need, help

A. Steps for reading/analyzing a text:  

Find the surface level interpretation. Look for and label literary elements. Use the literary elements to lead you to the deeper meaning or societal commentary present in the text.

1. Read the text for the surface level interpretation of the text. Read the text again. Read it several times in order to attempt to fully understand the surface level of the text . You should work to answer the following questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? (You may not be able to answer all of these questions for every text you read.)

2. Read the text for clues about the deeper meaning in the form of literary elements. Look through the text for pieces that stand out. Review the Literary Terms Guide posted in Unit 2, if you’re unfamiliar with various literary elements . Mark the literary elements as you read and make notes about what you think the elements mean.

3. Move beyond the surface level while using the literary elements as clues toward assessing the deeper meaning or societal commentary that the text is making. For example, a text might infer that poetry is alive and should be treated as such (deeper meaning) or a text might be written to communicate that the society of the time treated women unfairly (commentary on society). 

B. Annotating: 

When annotating, write notes on the surface level pieces. As you find answers to the questions: “who, what, when, where, why?” label them . Write comments you might have about the text. Write insights you might have while reading. Mark literary elements and write out what you think the literary elements mean or your interpretation of them. When annotating, make note of the 3 steps mentioned above (in step A) as you read. (I will post an example of what annotations *should* look like for the text you choose to write your essay on at the bottom of this page.) 

Writing your essay: 

C. Thesis statement model:

The thesis statement is the last sentence of your introduction. It should look like so for this essay: Although (counterclaim) __________________________________________, ^this should be where you state the surface level interpretation of the text I argue that (claim) _______________________________________________ ^this is your main argument. You will be arguing that the text has a deeper meaning or deeper commentary here and you will state what that meaning or commentary is because of the text’s use of _____, ______, and ________. ^these are your subclaims and should be a list of the literary elements you found in the text that you’ll use as evidence to support your interpretation of the text’s deeper meaning or commentary **Please note that, though I’ve separated this thesis statement into 3 parts, your thesis statement is made up of one sentence.** 

Example thesis statement: Although “Short Story Title” appears to simply be about a teacher who is losing her mind, I argue that the story makes a commentary on the society of the time that the treatment of teachers and women as if they were prisoners was unfair and unacceptable. This commentary is obvious through the story’s use of similes, metaphors, and symbolism. 

D. Toulmin Method (model for writing paragraphs): 

Each paragraph should be 5-8 sentences long and should include the following 3 elements: 

Claim: topic sentence, should reference one of the subclaims in the thesis statement ^this should be 1 sentence or so ^this is where you tell me which literary element you will discuss in this paragraph

^REMEMBER: don’t mention the author! 

Data: direct evidence from the text of the literary element you want to discuss ^you may use the signal phrase “For example,” here. You should only reference one example from the text in each paragraph ^this should be one or, maybe, 2 sentences

Warrant: This is where you tie everything together. This is your explanation and is the most important piece of every paragraph 

There are 3 steps to follow when writing your warrant: 1. How is this example (the data) the literary element you say it is? EX: how is this a simile? (Your sentence might say “This is a simile because …”

2. Interpret the data you provided in your words. Essentially, explain further here. 

^you can use the signal phrase “this shows that…” 

3. Tie everything back to your thesis statement. Answer the following question: how does the data/evidence/literary element example you provided help lead you to the deeper meaning/commentary you stated that the text is making? 

E. A quick note on Introductions and Conclusions: 

Introductions: Your introduction should be at least 5 sentences long. Your introduction should move from a broad topic to the specific topic of your essay. You should begin your introduction without referencing the text you are analyzing -- you should, instead, discuss a broader idea or topic that relates somehow to the text you’re analyzing. Do not begin your essay by saying something about the text or author; instead, discuss the importance of teachers in general (in reference to the example thesis mentioned above). Your introduction should then move from the broad topic toward the specific and will, eventually, reach the thesis statement. 

Conclusions: Your conclusion should do the opposite of your introduction and should also be at least 5 sentences. You should review the thesis statement and your essay’s topic in 2-3 sentences and then should move to a broad topic. Consider answering the question “why should someone read this text?” “Who cares about this deeper meaning or commentary and why should someone care?” The last 2 - 3 sentences of your essay should NOT reference the thesis, the text, the author of the text, or anything specifically referenced in your thesis statement.