Unit 2: Literary Analysis

1. Pick one of the following short stories (all located online in your assignment page) to analyze:
2. “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
4. “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
5. “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

2. Carefully read and annotate the selected story, re-reading as necessary. Come to the appropriate class meeting (review the course calendar) ready to discuss the story with your group.

3. In class, discuss the story with others who have also selected it. Which literary element(s) will you analyze? Brainstorm ideas (alone and with classmates who selected the same story); I suggest writing down ideas! Choose a different focus than the other students working on this short story.

4. As a pre-writing assignment to be submitted to a Canvas drop box, complete the Thesis and Outline activity on pages 2-5. Here are some highlights and reminders:
5. Draft a one-sentence, 3^rd-person Thesis Statement that includes the Author, “Short Story Title” (notice the quotation marks), and main idea of the analysis paper. The thesis statement will become the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.
6. Pick the best ideas from your brainstorming session with your group. Write a 3^rd-person topic sentence for each main idea (represented as Roman Numerals in the Outline). Each topic sentence will become the first sentence of a body paragraph. Topic sentences are not quoted or paraphrased from a source; they are your (3^rd-person) voice. Write as many body paragraphs as needed to support your thesis statement.
7. Include 3^rd-person supporting details (the supporting points of the outline), including direct evidence from the short story. For a literary analysis, you need to have a blend of your 3^rd-person analysis, combined with direct quotes from the literature in support of ideas. Which information from the primary source (the short story) supports your ideas? Pull out direct quotes, adding quotation marks, tags, and in-text/parenthetical citations for every word-for-word passage.  Any paraphrased information should also be cited.

5. Draft! Add an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph. As you draft your body paragraphs from the ideas in the outline, remember to analyze, not summarize. Write in a 3^rd-person, present tense voice. Use only the primary source (the short story). Follow a basic essay structure:
6. A (creative) Title of your own – not using the story title (someone else already came up with that one!)
7. Introduction with Thesis Statement as last sentence
8. Body Paragraphs with topic sentences, supporting details (including cited quotes from the primary source), and concluding/transitional sentence. Include as many paragraphs as needed to support the thesis statement.
9. Conclusion with Re-Worded Thesis
10. Add the Work Cited page as the final page.

Outline Format

Directions for Submission: Complete this assignment using the template below (pages 2-6). Then, save your work as a Word document. Submit your work electronically to the appropriate Canvas drop box by the due date/time (check the Course Calendar and Canvas).

a

Essay Outline: “Title of Story”

Background/Foundational Information: You may use bullets or paragraph form in this section. 1^st-Person explanations are fine for this section; however, when the paper is outlined and drafted, all ideas will shift to an academic 3^rd-person voice. In this section, you should explain what it is that you want to prove about the story. Example: I want to analyze the themes that Jackson conveys throughout her story, especially in regard to how people hold onto traditions they do not really value or understand (i.e., they do not know what the traditions symbolize or how they started).

Thesis (3^rd-person; present tense; one-sentence; include Author, “Short Story Title,” and Main Idea): In this section, you need to write a preliminary thesis statement. Example: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a condemnation of man’s tendency to follow, without question, traditions that he neither understands nor values.

Evidence and Support for Body Paragraphs: Use a full-sentence outline structure written in 3^rd-person and present tense; follow all MLA conventions. Add or remove outline points/sub-points as relevant to your analysis. Under each of your major points, type in supporting evidence (3^rd-person explanations or quoted/cited passages from the short story) that will support both the thesis and the point of evidence for that section’s/paragraph’s main idea as noted in the topic sentence. Use this template:

I.        One Sentence: Topic Sentence for Point One.

A.    One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

B.     One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

C.     One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

D.    One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

1. Closing/Transition Sentence

1. One Sentence: Topic Sentence for Point Two.

A.    One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

B.     One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

C.     One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

D.    One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

E.     Closing/Transitional Sentence

• One Sentence: Topic Sentence for Point Three

A.    One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

B.     One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

C.     One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

D.    One sentence: Supporting explanation or quoted passage with tag/signal phrase and citation.

1. Closing/Transitional Sentence

Conclusion: You may use bullets or paragraph form in this section. A 1^st-person explanation can be used in this section; however, when the outline and paper are drafted, everything should be written in an academic 3^rd-person voice. In this section, answer this question: What will go into your conclusion to pull all of your points together and bring your essay to a close?

See the Work Cited information and template on the last page. à

Work Cited: Create a Work Cited entry for the selected short story. The Work Cited page will become the last page of your paper. Your analysis will use just the primary source (no secondary sources), so create a work cited entry for just the short story. Remember, in-text/parenthetical citations are dependent on the full formatting of the Work Cited entry. You can use this MLA 8^th Edition template to help you.