Checklist for Writing Strong, Analytical

Paragraphs
 a broad opening sentence that leads into your paragraph smoothly rather than just jumping in
abruptly

 reference to both the title and author of the story (poem, song, and short story titles go in quotes;
book and movie titles are italicized)

 an argumentative topic sentence. Everything in your paragraph should stay focused on explaining
and supporting this claim…cut anything extraneous, and ensure all statements tie back to the
point you’re making)

 A claim, or a thesis, is an inference or opinion formed from the text, and support is facts from the
text that show why you believe your claim is valid.

 evidence from the text in the forms of paraphrasing and quoting—(important: see “Additional
Guidelines for Quoting” below)…make sure you explain how the evidence you chose to include
validates your claim

 a clear concluding sentence that wraps up your ideas in an interesting way (what conclusions do
you want your reader to draw from the ideas you laid out? How would you answer, “So what?”)

 remember to check for the following requirements of good writing:

o Writing about literature is always in present tense.

o Make sure your subjects and pronouns match. If you use single subjects (a child) you must
use single pronouns (he or she, his or hers).

o Make sure all of your sentences make sense…read your work out loud slowly, making
changes, rereading, and continuing to make changes until you’re sure everything is written
as precisely, as clearly, and as accurately as you can. Your word choice should be varied
but precise. Your sentences should sound fluid and smooth.

o Add appropriate transitions any time you move from one topic to another within your
paragraph. This may be as simple as using phrases such as “additionally” or “on the other
hand,” or you may need to add whole sentences that help the reader make the jump from
one idea to the next.

o Use “that” for things; use “who” for people.

 o Make sure your sentences are complete. They must have a subject and a verb and they
must finish a complete thought. You may use fragments for effect.

o Make sure your sentences are not run-on sentences. A run-on is two (or more) complete
sentences that are not punctuated correctly. There are several ways to fix this:
1. Add a period between the sentences.
2. Add a comma and a conjunction between the sentences (FANBOYS: for, and, nor,
but, or, yet, so).
3. Add a semicolon between the sentences if they’re very closely related.
4. Add an ellipses (…) or a dash (not a hyphen) between the sentences. (This option is
less formal, so make sure it fits with the assignment.)
5. Reword part of the sentence such that it is no longer two complete sentences.

o Semicolons may only be used between two complete sentences or between items in a
complex list (in which the items themselves have commas within their phrasing).

Additional Guidelines for Quoting

 Make sure the quote you select supports your claim.

 Make sure you’re selecting quotes to support claims or inferences, NOT facts. For example, I don’t
want to see this: Waxman pities Lehrer, as seen when she says, “I cannot help but pity him.”

 When integrating a quote, do not use phrases like: On page 8, Beauty says, “I cannot believe that he
meant to deceive us.” Instead, explain the significance of why you picked that quote and cut the
quote to fit smoothly with your sentence. Example: Although she is nervous about living with the
beast, Beauty reassures her father that she “cannot believe that [the beast] meant to deceive us.”

 Analyzing your quote does not mean rephrasing the quote itself. Instead, explain how the quote
supports your claim. Don’t just drop in a quote without tying it back to your thesis…you have
justify why this quote supports and validates your claim. Remember that you’re a lawyer who is
persuading the jury (your readers) to agree with your response to a question. Prove that your
interpretation is correct.

 Cut quotes down to just the parts you need to make your point. For example, if I don’t need the
whole quote: “Who told you that you might gather my roses? Was it not enough that I allowed you to
be in my palace and was kind to you? This is the way you show your gratitude, by stealing my flowers!
But your insolence shall not go unpunished.” I can cut this down to: “Who told you that you might
gather my roses? . . . Your insolence shall not go unpunished."

 Punctuating the changes you make to a quote: 1. if you need to change a word in a quote to make it
work with your sentence, remove the word you’re changing and replace it with the altered word in
 brackets. 2. Words you want to alter at the beginning or ending of the quote should just be pulled
out the quote entirely and be part of your own sentence. 3. If you leave out the middle of the quote,
replace it with an ellipse (…). You don’t need to do this if you cut off the beginning or the end of the
quote.
o I’ll use the quote: “A best-selling author with thrilling insights into the mind's most
mysterious moments has at the age of 31 fallen, overnight, from fame to infamy.” I will adapt
it like this: Waxman is sadden that “A best-selling author with thrilling insights into the
mind's most mysterious moments…[fell] overnight, from fame to infamy.”

 Punctuation leading into quotes:

o If you use a complete sentence to introduce a quote, put a colon before the quote. Waxman
pities Lehrer and feels he was doomed: “…”
o If you use an incomplete sentence you may need a comma before the quote or you may
not...determine this based on whether or not the quote smoothly flows as part of your own
sentence.
 Waxman says, “…” (you can hear the pause)
 Waxman “cannot help but pity” Lehrer because… (you can hear that there is not a
pause)

 Punctuation ending quotes:

o Commas and periods always go inside the ending quote (unless you’re citing your source
which you don’t need to do yet).
o Question marks and exclamation points go inside the ending quote if they belong to the
quote itself, but they go outside the ending quote if they belong to your full sentence.

 Punctuating a quote within a quote:

o If you want to use dialog that includes quoted words around the dialogue, you use double
quotes on either side of the full quotation and use single quotes around the dialogue within
the quotation: “He wrote, ‘It’s a hard thing to describe,’ Mr. Dylan said.”

 If you include a quote longer than 4 lines, it is a “block quote.” To do this, lead into the quote with a
sentence that ends in a colon, then hit enter and paste in the quote without quotation marks. Then
this block of text needs to be single-spaced, justified (lined up evenly right and left), and indented
by about an inch right and left. Example: The beast finally shows himself to the father, yelling:

Who told you that you might gather my roses? Was it not enough that I
allowed you to be in my palace and was kind to you? This is the way you
show your gratitude, by stealing my flowers! But your insolence shall not
go unpunished. (8)

Then you would continue with your analysis down here, allowing the block quote to stand alone.
  Citations: Finally, to include correct citations, put the page number from which you took the quote
in parentheses after each quote, following this formula: quo-par-punc, which stands for 1. Put the
ending quotation mark, 2. Put the parentheses with the page number, 3. Put the ending
punctuation. When you are citing a quotation is the only time a period will go outside of the
quotation marks. Example: “I cannot believe that he meant to deceive us” (8). Quo-Par-Punc. When
you are citing from more than one text, you’ll also need the author’s name, but not if you’re only
using one text.

Comma Rules to Know

o Use commas to separate 3 or more words or phrases written in a series (a list). Include a comma
before the “and” of the final item.
 I read Tom Sawyer, Lord of the Flies, and The Red Badge of Courage.

o Use commas to separate independent clauses (complete sentences) when they are joined by any of
these 7 conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet. Don’t use a comma before the conjunction if the
both sides of the sentence are not complete sentences.
 She dug a deep hole, and she planted the tree.

o Use commas after introductory elements that come before the main clause.
 Watching and listening carefully, he hoped to spot a Blue Warbler.

o Use commas to set off information that is nonessential to the meaning of the sentence.
 He was, she thought, a very nice dog.

o Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.
 Crows are intelligent, clever birds.

o Use a comma to indicate a distinct pause or shift (usually near the end of a sentence).
 I will bring my binoculars, okay?

o Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.

 “Please come in,” she said, “and take off your shoes.”