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How To Write a Literary

Analysis
Step by step guide
 A literary analysis is an essay that aims to examine
and evaluate a particular aspect of a work of literature
or the work in its entirety. It typically analyzes
elements like character development, plot twists, the
sequence of events and the piece's setting to offer the
reader more insight regarding the author's intent and
What is literary the quality of its execution. Knowing how to write a

Analysis? literary analysis is in essence knowing how to read


and think critically.
 Unlike literary summaries and reviews, the goal of the
literary analysis is not to create a synopsis of the
whole work or offer an opinion on it, but rather to
discuss relevant elements within the text to figure out
how the piece of literature works.
 There is no single definitive list of elements that need to be
included in literary analysis. What to focus on typically depends
on the nature of the piece of literature to be analyzed.
However, there are some common elements that usually are
helpful and insightful when included in an analysis, regardless
What to of the particularities of the text in question. These are:

include in a  The genre and type of the analyzed piece of literature

literary  A thorough examination of the main characters


 An outline of the work's plot and the main ideas present in the
analysis piece
 A review of the overall theme of the analyzed text
 A description of the symbolism identified in the piece
 An inspection of the work's structure and the writing style used
to create it
Follow these five steps to create a thorough and relevant
literary analysis:
1. Examine the literary work
 The first step should be to read the piece carefully,
How to write ideally more than once. You will need to familiarize

a literary yourself with every major aspect of the work, such as


its main idea, plot, characters and how the author
analysis expresses specific ideas and points of view. The main
purposes should be to discover the most memorable
parts of the text, identify the author's style and
observe how the characters develop throughout the
piece.
2. Gather  After properly familiarizing yourself with the work, the
next step is to collect pieces of evidence that reinforce
arguments your arguments. Forming a persuasive argument for
for your your ideas requires finding passages in the text that
support them
thesis
 The first part of the actual process of how to write a
3. Create a literary analysis is to create a synopsis of the entire

rough examination of the work. This will act as a framework


for your analysis and help make it more coherent and
outline keep it focused on the point you’re trying to make.

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