How to Write a Literary Analysis Introduction

How to Write a Literary Analysis Introduction

What does an intro do?

• Provides background of works being discussed

• Prepares reader for your thesis statement

• Answers the question, "why are you writing this paper?"

Necessary information that should precede your thesis

• Author(s)

• Title of work

• Genre of work

• Year of work

• Explanation of theme(s) being discussed

In this paper, you will need to define the American Dream in your introduction paragraph

How do you structure an introduction paragraph?

• Hook

• Background

• Thesis

The Hook

an opening line that "hooks" your reader

Strategies for an effective hook

•  A meaningful quotation (from the book you are analyzing)

•  A universal idea (related to the theme you're discussing)

• A rich, vivid description of the setting

• A startling or interesting fact (in this case, maybe about the author(s)

Background

• This is the bulk of your intro

• Here you include all the necessary info we covered earlier

• Again, you're telling your reader everything they need to know for their argument

A good thesis statement will...

• Address the work's theme

• Address how the author establishes this theme (in this case, we're showing how both authors establish theme through characterization)

• be found at the very end of your introduction paragraph