A Tale of Two Cities: Literary Analysis Essay
Prompt-Discuss the “Recalled to Life” theme in A Tale of Two Cities.
Body Paragraphs--1.) explain WHO needed to be resurrected and WHY; 2.) WHO resurrected him/her and HOW;
and the 3.) RESULT of the resurrection.
Directions:
1.
2.
Using the prompt below, write a 5 paragraph literary analysis. Follow the “Outline Structure” on the
following page.
Requirements:
a. Typed
b. Times New Roman
c. 12 font
d. Double-spaced
e. Heading (name, teacher, date, hour)
f. Title
g. 5 paragraphs
h. Quotations (use in-text citations/see below)
i. Works Cited page (see below)
Works Cited:
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. New York: New American Library, 1995. Print.
In-text Citation:
“I swear I have cleansed my heart of all hate. With this handshake, I guarantee my love” (Dickens 234).
Outline Structure for Literary Analysis Essay
I.
Catchy Title
II. Paragraph 1: Introduction (Use HATMAT)
A. Hook-Attention Getter
B. Author
C. Title
D. Main characters
E. A short summary (that relates to the writing prompt. DO NOT summarize the entire novel.
Focus on the setting, resurrection theme, & characters involved).
F. Thesis
III. Paragraph 2: First Body Paragraph
A. POINT: Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
B. PROOF: Context for the quote
1. Who says it?
2. What’s happening in the text when they say it?
C. Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
D. EXPLAIN: Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
E. Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph)
IV. Paragraph 3: Second Body Paragraph
V.
POINT: Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
VI.
PROOF: Context for the quote
A. Who says it?
B. What’s happening in the text when they say it?
VII.
Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
VIII.
EXPLAIN: Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
IX.
Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph)
X. Paragraph 4: Third Body Paragraph
XI.
POINT: Topic sentence (what this paragraph will discuss, how it will prove your thesis)
XII.
PROOF: Context for the quote
A. Who says it?
B. What’s happening in the text when they say it?
XIII.
Quote from the text (cited appropriately)
XIV.
EXPLAIN: Analysis of the quote: How does it prove your thesis?
XV.
Closing sentence (wrap up the paragraph to effectively transition to the next paragraph)
XVI.
Paragraph 5: Conclusion (You do not necessarily have to follow this order, but include the
following):
A. Summarize your argument.
B. Extend the argument WITH A LASTING IMPRESSION.