Literary Analysis Paper/Rubric

What is a literary analysis?

In a literary analysis, you write a formal paper in which you make an argument and support your
argument with examples from and analysis of a literary text.
What is the point?
You should be developing your abilities to REA a text, make an AR!"#E$%, &'!I(A&&Y
support that argument with evidence from the text, write in an 'R!A$I)E manner which will
aid in conveying your points to the reader, and communicate via the written page. %he importance
of such skills should be obvious.
%' #A*E Y'" %+I$*,,,
What a literary analysis IS NOT!
A paper exploring the relevance of the story to your own life. -hile your own experience will of
course shape your writing style as well as the story you pick, you should not focus on personal life
experiences or use them as arguments for your topic.
A summary of the story.
A summary of the class notes.
Steps you should take
.. /ormulate a clear thesis.
0. /ormulate a few 1uestions relevant to your thesis which will help you when you reread the
story or poem.
2. Reread the story or poem you want to address carefully. "nderline passages which are
relevant or copy them into your notes. %ry to answer the 1uestions you3ve formulated.
4. 5rainstorm ideas6 what arguments can you make7 -hat connections come to mind7
8. Reexamine your thesis. Is it supportable7 Is it complex enough7 Is it interesting7
9. 'rgani:e your examples and your ideas. #ake a rough outline, including examples and page
numbers.
;. -rite,
<. Ask yourself6 o my sentences connect7 o my paragraphs connect7 =In other words, does
this make any sense at all7>
?. Rewrite,
.@. +ave some else proof read it.
... Rewrite,
.0. %urn in final draft.
Tips for Writing a Literary Analysis

1. Write in the present tense.
EXAMPLE: In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," the townspeople visit Emily Grierson's
house because it smells bad.
NOT: In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," the townspeople visited Emily Grierson's house
because it smelled bad.
. Normally! "eep yo#rself o#t of yo#r analysis$ in other %ords! #se the third person &no '
or yo#(.
)'*+T PE*+ON: ' beliee that the narrator in "!onny's "lues" is a dynamic character
because ' read many details about the chan#es in his attitude toward and relationship
with !onny.
T,'*- PE*+ON: The narrator in "!onny's "lues" is a dynamic character %ho chan#es
his attitude toward and relationship with !onny as the story pro#resses.
+E.ON- PE*+ON: At the end of "Eeryday $se," %ama reali&es that %a##ie is like her
but has not receied the attention yo# should #ie yo#r dau#hter to help her attain self'
esteem.
T,'*- PE*+ON: At the end of "Eeryday $se," %ama reali&es that %a##ie is like her
but has not receied enou#h attention to build self'esteem.
/. Avoid s#mmari0ing the plot &i.e.! retelling the story literally(. 'nstead analy0e &form a
thesis a1o#t and e2plain( the story in literary terms.
PLOT +3MMA*4: In Ed#ar Allan (oe's ")he )ell')ale *eart," the mad narrator e+plains
in detail how he kills the old man, who screams as he dies. After bein# alerted by a
nei#hbor, the police arrie, and the madman #ies them a tour throu#h the house, finally
haltin# in the old man's bedroom, where he has buried the man beneath the floor planks
under the bed. As he is talkin#, the narrator hears what he thinks is the old man's heart
beatin# loudly, and he is drien to confess the murder.
ANAL4+'+: )hou#h the narrator claims he is not mad, the reader reali&es that the
narrator in ")he )elltale *eart" is unreliable and lies about his sanity. For e+ample, the
mad narrator says he can hear "all thin#s in the heaen and in the earth." !ane people
cannot. *e also lies to the police when he tells them that the shriek they hear occurs in
his dream. )hou#h sane people do lie, most do not meticulously plan murders, lie to the
police, and then confess without promptin#. Finally, the madman is so pla#ued with #uilt
that he hears his own conscience in the form of the old man's heart beatin# loudly. ,ead
hearts do not beat, nor do sane people confuse their consciences with the sounds of
e+ternal ob-ects.
5. 'n6l#de a 6lear thesis statement %hi6h addresses something meaningf#l a1o#t the
literat#re! often a1o#t the theme.
7. 3se literary terms to dis6#ss yo#r points &i.e.! 6hara6ter! theme! setting! rhyme! point of
vie%! alliteration! sym1ols! imagery! fig#rative lang#age! protagonist! and so forth(.
NONL'TE*A*4 TE*M+: )o show that women are important, Adrienne Rich writes about
Aunt .ennifer and the ti#ers that she creates in her needlework.
L'TE*A*4 TE*M+: )he poem "Aunt .ennifer's )i#ers" contains iid images and
sym1ols which reeal a feminist perspe6tive.
8. -o not 6onf#se 6hara6ters9 &in fi6tion or drama( or spea"ers9 &in poetry( vie%points %ith
a#thors9 vie%points.
A3T,O*: As a black woman, E#dora Welty faces racism in "A /orn (ath." 0Eudora
/elty, the author, was not black.1
.,A*A.TE*: As a black woman, Old Phoeni2 faces racism in "A /orn (ath." 02ld
(hoeni+, a character, is black.1
POET: In "!toppin# by /oods on a !nowy Eenin#," *o1ert )rost is tempted to drift into
his subconscious dream world, yet he knows he has other obli#ations to fulfill when he
states, ""ut I hae promises to keep, 3 And miles to #o before I sleep." 0)he pronoun "I"
refers to the speaker of the poem, not to Robert Frost, the poet.1
+PEA:E*: In "!toppin# by /oods on a !nowy Eenin#," the speaker is tempted to drift
into his subconscious dream world, yet he knows he has other obli#ations to fulfill when
he states, ""ut I hae promises to keep, 3 And miles to #o before I sleep." 0*ere the "I"
correctly refers to the speaker of the poem.1
;. +#pport yo#r points %ith many <#otations and paraphrases! 1#t %rite the ma=ority of
yo#r paper in yo#r o%n %ords %ith yo#r o%n ideas.
>. .ite prose! poetry! drama! 6riti6s! and any other so#r6es #sed a66ording to spe6iali0ed
MLA standards. &+ee the 6#rrent edition of the MLA ,and1oo" for Writers of *esear6h
Papers.(

Tips for Writing a Literary Analysis

1. Write in the present tense.
EXAMPLE: In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," the townspeople visit Emily Grierson's
house because it smells bad.
NOT: In Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," the townspeople visited Emily Grierson's house
because it smelled bad.
. Normally! "eep yo#rself o#t of yo#r analysis$ in other %ords! #se the third person &no '
or yo#(.
)'*+T PE*+ON: ' beliee that the narrator in "!onny's "lues" is a dynamic character
because ' read many details about the chan#es in his attitude toward and relationship
with !onny.
T,'*- PE*+ON: The narrator in "!onny's "lues" is a dynamic character %ho chan#es
his attitude toward and relationship with !onny as the story pro#resses.
+E.ON- PE*+ON: At the end of "Eeryday $se," %ama reali&es that %a##ie is like her
but has not receied the attention yo# should #ie yo#r dau#hter to help her attain self'
esteem.
T,'*- PE*+ON: At the end of "Eeryday $se," %ama reali&es that %a##ie is like her
but has not receied enou#h attention to build self'esteem.
/. Avoid s#mmari0ing the plot &i.e.! retelling the story literally(. 'nstead analy0e &form a
thesis a1o#t and e2plain( the story in literary terms.
PLOT +3MMA*4: In Ed#ar Allan (oe's ")he )ell')ale *eart," the mad narrator e+plains
in detail how he kills the old man, who screams as he dies. After bein# alerted by a
nei#hbor, the police arrie, and the madman #ies them a tour throu#h the house, finally
haltin# in the old man's bedroom, where he has buried the man beneath the floor planks
under the bed. As he is talkin#, the narrator hears what he thinks is the old man's heart
beatin# loudly, and he is drien to confess the murder.
ANAL4+'+: )hou#h the narrator claims he is not mad, the reader reali&es that the
narrator in ")he )elltale *eart" is unreliable and lies about his sanity. For e+ample, the
mad narrator says he can hear "all thin#s in the heaen and in the earth." !ane people
cannot. *e also lies to the police when he tells them that the shriek they hear occurs in
his dream. )hou#h sane people do lie, most do not meticulously plan murders, lie to the
police, and then confess without promptin#. Finally, the madman is so pla#ued with #uilt
that he hears his own conscience in the form of the old man's heart beatin# loudly. ,ead
hearts do not beat, nor do sane people confuse their consciences with the sounds of
e+ternal ob-ects.
5. 'n6l#de a 6lear thesis statement %hi6h addresses something meaningf#l a1o#t the
literat#re! often a1o#t the theme.
7. 3se literary terms to dis6#ss yo#r points &i.e.! 6hara6ter! theme! setting! rhyme! point of
vie%! alliteration! sym1ols! imagery! fig#rative lang#age! protagonist! and so forth(.
NONL'TE*A*4 TE*M+: )o show that women are important, Adrienne Rich writes about
Aunt .ennifer and the ti#ers that she creates in her needlework.
L'TE*A*4 TE*M+: )he poem "Aunt .ennifer's )i#ers" contains iid images and
sym1ols which reeal a feminist perspe6tive.
8. -o not 6onf#se 6hara6ters9 &in fi6tion or drama( or spea"ers9 &in poetry( vie%points %ith
a#thors9 vie%points.
A3T,O*: As a black woman, E#dora Welty faces racism in "A /orn (ath." 0Eudora
/elty, the author, was not black.1
.,A*A.TE*: As a black woman, Old Phoeni2 faces racism in "A /orn (ath." 02ld
(hoeni+, a character, is black.1
POET: In "!toppin# by /oods on a !nowy Eenin#," *o1ert )rost is tempted to drift into
his subconscious dream world, yet he knows he has other obli#ations to fulfill when he
states, ""ut I hae promises to keep, 3 And miles to #o before I sleep." 0)he pronoun "I"
refers to the speaker of the poem, not to Robert Frost, the poet.1
+PEA:E*: In "!toppin# by /oods on a !nowy Eenin#," the speaker is tempted to drift
into his subconscious dream world, yet he knows he has other obli#ations to fulfill when
he states, ""ut I hae promises to keep, 3 And miles to #o before I sleep." 0*ere the "I"
correctly refers to the speaker of the poem.1
;. +#pport yo#r points %ith many <#otations and paraphrases! 1#t %rite the ma=ority of
yo#r paper in yo#r o%n %ords %ith yo#r o%n ideas.
>. .ite prose! poetry! drama! 6riti6s! and any other so#r6es #sed a66ording to spe6iali0ed
MLA standards. &+ee the 6#rrent edition of the MLA ,and1oo" for Writers of *esear6h
Papers.(


Literary Analysis !ssay Rubric
"AT!#OR$ % &'() points* + &%('* , &,(%* - &.(,* Score
'ntrod#6tion
and Thesis
First para#raph is
catchy. )hesis is
eident and point
to be ar#ued well
stated.
First para#raph
has a weak
"#rabber." )hesis
is mi+ed amon#
many sentences
and hard to piece
to#ether.
A catchy
be#innin# was
attempted but
was confusin#
rather than
catchy. )hesis is
not entirely
apparent
althou#h topic is
eident.
4o attempt was
made to catch the
reader's attention
in the first
para#raph. )hesis
is not apparent nor
is the topic of the
essay.





AAAAA
?#otes and
+#pport
All facts35uotes
presented in the
essay are
accurate and
support3relate
back to the
thesis3topic
sentence. 6
5uotes present.
Almost all
facts35uotes
presented in the
essay are
accurate and
occasionally
support3relate
back to the
thesis3topic
sentence. 7'6
5uotes present.
%ost
facts35uotes
presented in the
story are
accurate.
Eidence is
scattered and
difficult to follow
rather than used
to proe your
thesis3topic
sentence. 8'7
5uotes present.
)here are seeral
factual35uotation
errors in the essay.
)here is no real
effort to make the
piece cohesie. 8
or less 5uotes
present.








AAAAA
Organi0ation )he essay is ery
well or#ani&ed.
Fie para#raphs
0or more1
eident. 2ne idea
or ar#ument
follows another in
a lo#ical
se5uence with
clear transitions.
)he essay is
pretty well
or#ani&ed. Fie
para#raphs
eident. 2ne idea
may seem out of
place. 9lear
transitions are
used.
)he essay is a
little hard to
follow.
(ara#raphs are
unclear. )he
transitions are
sometimes not
clear.
Ideas seem to be
randomly
arran#ed. 4o effort
at para#raph
or#ani&ation.






AAAAA
Analysis )he essay
thorou#hly
analy&es the
author:s style3
techni5ues usin#
literary terms.
)he essay
analy&es the
author:s style3
techni5ues
mostly usin#
literary terms.
)he essay
somewhat
analy&es the
author:s style3
techni5ues
usin# literary
terms, but
contains some
summary of the
plot.
)he essay does
not analy&e the
author:s style3
techni5ues usin#
literary terms, or
the essay contains
little analysis and
mostly -ust
summari&es the
plot.







AAAAA
.losing
Paragraph
(onclusion
concisely restates
thesis statement,
(onclusion restates
thesis statement,
main points, and
(onclusion
vaguely restates
thesis statement,
Baper does not
contain a conclusion
or conclusion is not



main points, and
includes an
insightful final
concluding thought
on the topic.
includes a final
concluding thought
on the topic.
main points, and
includes a weak
final unoriginal
final thought.
apparent to reader.

AAAAA
Me6hani6s )he essay is free
of mechanical
errors.
)he essay has
two or three
mechanics
errors.
)he essay has
four or fie
mechanics
errors.
)he essay has
more than fie
mechanics errors.

AAAAA
!tudent;;;;;;;;;;;;;;9lass;;;;;;;;;)otal (oints;;;;;; <etter Grade;;;;;
= E+tra > pts for le#ibility