Introduction to Literature

Short Essay #1 – Analysis (3 Attempts)
LIT 1000 – Introduction to Literature

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Minimum of 650 words
MLA Format
No source other than the literary work is required.
If you do any research and use ideas or language from an outside source, then you must document the source in the essay and include a works cited page.
Essay 1 and 2 involve a close reading of one or two passages of the assigned readings for literature on the course schedule, regarding plot or poem structure, character or speaker, setting, point of view, protagonist/antagonist, conflict, language, symbol, theme, etc. After analyzing and discussing the passages in class, choose one or two passages and write a literary analysis. You choose the literary elements that you want to develop as relevant to the work.

Example thesis.

Homer’s Odyssey employs epithets to physically illustrate characters’ uniqueness and personality traits to avoid repetition and foreshadow characterization.

The introductory paragraph should briefly introduce the author’s name and title of the work italicized (No biography or history of work). Then, in about 5 sentences, summarize the plot and end with a well-formulated thesis. You may use a quote or question to attract the reader’s attention, but do not start arguing/analyzing in the introductory paragraph.

Body paragraphs (at least 2) should have an explicit topic sentence that presents part of the argument from the thesis. It should present evidence in the form of quote from the work, supplemented by paraphrase, or summary from the work, and it should include an analytical discussion of the evidence explaining how the evidence supports your thesis. Do NOT simply state that a literary element exists in the work, but instead explain the meaning the literary element brings to the work.

The concluding paragraph can repeat the thesis using different wording/phrasing. It should, however, not continue to argue and present more evidence. Instead, it should bring the reader full circle on the importance of the interpretation of the work and the points argued in the body paragraphs.