“Women of Colour” by Anonymous
Write a 1 1/2 page analysis, using explication to support your analytical thesis. First, notice a pattern in the work you are reading. Then, select a passage (about a paragraph) from the text that will help you explain that pattern to your reader. Then, do a critical reading (an explication) of that passage from the text, and explain how it supports the connections or patterns that you see in the text as a whole.
You need:
• A clear, provable, arguable thesis focused on the text
• A passage that is representative of the book to support the thesis
• A thoughtful explication of the passage
Your paper will have to be tight and concise. Your introduction will have to be very brief, with a clear thesis at the end of it. Then, introduce your passage and explicate it using critical reading. A critical reading is argued for rather than simply asserted, and comes out of the text rather than being imposed on it. Most successful critical readings include each of the following elements:
– cite a specific passage
– explain the context in which the passage appears
– comment on your understanding of the passage
– teach your reader why you understand the passage in that way
– explain why you have selected this particular
passage rather than others, and
– show how your reading connects this passage to your thesis about the whole text.
Your paper should not read like a laundry list. While you will need to include all of the above elements, it is doubtful that your analysis will be either convincing or useful to your reader if you list this information rather than integrating it into your paper.
N.B. There are several kinds of writing that will not be at all helpful to you in this assignment. You will not be writing book reports (the book is about . . . ) or simple assertions of likes and dislikes ( I hated the character of . . . , I loved this passage . . . , etc.). You need to advance your ideas beyond the level of simple observation to make your paper a thoughtful analysis of the passage and of the text. Don’t waste space on long general introductions, or retellings of the plot, or widely agreed upon claims. Focus on your thesis, your passage, and your explication.
MLA 8 format
