Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Collaborative Booktalk: Sharing and Writing Development
Are dark themes in young adult novels harmful or helpful to teens? Students will explore this question and will create an argumentative writing piece based on textual evidence. Videos of the lesson in action, examples of student work,...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Power of a Great Introduction
Never underestimate the power of an intriguing start. When analyzing the literary greats like Charles Dickens and Kurt Vonnegut, be inspired by their craft and learn how to write a tantalizing introduction and strong thesis. Free...
Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University (Dr. Mc Clennen): How to Do a Close Reading
This guide is written for college students, but should be very useful for upper level high school students as well. The writer first describes fourteen steps to take in doing a close reading, then provides six pieces of advice on how to...
University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina: Writing Center: Writing About Literature (Fiction)
Students are instructed in a nine-step process of how to write a literary response paper that includes a thesis, strong ideas, and specific supporting details from the text. W.11-12.9a Amer Lit 18th,19th, 20th cen/Analy
Other
Suny: Conventions of Writing Papers About Literature
A professor's excellent explanation of how to write a professional sounding essay. Covers all aspects of an essay, and detailed examples give information on exactly how to write the essay.
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: Writing About Literature
Purdue University's Writing Lab offers some hints and tips for writing about literature, including how to construct a thesis and how to handle secondary material.
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Madison: Writing Center: How to Write Critical Reviews
This site provides the viewer with a step-by-step guide to writing critical reviews for non-fiction works. Its steps include analyzing the assignment as well as writing a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Links to other writing...
Capital Community College Foundation
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Classification and Analysis
This site provides some help reading an essay that deals with the classification and analysis of a piece of literature. Offers some instruction about the type of essay, a sample text, and guiding questions to help you analyze your own...
Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Community College: How to Analyze Literature
In addition to briefly explaining the reason for analyzing a work of literature, this site provides the definition of key terms used in literary analysis. W.11-12.9a Amer Lit 18th,19th, 20th cen/Analy
Shmoop University
Shmoop: Animal Farm Analysis: Literary Devices in Animal Farm
This site provides a literary analysis of Animal Farm by George Orwell using the literary devices in the novel including symbolism, imagery, allegory, setting, point of view, genre, tone, writing style, plot analysis and more.
TES Global
Tes: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson plan base on William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, students will write a literary analysis of the one of the book's favorite quotes.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement:charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall Paper" Writing Women
A close reading of "The Yellow Wall-paper" employing the analysis of such literary concepts as setting, narrative style, symbol, and characterization. Students will write an essay discussing what the story suggests about middle-class...
University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina: Writing Center: Handouts: Evidence
What kinds of evidence best support the points you make in a paper? Where can you find the evidence you need? This handout answers all these questions and more, including the difference between primary and secondary sources. You'll also...
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore: Poe's Literary Criticism
This site, part of the E. A. Poe Society of Baltimore, includes links to more than fifty different sites with literary criticism by and about Edgar Allan Poe.
Department of Defense
Do Dea: Real Survival Skills
Learn about process analysis, writing procedurals texts, the steps of the writing process, and cause and effect in this unit. Also, examine patterns of organization in writing. A handy chart shows common organizational patterns which...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Units: 9th Grade Thematic Unit: Love
Complete teaching unit for 9th Grade Thematic Unit: "Love." In this unit, 9th graders will read six texts that speak to the theme of love. They will revisit the essential question "What is love, and how does it change us?" throughout the...
Other
Clemson University: Literary Essay
Literary essay example by a student discussing two works by Annie Dillard and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. A good example of a strong literary essay.
Harvard University
Harvard College Writing Center: How to Do a Close Reading
A brief explanation of the tasks involved in doing a close reading in preparation for writing. This writer breaks the process into three steps which involve annotating the text, looking for patterns, and asking questions of the text.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Using Online Technology to Explore Characterization and Style
Students use social networking sites to trace the development of characters by assuming the persona of a character on the class Ning and sending a set number of tweets, or status updates.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: 6.1 Writing About Literature: Analyzing Prose
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Learn to analyze prose by understanding connotation and denotation, identifying metaphors and similes, looking for repetition, and finding imagery in a text.
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin: Writing Center: How to Write a Review of Literature
This site explores the writing of an analytical essay in terms of a review of literature. The site provides guidelines for students to follow when writing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. It also offers links to useful...
Ted Nellen
Cyber English (By Ted Nellen): Poetry Analysis Fact Sheet
This is a Poetry Analysis Fact Sheet that includes how to analyze the parts of a poem including the title, connotations, tone, shifts, theme, poetic devices, and writing a paraphrase.
Department of Defense
Do Dea: English 4; Utopia
A learning module asking students to analyze different types of texts, connect literature to events and experiences, use various writing skills, deconstruct media, practice grammar and vocabulary skills, and analyze point of view,...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Writing About Literature: Additional Resources
This is "'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow': An Allegory for a Young America," an exceptional student example of literary analysis as well as an explanation to the main body of her paper. A link to the MLA website is also provided.