Literary Analysis Essay Structure

Introducing and citing textual evidence:

For example, in chapter 15 instead of going to Boston with her family, Susanna thinks to herself that it will be a good idea to stay in Salem in case she has to tell the truth, and thinks to herself, “I might get the opportunity to speak out if I stayed” (Rinaldi 168).

If it’s a quote within a quote (dialogue), it will be written the following way: Because Susanna wants to stay in Salem in hopes of telling the truth, she says to her mother, ‘“Mama, let me stay with the Putnams, even if you all go to Boston’” (Rinaldi 168).

Outline of essay:

Introduction 1. Literary attention-getting opener + MLA citation 2. Explanation of opener with connection to topic/thesis 3. Brief summary of novel (3 sentences) 4. Thesis statement

Body 1. Transition + Topic Sentence 2. T + Context + DTE + MLA = Transition, Context, “Direct Textual Evidence” (MLA citation) 3. Significance of 2 4. T + Context + DTE + MLA 5. Significance of 4 6. Concluding Sentence

1. Transition + Topic Sentence 2. T + Context + DTE + MLA 3. Significance of 2 4. T + Context + DTE + MLA 5. Significance of 4 6. Concluding Sentence

Conclusion 1. Restate thesis statement (not verbatim) 2. Summarize body paragraph 1 3. Summarize body paragraph 2 4. Summarize body paragraph 3 5. Concluding thought