Literary Analysis Essay

Revision

Let's focus your second effort a bit…   You can think of your paper as a metaphoric body: the paper has a structure and supporting details just like a body has a skeleton and it has muscle/skin. Have you ever gone to urgent care or the doctor when you’re sick? Someone takes your vitals (your blood pressure, pulse, temperature) and asks how you are.

When you begin the revision process, you have to do that same kind of triage (doing an overall assessment). You can think of big problems (such as an issue with the thesis)  as “higher order concerns” and the smaller ones (such as missing commas) as “lower order concerns.” The OWL at Purdue has great revision tips based on these two ways of addressing writing issues.

Step 1. Check the paper’s vitals -- are there higher order concerns? Are there issues with the thesis? With the length? With the quotations?

If so, here’s the remedy: For higher order concerns - go back to your outlining and prewriting. Did you miss a step? Check how you unpacked the question. Did you actually answer it? It might seem like a lot of work to start again, but you probably don’t have to get rid of what you have done, just fix it up (like a cast for a broken arm).

Step 2. Ask questions -- are there lower order concerns? Did you run it through a good grammar checker? Are your topic sentences assertions or are they descriptions (of the text)?

If so, here’s the remedy: For lower order concerns - run the grammar and spell checks. Then, workshop the paper to make it stronger.

A good paper has strong organization, analysis, and development, but it also has: concision, precision, and clarity.  

To improve concision, try this: Use CTRL-F to find every time you use the preposition “of.” For each one, try to get rid of it. What can you do to replace it? (Most phrases including “of” are wordy.)

To improve precision, try this: Use CTRL-F to find every time you use one of the forms of “to be” (are, is, was, were). For each one, try to get rid of it by replacing it with a more specific verb.

To improve clarity, try this: read it aloud. Listen for transitions to help make the argument clear.

Using the following link to the rubric for literary analysis. Review the rubric prior to submitting.

Submit your revised literary analysis essay.

Assessment: Complete either the Autobiographical OR Biographical Narrative Quiz (submit score on assignment sheet).

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