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AEC Writing for Literary Analysis

Honors 10 English Language Arts

​What is a Literary Analysis?

​A literary analysis is NOT a summary. Instead, it is an argument about the work that expresses a writer’s personal perspective, interpretation, judgment, or critical evaluation of the work.

​To analyze literature, examine . . .

​Literary Devices:
a writing technique that writers use to express ideas, convey meaning, and highlight important themes in a piece of text.

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​Literary Elements:
Literary elements are “big-picture” literary devices that extend throughout the entire work, such as setting, theme, mood, and allegory.

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​Diction:
a writer or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a piece of literature.

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​AEC Writing Method

• ​A: Assertion: a statement of belief that can be defended with evidence and reason.

• E: Evidence: information from the text that is relevant and useful for defending the assertion.

• ​C: Commentary: well-written explanation/analysis that describes how the citation defends the assertion.

​An easy approach to Literary Analysis . . .

​Assert: read the question/writing prompt and think about how to answer it. Use key words from the question in your assertion (restating the question).

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​Evidence: Find a quote from the text that is RELEVANT to your answer and cite it word for word. INTEGRATE the quote.

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​Commentary: Write at least TWO sentences explaining HOW the quote supports your answer.

​Here's an Example:

​We are about to watch/read a speech given by African writer Chimamanda Adichie titled "The Danger of a Single Story."

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In addition to helping introduce us to some of the issues surrounding African literature, this piece will also help us practice the use of evidence in performing literary analysis.