McQuade LibGuides: ENG1050: Introduction to College Writing (Pinkowski): Literature Analysis

Analyzing Literature (or any specific text)

How to Analyze a Text

Read or reread the text with specific questions in mind.
Organize basic ideas, events and names. Depending on the complexity of book, this requires additional review of the text.
Think through your personal reaction to the book: identification, enjoyment, significance, application.
Identify and consider most important ideas (importance will depend on context of class, assignment, study guide).
Return to the text to locate specific evidence and passages related to the major ideas.
Use your knowledge following the principles of analyzing a passage described below: test, essay, research, presentation, discussion, enjoyment.

How to Analyze a Passage

Offer a thesis or topic sentence indicating a basic observation or assertion about the text or passage.
Offer a context for the passage without offering too much summary.
Cite the passage (using correct format).
Then follow the passage with some combination of the following elements:
- Discuss what happens in the passage and why it is significant to the work as a whole.
- Consider what is said, particularly subtleties of the imagery and the ideas expressed.
- Assess how it is said, considering how the word choice, the ordering of ideas, sentence structure, etc., contribute to the meaning of the passage.
- Explain what it means, tying your analysis of the passage back to the significance of the text as a whole.
Repeat the process of context, quotation and analysis with additional support for your thesis or topic sentence.

Gale in Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
Find biographies of people, searching by occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth and death date, and of course by name.
Gale Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Search across multiple Gale databases covering literature including the Literature Resource Center and selected Gale Ebooks including their Contemporary Literature Criticism, Contemporary Authors, and more.
Literary Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Find plot summaries, synopses, overviews, literary criticism, author biographies, book reviews, poetry, short stories and more. An alternate graphical interface is also available.
Novelist Plus This link opens in a new window
Fiction and narrative nonfiction recommendations for readers of all ages.
Novelist Plus K-8 This link opens in a new window
Fiction and narrative nonfiction recommendations aimed at young readers through 8th grade,

A Short Guide to Close Reading for Literary Analysis
Learn the practice of close reading, the first step in literary analysis.
Literary Analysis Guide
Discusses how to analyze a passage of text to strengthen your discussion of the literature.
Literary Terms
A list of literary terms that can help you interpret, critique, and respond to a variety of different written works from the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Narrative Techniques
Lists, defines and provides examples of the many methods author's use to convey meaning in a story through setting, plot, perspective, style, theme, and character.
Literary Devices
A website dedicated to literary devices with definitions and examples. Also includes grammatical terms and definitions of types of essays.