruption in a modern world connected to it, etc. It will give your paper a deeper meaning and will lead to a positive outcome. Many students consider an assignment in literary assignment writing as a tragedy, especially if they have to work with long text. However, writing an analysis on a long book is not as scary as it may seem. Long texts usually have many characters, who form a part of a general narration and, at the same time, give you a possibility to sustain and support your ideas based on how they act, as well as their goals and ambitions. Big works give you a bigger area for action. The most difficult part in working with such literary works may be the reading itself. However, as soon as you finish doing it, it will be easier for you to choose what information or what storyline to pick for your work. On the contrary, small books may limit the number of options and make you look for additional information elsewhere.

literary analysis essay conclusion

Conclusion

The final part of your essay is the conclusion. It is an important part of a paper because it is the last thing the readers will read and it is the part they will remember most. Consequently, your task is to refresh your main idea from the thesis statement and briefly summarize the main ideas of the paper. Considering our previous example, The Lord of the Rings, it will be necessary to restate the importance of the ring as a symbol of power in the book and tell about how power can affect individuals and other people around them. If the requirements allow, you can also provide your own opinion on the topic under discussion at the end of conclusion. In case it is not allowed by the instructions, you can restate the thesis and make an emphasis on the importance of studying the topic further. It is important to remember that your conclusion should actually conclude a paper. Make sure you do not make an impression as if you have not said everything you wanted.

Final Words on Literary Analysis Essay Writing

As you can see, literary analysis essay writing may not be as difficult as you think, if you follow certain rules. Many students underestimate the preparatory stage. It is a big mistake as it helps build a necessary basis for your further work. Managing your time is also a crucial thing in the process of essay writing, as well as taking notes and writing down main ideas and important elements of the narration. Believing in personal strengths and proper preparation will definitely result in positive outcome.
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