How do I write a literary analysis? like how many paragraphs do I need and what do those paragraphs need to be about

At my school we teach a method called T.E.A.: Topic Sentence-Evidence-Analysis. I have also seen this method called P.E.E.: Point-Example-Explanation.

In your topic sentence, you should make a claim, one that is debatable, not an easily discernible fact. Then you should give a quotation from the text that supports your point. My students often try to get away with giving a very small quotation that lacks context and the full information needed to prove their point, so don’t skimp on evidence. If the quotation contains language, syntax, or challenging ideas that your readers might not easily grasp upon first read, then you should translate what the quotation means for them (this breaking down the quotation into smaller digestible pieces is literally analysis). If the quotation presents no challenge for your reader to understand, then you should interpret your evidence in such a way that you connect it to the point that you made in your topic sentence. Avoid making claims that do not come from your evidence at all costs; failure to do so will cost you credibility. End your paragraph with a final nuance of your explanation that leaves your reader satisfied.

Best of luck!

merry christmas to you, too. may god be with you all in doing your work and just living a great life in general! < 3

what: when quoting a source, use the author’s words verbatim, or word-for-word. this means you shouldn’t change any grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. put quotations around the words to tell your reader where the quote begins and where it ends.

you also need to acknowledge the author. for example, if using mla format for your research paper, you should have in-text citations with the author’s name and page number listed at the end of each quote.

when: use quotations to provide concrete examples to support your claims. using direct quotations is a great way to build your credibility on the subject. it’s also a good idea to quote your source when the author states things in a powerful way. if you think he or she said it best, then use the exact words to share the ideas.

example: in the short story “a jury of her peers”, mrs. hale compares mrs. wright to her caged bird, saying “she—come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself. real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery. how—she—did—change” (glaspell).

paraphrasing

what: paraphrasing differs from quoting because you restate the passage in your own words. since you don’t use the author’s words, you don’t need to use quotation marks. however, you still need to acknowledge the author for his or her ideas.

when paraphrasing a text, you should communicate the full meaning of the text; don’t change the meaning. it can be a condensed version of the text, or it could end up being longer than the source it’s paraphrasing.

when: you use paraphrasing when you take notes, or explain a chart or diagram to someone. paraphrasing highlight the important parts of a larger text. it also allows you to simplify the ideas for your readers.

example:

original: “it was no ordinary thing that called her away–it was probably further from ordinary than anything that had ever happened in dickson county. but what her eye took in was that her kitchen was in no shape for leaving: her bread all ready for mixing, half the flour sifted and half unsifted” (glaspell).

paraphrase: as mrs. hales walks around mrs. wright’s home, she notices that the kitchen is in disarray as if she was in the middle of baking bread (glaspell).