English

Analysis of Literary Arguments for an Academic Audience – Rubric Spring 2021 – ENG 112

The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to carefully examine and sometimes evaluate a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature. As with any analysis, this requires you to break the subject down into its component parts (think about close reading). Examining the different elements of a piece of literature is not an end, but rather a process to help you better appreciate and deeper understanding of the work of literature. The objective is not to write a report about the text, it is to discuss an interpretation of a text through careful examination.

1. Your essay must have a central idea (stated in your thesis).

2. Your essay must be organized so that every part contributes something to the reader’s understanding of your

central idea.

3. Your paper should have significant textual evidence (direct quotes, paraphrases properly cited).

4. The utilization of credible, scholarly sources.

The Purpose of this Writing Assignment:

Your purpose in this assignment is to analyze how writers of fiction go about creating an argument for their audience. You will research and analyze how a writer manipulates literary elements to advance his or her theme (also known as the argument). You will them point out the effectiveness by focusing on the author’s use of rhetoric (logos, pathos, ethos) to impact the reader.

This is like your first writing assignment, as it asks you to read critically and analyze a work of literature. It is different in that it asks you to discuss rhetoric, as well as independently researching your topic.

Remember that fiction writers almost never tell you directly what they mean. Instead they create a world for you to inhabit so you can feel the impact of the words, and through close examination of the text you can infer the argument. But, more importantly, a work of fiction can have a powerful impact because of the emotional engagement.

Your paper will be in the form of an essay with the paragraph structure outlined below. An essay typically contains paragraphs with specific functions: introduction, body, conclusion. Typically, there are no heading or obvious divisions other than paragraphs. The reader of an essay will expect it to have a main idea (thesis) that conveys what you are trying to get across in your analysis. Readers typically expect the thesis to be the last sentence of the opening paragraph. The body paragraphs typically open with a topic sentence. The last sentence in a body paragraph sums up the main idea of the topic sentence, using fresh language. The topic sentence is the main idea of that paragraph, ad it should relate to the overall main idea of the essay as spelled out in the thesis. Conclusions discuss the significance of your analysis, typically answering the questions “so what?” and “who cares?” In college-level essays, conclusions must do more than merely repeat and summarize the main points of a paper, they must offer some deeper insight or significance.

Research requirements:

You must cite at least one secondary source and incorporate at least at least one direct quotation from your secondary source. The source should be written considered a scholarly source. The source could provide biographical or historical contextual information. You are welcome to use more sources than the minimum.

Analysis of Literary Elements

Because fiction writers do not tell us directly what they mean, we must examine the elements that make up a work of fiction to decipher the author’s meaning (the theme, the argument).

Literary analysis involves isolating one or more literary elements (character, symbol, setting, point of view, structure, irony, style) and analyzing how the author manipulates those elements to reveal the work’s theme. Choose three literary elements to analyze and show how they help to advance the story’s theme. Develop each analysis of a literary element in its own paragraph.

Help with Essay Structure: Your introduction paragraph should include:

1. An introduction to the text. Questions for consideration include:

What is the title of the story? Who is the author? When was it written? What is the purpose of this text? What does the author hope to achieve? What is the authors thesis Provide a brief summary of the story.

2. A strong thesis statement that you wish to convey in your analysis. Here is a template you may use: In the short story_____, Author X clearly identifies his/her writing situation and crafts a strong argument for the intended audience by successfully using the literary elements of _____, ______, and _______ and strong rhetorical appeals.

Your essay should contain the following elements:

· -  Effective title that functions as commentary on your paper

· -  MLA format (heading, header, double-spacing, title, paragraphing, citations)

· -  Clear and engaging introduction with author’s name, title of the story, publication date, purpose of story,

author’s thesis (argument), brief plot summary, your own thesis

· -  Clear topic sentences to signal the content of each paragraph

· -  Evidence from the story to support analysis and interpretation

· -  Analysis of literary elements (choose three)

· -  At least three well-integrated quotations from the story

· -  Smoothly introduces literary critic (from peer-reviewed journal or book) and argument

· -  Critic’s view related to your argument and explanation of that relationship

· -  At least one quotation from the critic

· -  Analysis of rhetoric showing how the writer uses ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the reader of his/her

main idea

· -  Concluding sentences to emphasize the main point of the paragraph(s)

· -  Thoughtful and insightful concluding paragraph that pulls together the insights you have found din your analysis.

· -  Proper grammar and mechanics

· -  About Four to Six pages.