For this assignment, you will need to select a poem from your textbook and write an analysis of the work in which you discuss not just what you feel the poem is about, but also which poetic devices the poet used and to what end. Make sure to go into as much detail as possible about what types of devices are used and how. An analysis is not a summary or restatement of what is going on in a piece of work—it is a thoughtful breakdown of the work which results in insights that go below the surface of a one-time reading and far beyond just “who, what, where” types of statements.
Remember: Even though this is a short analysis, you must still make sure to follow the fundamentals rules of composition. For example, your paper must include an introduction (with engaging pull in and focused thesis statement), a body (with textual support), and a conclusion (with signal that you are concluding and something to think about).
Your essay should be at least 750 words long and should be double-spaced. Your essay should have a title, a hook or pull in to start the introduction, and a clear thesis statement with a claim and point of support. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that is a claim about the poem that is related to your thesis statement. You should use carefully selected words, phrases, images, figures of speech, etc. as evidence to support your claims. All evidence should be supported by explanation and argument as well. Quoted material should be placed in quotation marks and followed by the line number or numbers in parentheses. Your paper should also contain a conclusion and a Works Cited page. You might also check out the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University for help in writing about poetry (type OWL and Purdue into Google and, if prompted, choose the link that says “Non Purdue instructors and students). Finally, check out the numerous examples of student essays in your anthology. Good luck!
For this assignment, you will need to select a poem from your textbook and write an analysis of the work in which you discuss not just what you feel the poem is about, but also which poetic devices the poet used and to what end. Make sure to go into as much detail as possible about what types of devices are used and how. An analysis is not a summary or restatement of what is going on in a piece of work—it is a thoughtful breakdown of the work which results in insights that go below the surface of a one-time reading and far beyond just “who, what, where” types of statements.
Remember: Even though this is a short analysis, you must still make sure to follow the fundamentals rules of composition. For example, your paper must include an introduction (with engaging pull in and focused thesis statement), a body (with textual support), and a conclusion (with signal that you are concluding and something to think about).
Your essay should be at least 750 words long and should be double-spaced. Your essay should have a title, a hook or pull in to start the introduction, and a clear thesis statement with a claim and point of support. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that is a claim about the poem that is related to your thesis statement. You should use carefully selected words, phrases, images, figures of speech, etc. as evidence to support your claims. All evidence should be supported by explanation and argument as well. Quoted material should be placed in quotation marks and followed by the line number or numbers in parentheses. Your paper should also contain a conclusion and a Works Cited page. You might also check out the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University for help in writing about poetry (type OWL and Purdue into Google and, if prompted, choose the link that says “Non Purdue instructors and students). Finally, check out the numerous examples of student essays in your anthology. Good luck!