A Useful Manual on How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay
Literary analysis essays do not have to be hard or tedious; the most tedious task should be reading the book. There is no set in stone interpretation so writing what you think it means is perfectly fine. The point of a literary analysis essay is to see how you have interpreted the story. This manual will give you some guidelines to follow to ensure you properly write your literary analysis.
Guidelines to Follow
- Read the assigned piece of literature
- Pick a topic
- Have strong supporting evidence
- Make a good debate
If you are wondering if writing a literary analysis essay is that easy, it truly can be. Your piece of literature will be your best friend for finding evidence to support your topic of choice. Read the literature, you cannot write a proper analysis without reading the literature a couple of times through. Remember, investigate and explore the literature so the topic you pick has strong supporting evidence. There is no actual, set in stone, analysis for one piece of literature, by avoiding obvious conclusions and making a good debate on your point of view you stand a good chance of receiving a better grade.
Why You Should Avoid Obvious Conclusions
The obvious conclusions in a piece of literature are boring. Odds are your professor has already received hundreds of obvious conclusion essays on the particular piece of literature you are analyzing. Finding a not so obvious topic and exploring the literature to support your thesis gives your essay a personalized twist, making it interesting to the audience. Reading the same boring obvious conclusions shows you did not delve into the literature to find a possible alternative meaning. If the piece of literature you were analyzing were meant to have obvious conclusions, there would be no reason for a literary analysis. Your professor has most likely already came to an alternative conclusion or found multiple possibilities that could transpire from the piece of literature.
A literary analysis essay should be original and free of the obvious conclusions. Following this manual will help you create an extensive argument with supporting evidence while providing an alternative conclusion that someone may not have seen before. The chosen piece of literature is a proven and debatable, and has alternative meanings. It is your job to play detective to solve the mystery of the assigned literature.