A Detailed Body Paragraph Outline for a Critical Analytical Response to Literature Essay
May 17, 2024•422 words
"A good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in not out." ~ Virginia Woolf
"In effect I am not a novelist, but rather a failed essayist who started to write novels because he didn't know how to write essays." ~ Jose Saramago
"The essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything" ~ Aldous Huxley
"An essay is a work of literary art which has a minimum of one anecdote and one universal idea." ~ Carol Bly
Many high school English teachers struggle to help students write a critical analytical response to literature body paragraph of an essay.
Many English teachers give this incomplete outline for a body paragraph:
- Topic Sentence
- Point
- Proof
- Explain
By giving students this type of incomplete and incorrect body paragraph outline, students will not write a proper body paragraph, in fact students will be hampered in their essay writing process.
Here is a detailed Body Paragraph Outline for a Critical Analytical Response to Literature
Topic Sentence:
- This sentence should clearly state the main point of your paragraph and connect it back to your thesis statement
Context:
- Provide brief context for the evidence you will discuss, such as the relevant part of the story or the author’s argument.
Evidence:
- Introduce a specific example from the text (quote, paraphrase, or summary) that supports your topic sentence.
- Briefly explain how this evidence relates back to your topic sentence.
Analysis:
- Go beyond simply summarizing the evidence.
- Analyze the evidence in detail, considering:
- Literary devices used (e.g., symbolism, imagery, metaphor)
- Character development or motivations
- Thematic connections
- Author's purpose or style
- Explain how the analysis of this evidence strengthens your overall argument.
Connection:
- Briefly connect your analysis back to your thesis statement, reiterating how this specific point supports your larger claim about the text.
Optional:
- You can also consider including a counter-argument or opposing viewpoint in this section. Briefly acknowledge it and explain why your main argument remains stronger.
Transition Sentence:
- This sentence should smoothly transition you to the next point in your essay, which could be another body paragraph or your conclusion.
Remember, each body paragraph should focus on a single point or piece of evidence and thoroughly analyze it in relation to your thesis.
Keep your analysis focused and directly related to the literature you’re discussing.