WRITING

EFFECTIVE

PARAGRAPHS

OF

LITERARY

ANALYSIS
Well-organized literary paragraphs
Well-organized paragraphs have four components that work together to produce
a coherent, unified product. These are:
Topic sentence (a debatable claim)
Evidence / support (quotations from the literary work that support the
claim)
Analysis (your comments, perceptions based on the evidence)
Transitions (transitions within the paragraph and between paragraphs
the logic of the argument)
Steps to write a literary paragraph
Step 1: Make sure you understand the question or instructions for the
paragraph.
Step 2: Answer the question briefly. This answer will be the topic
sentence/main idea of the paragraph.
Step 3: Brainstorm examples from the story that will support your main
idea.
Step 4: Choose the 3 examples from the story that best support or
prove your main idea. These will be the supporting details that you
include in your supporting sentences.
Step 5: Draft your paragraph. Make sure it has a topic sentence,
supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
Step 6: Revise your paragraph. Did you answer the question? Is your main
idea clear? Do your examples support your main idea? Does your
concluding sentence restate your main idea?
Step 7: Proofread your paragraph. Look for and correct:
o fragments, run-ons, and stringy sentences
o punctuation and capitalization
o incorrect spelling

o use of I, me, my, we, our, you, your

o overly general or ambiguous pronouns
o verbs in the wrong tense or that dont match their subjects
Dos and donts of literary paragraph language

Do write the verbs in the present tense. Example: In The Tale of

Despereaux the mouse saves the princess.

Do use specific language. Avoid overly general words such as

nice, good, bad, weird, etc.

Do not use the pronouns I, me, my, we, and our.

Treat your ideas about the story as facts. You should not introduce your
ideas with I think or In my opinion

Do not use the general you. You can use words like one, a
person, or someone

Do not use informal and SMS language such as like, guy,

u, gonna, cuz, till, wanna, and other slang. Do not write as if
you are talking to someone. This is formal writing.

Do not use abbreviations like Ex:. Write An example of this

is or For example.
EXAMPLE:
The changes Louise experiences do not represent a deliberate or conscious

undertaking, but rather an unstoppable force of emotional nature. When Louise

learns of her husbands death, her spontaneous reaction represents an
unleashing of withheld emotion, wherein the repression Louise has felt is lifted.
She is described as (weeping) with sudden wild abandonment and experiencing
a storm of grief.

As her soul is released from restraint, a force begins to

overtake her. That force is too subtle and elusive to name.

Instead of

identifying it with an exact word, the force is simply described as something or

it. Facing the unknown, Louise felt apprehensive, fearful and helpless: she felt
it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her. Desperately, Louise tries to
beat it back with her will. However, her conscious will is as powerless as her
two white slender hands, desperate to remain in the suppressed state that was
considered ladylike and acceptable during this time in history. Yet, her will is no

longer strong enough to embank the rushing current of the enchanting

something, which turns out to be her subconscious longing for freedom and
self-assertion. As the words, free, free, free! escape unconsciously from her
mouth, she begins to come alive in a sense, now aware of the possibilities of an
unfettered, independent life. Overall, Louise does not seem to reach her
liberation through some logical process of her own doing; she is not a heartless
widow who has wished for her husbands death. The spiritual transformation that
she has experienced appears to be inevitable, unstoppable, and irrepressible.