Introductory Paragraph
Background Information/Context:
Title of the selected text for analysis
Name of the author(s)
Year of publication
[Type here]
A Thesis Statement that presents an intelligent interpretation of the literary work and a roadmap of the arguments that you will develop to prove your interpretation. Your thesis statement should also inform the reader about the approach (New Criticism,
Structuralism, or
Psychoanalytic Criticism)
and
the
elements
you are going to analyze.
[Type here]
Body Section (Three to Five Paragraphs)
For
each
paragraph, you need to present your main point in support of your thesis. Your Topic Sentence must explicitly state your argument(s). Make sure you back up your main point with evidence from the text, followed by your own explanation/analysis.
Note: if you need a fourth and fifth paragraphs for your outline, you may copy/paste the same structure below to have “Paragraph/Argument Four & Five.”
Paragraph/Argument One:
Topic Sentence
[Type here]
Evidence/example to prove your point
[Type here]
Analysis of evidence/example
[Type here]
Concluding/Transitional Sentence
[Type here]
Paragraph/Argument Two:
Topic Sentence
[Type here]
Evidence/example to prove your point
[Type here]
Analysis of evidence/example
[Type here]
Concluding/Transitional Sentence
[Type here]
Paragraph/Argument Three:
Topic Sentence
[Type here]
Evidence/example to prove your point
[Type here]
Analysis of evidence/example
[Type here]
Concluding/Transitional Sentence
[Type here]
Conclusion Section (Last Paragraph):
In this last section, you must express the general meaning of your analysis. In other words, you must present your own interpretation/conclusion about the literary text you are analyzing through the lens of the selected critical theory.
Recap or rephrase of Thesis Statement
