How to Write an Introduction for a Literary Analysis Essay[i]
The introduction to a literary analysis essay has to hook the reader. A literary analysis essay explains the significance of a specific aspect of a literary work. Literary analyses are scholarly essays and should be written more conservatively than other types of essays. An introduction for a literary analysis should provide relevantinformationabout the work of literature and orientate the reader to what will follow.
Instructions
- Begin writing the introduction after you have completed your literary analysis essay. This may seem counter-intuitive, but once you have finished enumerating and explaining your main points, you'll be better able to identify what they share in common, which you can introduce in the first paragraph of your essay. You can also begin writing the introduction after completing your in-depth outline of the essay, where you lay out your main points and organize your paper before you begin writing.
How to Make a Strong Introduction for a Literary Analysis Essay[ii]
Write a strong introduction to better convince your reader of your point of view. The introduction is the first thing your reader will encounter in your literary analysis essay, so it's essential that you write clearly and concisely. Literary analysis requires the writer to carefully follow a theme, motif, character development or stylistic element and examine its importance within the context of thebook. Because literary analysis depends on the writer's interpretation of the text, it's often necessary to convince the reader of your point of view. Writing a strong introduction to your essay will help launch your reader into your main points.
- State the title and author of the literary work in the first sentence. This is essential so that the reader knows which poem, short story or novel you are discussing. Do not start out discussing characters before telling the reader in which work of literature they appear.
- Hook the reader in the first sentence, just as you would in any other essay. What is something interesting about the work that you can tell the reader in the first line? The piece of interesting information must also be relevant to the topic and to the literary element being discussed.
- Assume that the reader has read and is familiar with the work of literature that you are writing about. Keeping this in mind will stop you from including too much plot summary in the introduction and the rest of the essay.
- Make clear what it is you are analyzing in the essay. Explain a bit about this aspect in the introduction so that the reader is clear about what is being analyzed.
- Do not start analyzing the work. Acquaint the reader to what will be analyzed, but save the actual analyzing for the body.
- State the thesis in the last sentence of the introduction. The thesis should clearly state what the essay will analyze and should be very specific.
-- Keep the body of your introduction relatively short. A body paragraph in a literary analysis essay should be between 8 and 12 sentences long. In the introduction, write 3 to [5] sentences generally describing the topic of your paper and explaining why it is interesting and important to the book you read. These 3 to [5] sentences will make up the bulk of your introductory paragraph. Use these sentences to sketch the main points that you describe in greater detail in the body of your essay.
--Finish your introductory paragraph with your thesis statement. The thesis statement clearly states the main point of your paper as a whole. It can be one sentence long or span two sentences, but it should always be the very last part of the introductory paragraph. For a five-paragraph essay with three body paragraphs, write 1-2sentences identifying your paper's main point. Focus […] on clearly and concisely stating the driving force behind your paper's organization and development.
Tips & Warnings
- It can be useful to finish writing your paper, including your concluding paragraph, before you tackle the introduction. The conclusion and the introduction should contain the same content, stated differently. In the conclusion, you can sum up the main points of your essay and explain how and why they are important to the book and to your interpretation of the text. Your introduction can then be a reworked paraphrasing of your conclusion, and you can rest assured that you haven't left anything out.
How to Write a Conclusion for a Literary Analysis Essay[iii]
The conclusion to a literary analysis essay should not bring up new points. A literary analysis essay focuses on a particular aspect of a work of literature. This type of essay should be written in a scholarly style and format to professionally discuss the literary work. Conclusions for literary analysis sum up the main points of the essay and restate the thesis.
Instructions
1.Read through your essay. It should have a strong thesis, which is supported throughout the body.
2.Rewrite/rephrase your thesis statement in a way that suggests that it is a conclusion drawn from the main points. For example, if your thesis suggests that the symbols of the example above display gender inequality of the story's social setting, directly link this idea to explanation of the symbols. Write "Therefore, the birdcage, the stitches and the state of the kitchen show the characters' difficulty in living in this unequal climate."
3.Make sure that the paragraph makes sense on its own and is a strong paragraph in its own right.
4.Use transitions to make these statements fit together in a clear, concise way. You don't want the conclusion to read like a bunch of sentences just stuck together.
5.Do not introduce new ideas in the conclusion. If you are discussing the three symbols mentioned above, don't bring up another one in the conclusion. The essay is over--this is the end. It will be very confusing for the reader if you begin discussing something new.
6.Do not contradict your previous points. If the body explains the symbol in one way, don't describe it a different way in the conclusion.
7.[Leave the reader with your “final thoughts” on your topic]. Conclusions shouldanswer questions, such as "why should we care?"--include this in with the statements you've already written or add an additional statement. The most important thing is to tie everything together and put it in perspective for the reader.
[i]Sweeney, Erica. "How to Write an Introduction for a Literary Analysis Essay."eHow: Education Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
[ii]Clairenstein, Goody. “How to Make a Strong Introduction for a Literary Analysis Essay."eHow: Education Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.
[iii]Sweeney, Erica. “How to Write a Conclusion for a Literary Analysis Essay."eHow: Education Accessed 23 Oct. 2016.