Focus Question: How do we write our own literary analysis?
Part 1
Students will analyze a literary work of their choice and revise their initial draft.
Reading the group-revised drafts for “The Dinner Party” will show you whether you need to begin with a mini-lesson about the literary analysis process with the entire class (e.g., relevant versus irrelevant evidence/connecting the focus to the story’s climax/having an effective conclusion). If so, begin with that. If necessary, take students through another short story together before beginning the individual analysis. If you have some individuals or groups that need mini-lesson(s), work the lessons in as the others are working on their first drafts. Put the group drafts for “The Dinner Party” in an easily accessed place in the classroom so that students can refer to them.
“Today you are going to begin the process of analyzing your independent reading book and deciding what you will focus on for your discussion. First of all, though, we’re going to discuss how you might analyze a book you read last year, Bearstone by Will Hobbs.” (If possible, use a book that all students have read, preferably last year. Even if all students haven’t read this book, they can follow the main points.) Hand students a copy of what you are going to discuss with them or put it on the screen and post a copy where they can refer to it later. Substitute a book that will work for your group and use the following as a model.
To introduce the lesson, say: “Often the main character in a book changes, as Cloyd does in Bearstone. If you decided to discuss the change in Cloyd, you might compose an introductory paragraph like the one below. The thesis statement is in italics. Notice that an introductory paragraph does actually introduce the main character and his situation, as well as state the thesis statement for the following discussion and identify the title and author of the book:
‘In his book Bearstone, Will Hobbs presents the story of Cloyd Atcitty, a young boy belonging to the Ute tribe. Because he has been so unmanageable, Cloyd has been taken from the care of his grandmother on the reservation and moved to a tribal school in Colorado. He is lonely and miserable there, so his housemother at the school makes arrangements for him to spend the summer on the ranch of Walter Landis. During the course of the story, Cloyd changes from an angry, insecure boy to a confident and capable young man.’
“If you were using this thesis statement, the body of your analysis would identify the reasons for the change in Cloyd. You would not simply retell the story; you would present and explain the key events that bring about the change, including the climax of the story.”
To use other thesis statements, say: “Or, you might decide to write about a theme from the story. In the case of Bearstone, your thesis statement might be Treating others with respect and compassion can change lives. If you chose this thesis, you would identify the ways in which Walter treats Cloyd with respect and compassion and show how Cloyd changes because of this treatment.
“Another choice could be about a more specific change in Cloyd: Cloyd learns to overcome his own anger so that he can save his friend. Your discussion would identify key events in the rising action that show Cloyd gradually overcoming his anger, and then explain the importance of each event. These would culminate with the climax, when he rescues Walter from the mine and turns to Rusty, whom he has hated and ignored, in order to get help for Walter.”
Introduce how to analyze an independent reading book by telling students, “Now return to your own book and go through the same process we used with the first two stories. List the main characters and their key character trait(s), graph the plot, and identify the setting(s) and the theme. Then compose a thesis statement that you would like to discuss. Once you have your thesis statement, list at least two or three points of evidence to support it. Remember that if you can’t come up with that much evidence, you probably don’t have a workable thesis statement.”
As students work, check their progress and help students having difficulty. This assignment should be ready for the next class session.
Part 2
Have students work with partners, each student presenting a thesis statement and explaining the supporting evidence to the other. They should have at least two other students hear their theses and evidence and approve them. Then they begin composing the first draft of their analysis. Gather any students who need to rethink their thesis statements and work with them until they are ready to start writing. Have students complete their first drafts for the next class session or, if necessary, give them one more class session and have them finish their first draft in class.
Arrange students in groups and have them read the drafts of the other group members. They will select one draft that they agree is particularly strong and read it to the rest of the class, explaining why it is effective.
When presentations are completed, present a brief sampling of problems to watch for as they revise their drafts.
- Avoid using “I.” (“I am going to tell you about the importance of Fred’s discovery.”) Revise the sentence without “I.” (“Fred’s discovery is important because . . .”)
- Use present tense because they are writing about literature.
- Use a formal tone. Avoid the use of slang and contractions.
- Avoid having a series of choppy sentences. Use the following mini-lesson to show students that some sentences can be combined and some sentences added to in order to avoid choppiness.
Language Skills Mini-Lesson
Take 10 minutes to use the “The Dinner Party” to illustrate the impact of sentence variety in writing. See that each student has a copy of the story or display it for class viewing.
“Before we move on, let’s look at the variety of sentences used in ‘The Dinner Party’ that we read earlier. Notice that the author uses some very short, precise sentences, mixed in with more complex, interesting sentences.
“For example, the first sentence, ‘The country is India,’ establishes the setting in the most direct way possible. Compare that to the third sentence, which explains who the guests are and describes the dining room setting in great detail: ‘They are seated with their guests—army officers and government attachés and their wives, and a visiting American naturalist—in their spacious dining room, which has a bare marble floor, open rafters and wide glass doors opening onto a veranda.’
“Stories are more interesting to read if the sentences are not all alike. Wouldn’t the first paragraph have been dull if it had been written like this?
‘The country is India. A man and his wife are giving a dinner party. They are seated with the guests. The guests include army officers, wives, government workers, and an American naturalist. The party is in a large dining room. The dining room has a marble floor. There are open rafters. The room has wide glass doors. The doors open onto a veranda.’
“The numerous short, choppy sentences are actually difficult to read, and the reader becomes bored very quickly. The sentences are nearly all the same length and most of them begin with the word ‘the.’
“Spend a few minutes turning the following short, choppy sentences into more complex, interesting ones. Then share with a partner and decide whose version of each sentence you like best.”
- Jake went to school. He did not want to go. He was not prepared. The history test was that afternoon. He was afraid that he would not pass.
- Running around outside was fun for the children. Playing at the park made them happy. Swimming at the community pool was their favorite activity.
- The air was still and heavy. The lake was clear and calm. The clouds were tall and white. A storm was close. It would only be a few minutes before it began. The wind would pick up. The water would turn to waves. The clouds would drop down and split open.
- Charice had a busy day. She got up and cleaned her room. She went to the grocery store with her dad. She helped her brother with his school project. She was tired in the evening and just wanted to relax. Unfortunately, she had to deliver papers for her paper route.
Collect students’ rewritten sentences. Remind students to use sentence variety in their literary analyses.
Also, refer students to the rubric you will use to evaluate the analysis and answer any questions they have about it.
Part 3
At this point, you could have students compose their final draft. However, if you think that the majority of them will do better if they are assigned an intermediate draft, do so. This is time-consuming, but can make a decided difference in the quality of the final product. Remind students to ensure that their writing has a consistent, formal tone. Define what this means and give examples.
After you have read and provided feedback on each draft, do any or all of the following before having students write their final drafts.
- Read one or two of the strongest analyses to the class.
- Select two or three individual good examples of explaining evidence, connecting the thesis to the climax, etc., and share these with the class.
- Note any problems that crop up on a number of papers; these can be addressed with a class mini-lesson.
- Identify one or two weak areas at the top of each composition. If descriptors on your rubric are labeled (like those of the sample rubric at the end of the unit), you may simply put that information at the top of the paper (for instance: IIC and IVB, which would translate to failure to connect thesis to climax and failure to use present tense). These comments offer students something concrete to focus on while revising.
Allow at least two school nights for students to write the final draft of their analysis. Then collect their essays and evaluate them.
Extension:
- Consider ways in which you can support writing and provide a reassuring atmosphere for students who might need an opportunity for additional learning. The work done by students in this lesson focuses on opportunities to revise and strengthen writing, and makes extensive use of group work. When placing students in groups, consider students’ social skills; having a balanced group can help make the process supportive, effective, and cohesive.
- If you identify a problem area that may be solved with workbook or online exercises, share these resources with students (e.g., Self-Study Grammar Quizzes at http://a4esl.org/q/h/grammar.html). Provide as many safety nets as possible for students so that they may practice without fear.
