D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose: Research, Essays, Media and PublishingDrafting the Literary Analysis Essay
D2.1 D2.3About 75 minutes
Learning goals- I can write an introduction that moves from a hook to the text's title, author and context to a clear analytical thesis.
- I can draft body paragraphs that make a point, integrate short quotations smoothly, and explain how the evidence supports my thesis.
- I can write in the literary present tense and a formal academic voice.
- I can write a conclusion that does more than repeat my introduction.
Words to know
literary analysis
An essay that explains how an author uses techniques (character, symbol, imagery, structure, word choice) to create meaning.
analytical thesis
A claim about what a text means and how it creates that meaning, which the essay proves.
PEEL
A paragraph pattern: Point, Evidence, Explain, Link.
integrate a quotation
Blend a quotation into your own sentence so it reads smoothly and grammatically.
literary present tense
Writing about events in a text in the present tense: the narrator hangs the snowshoes, not hung.
symbol
An object, person or action that stands for a bigger idea.
theme
A message or insight about life that a text suggests, stated as a full sentence.
ellipsis
Three dots (...) that show you've left words out of a quotation.
Remember from Grade 8
In Grade 8 you wrote an analytical essay with a thesis, topic sentences, integrated evidence and the literary present tense.
In Grade 9, literary analysis becomes one of the main forms you'll write in English class, and it's the foundation for Grade 10, 11 and 12 English. This lesson focuses on what makes a Grade 9 analysis strong: an interpretive thesis, close reading of small details, quotation integration, and analysis that's longer than the summary. (Reading the story closely is a skill from the Comprehension unit; here we focus on writing about it.)
"The Old Snowshoes" (a very short story written for this site)
Every winter, Nana's snowshoes hung on two nails above the back door, their wooden frames as dark as maple syrup. I had asked for new aluminum ones three Christmases in a row. "Those old things weigh a tonne," I told her.
In February the power went out across the township. The roads drifted shut, and the Kowalskis down the concession had no woodstove. Nana handed me the old snowshoes without a word.
The frames creaked as I tied them on. The first steps were awkward, like walking in two canoes. By the tenth step I had found the rhythm, lift and slide, lift and slide, and the snow that would have swallowed my boots held me up like a floor.
When I came back, cheeks burning, with Mrs. Kowalski's thank-you still in my ears, I hung the snowshoes on their nails myself. I didn't ask for the aluminum ones that year.
Analysis is not summary
Summary tells what happens: The narrator borrows Nana's snowshoes and walks to the neighbours'. Your reader has read the story; they don't need it retold.
Analysis explains how and why: The simile "like walking in two canoes" shows the narrator's clumsiness at first, but the image of snow that "held me up like a floor" shows that the old snowshoes, once understood, are steady and reliable, just like Nana's knowledge.
A useful test: for every sentence of plot in your essay, you should have at least two sentences of explanation.
The introduction
- Hook: a thought-provoking idea related to the theme, not "Have you ever...?" or a dictionary definition. Newer is not always better.
- Context: the title (short stories and poems in quotation marks; novels and films in italics), the author and the genre, plus one or two sentences of necessary background.
- Thesis: your interpretation, often with a preview of your points.
Example thesis: In "The Old Snowshoes," the narrator's change of heart, shown through the snowshoes as a symbol and the contrast between the narrator's words at the beginning and actions at the end, suggests that old things carry the experience of the people who used them.
(We don't know the narrator's name or gender, so the essay says the narrator.)
Integrating quotations
Never drop a quotation in by itself. Blend it in one of three ways:
- Signal phrase: The narrator complains, "Those old things weigh a tonne."
- Blended (the quotation completes your sentence): The snow "held me up like a floor," turning a threat into support.
- Colon after a complete sentence: The ending shows the narrator's new respect: "I hung the snowshoes on their nails myself."
To shorten a quotation, use an ellipsis (...). To change a word so it fits your sentence, put the change in square brackets: The narrator admits that the first steps "[are] awkward." Keep quotations short: a phrase is often better than a whole sentence.
Worked exampleLet's draft a body paragraph and a conclusion
Write the body paragraph about the snowshoes as a symbol, then the conclusion.
- Point (topic sentence) connects to the thesis: The snowshoes symbolize Nana's experience, which the narrator learns to value only by using it.
- Evidence 1, integrated: At first they are just decoration, hanging "on two nails above the back door," with frames "as dark as maple syrup."
- Explain: The dark wood suggests age and long use, and the image of maple syrup connects them to a Canadian winter tradition. Yet they hang unused, much like Nana's knowledge, which the narrator ignores.
- Evidence 2 + Explain: In the storm, Nana hands them over "without a word." Her silence suggests she trusts the snowshoes, and the narrator, to prove their worth. The snow "that would have swallowed my boots" instead "held me up like a floor": what seemed heavy and old becomes the only thing strong enough for the emergency.
- Link: Through the snowshoes, the story suggests that experience is easy to dismiss until we rely on it.
- Conclusion: "The Old Snowshoes" shows a young person discovering that the things an elder keeps are worth more than their appearance. The narrator's final, wordless choice to hang the snowshoes back on their nails mirrors Nana's silence and shows how much has changed. In a world that encourages us to replace things quickly, the story asks readers to look again at what the older people in their lives already know.
Notice: present tense (hands, becomes), formal voice with no I think, short integrated quotations, explanation longer than evidence, and a conclusion that widens to why it matters.
Formal academic voice (D2.3)
- Write in third person: replace I think the snowshoes are a symbol with The snowshoes symbolize... (Your teacher may allow I in some assignments; check.)
- No contractions in formal essays (does not, not doesn't).
- Use precise verbs: suggests, reveals, emphasizes, contrasts, foreshadows, symbolizes, rather than shows every time.
- Refer to the author by full name first, then last name only (never just a first name).
Hands-on activityAnalyze something on your shelf
Pick a short poem, song lyric (school-appropriate) or picture book from home.
- Find one symbol, image or repeated word and write down two short quotations about it.
- Write a thesis about what that detail suggests.
- Draft a PEEL paragraph: highlight your Point, Evidence, Explain and Link in four different colours (or underline differently).
- Check: is your Explain colour at least as long as your Evidence colour? Did you use the present tense?
- Read it aloud to a family member and ask: Did I tell you something you didn't notice yourself?
What to look for: quotations blended into sentences, explanation that says how the words create meaning, and no plot retelling.
Just for funEnglish teachers have a saying: Show me the evidence. Math teachers say: Show your work. Science teachers say: Show your data. Basically, high school is one long game of show-and-tell, minus the pet hamster.
Your turn
1Summary or analysis? The narrator walks to the Kowalskis' house.
Summary: it only tells what happens.
2Rewrite in the literary present tense: Nana handed the narrator the snowshoes and said nothing.
Nana hands the narrator the snowshoes and says nothing.
3Integrate this quotation with a blended sentence: "The frames creaked as I tied them on."
Example: The narrator notices that the old frames "creaked," a sound that reminds readers of the snowshoes' age. Any grammatical sentence that blends a short quoted phrase is correct.
4What is wrong with this hook? Webster's dictionary defines "snowshoe" as...
Dictionary definitions are a cliché opening and don't connect to an idea. A better hook introduces the theme, e.g. Newer is not always better.
5Write a topic sentence for a paragraph about how the narrator changes.
Example: The narrator's words at the start and actions at the end show a shift from impatience to respect.
6How should the title of a short story be formatted? A novel?
Short story: in quotation marks ("The Old Snowshoes"). Novel: in italics (or underlined by hand).
More practice: warm-up
1What do the letters PEEL stand for?
Point, Evidence, Explain, Link.
2What punctuation shows you left words out of a quotation?
3True or false: a conclusion should repeat the introduction word for word.
False. Restate the thesis in new words and widen to why it matters.
4Name one precise verb to use instead of shows.
Any one: suggests, reveals, emphasizes, contrasts, foreshadows, symbolizes, highlights.
5In the story, what is the narrator's gender?
The story doesn't say, so an essay should refer to the narrator.
More practice: on your own
1Explain the simile "like walking in two canoes" in 2 sentences.
Example: The simile compares the long, wide snowshoes to canoes, emphasizing how big and awkward they feel at first. It also suggests the narrator is out of their element, which makes the later rhythm of "lift and slide" a sign of growth.
2Fix the voice: I think the ending is really good because it's like the narrator finally gets it.
Example: The ending reveals the narrator's new understanding: by hanging the snowshoes up personally, the narrator shows respect without needing to say it.
3Use square brackets to fit this quotation into a present-tense sentence: "I hung the snowshoes on their nails myself."
Example: At the end, the narrator "[hangs] the snowshoes on their nails" without being asked.
4Write an analytical thesis about the setting (the February storm) in the story.
Example: In "The Old Snowshoes," the February storm strips away modern conveniences, creating a situation in which only Nana's old knowledge can help, and so it forces the narrator to see that knowledge differently.
5A body paragraph has three long quotations and one sentence of explanation. Give two specific revisions.
- Shorten the quotations to the key phrases. 2) Add explanation after each piece of evidence (how the words create meaning, connected to the thesis). Also possible: cut one quotation.
Challenge
1Write a full PEEL paragraph about how the ending of the story ("I didn't ask for the aluminum ones that year") contributes to the theme.
Example: The understated final line completes the narrator's change. The narrator does not announce a lesson; instead, the story ends with what the narrator does not do: "I didn't ask for the aluminum ones that year." This quiet choice echoes Nana handing over the snowshoes "without a word," suggesting that respect, like experience, is shown more through action than speech. The ending therefore reinforces the theme that the value of old things is learned by using them. Look for a point, short integrated evidence, explanation longer than the evidence, and a link to the theme.
2Explain why "the narrator learns a lesson" is a weak theme statement and write a stronger one.
It is vague: it doesn't say what lesson. A theme is a full insight about life. Stronger: People often undervalue the knowledge of their elders until a crisis shows them how useful it is.
3A classmate argues the story's theme is about community, not old things. Find one piece of evidence for their view and explain how it could fit a thesis.
Evidence: the narrator's trip is to help "the Kowalskis down the concession" who "had no woodstove," and returns with "Mrs. Kowalski's thank-you still in [their] ears." A thesis could combine both: The story suggests that the knowledge of past generations matters most when it is used to help others. Strong analysis can acknowledge more than one reading.
Quiz
1. Which sentence is in the literary present tense?
2. Which is an analytical thesis?
3. In PEEL, the Explain part should:
4. Which quotation is integrated correctly?
5. What do square brackets in a quotation show?
The literary analysis essay is the backbone of high school English. The biggest Grade 9 challenge is moving from summary (retelling) to analysis (explaining how and why).
How to help: after your teen reads a story or watches a film, ask What does that detail tell us? Why might the author include it? rather than What happened? When reviewing a draft, look for: a thesis that makes a claim, short quotations blended into sentences, explanation after every quotation, and present tense.
Common difficulties: retelling the plot; "dropped" quotations; switching between past and present tense; using I think and contractions in formal essays (check the teacher's expectations).