Academic Analysis Of Literature

Project 1: Literary Analysis

In this literary analysis essay, students will discover a thesis in the text of an author and support this thesis with textual evidence. This section will be using The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in order to discuss interdisciplinary questions of ethics.

This project asks you to analyze a literary work relative to the author's rhetorical style and how it explores an ethical issue. You might start by analyzing a specific chapter and how it uses character, theme or point of view to generate a message, then ask how this chapter fits with other chapters. . You will focus on specific chapter or character for analysis, engaging in rhetorical analysis and ultimately producing a literary analysis of the chapter.

Project Components
• Essay 1: Final Copy
• Draft and Peer Review of Essay 1 and Blackbaord posts (part of participation grade)

*Essay 1 Assignment*

750-1000 words
Take one of Skloot's chapters and analyze how it develops a specific ethical issue through point of view, character, or context. Use your rhetorical analysis as a basis for this project.

Think in terms of a narrow thesis
Don’t cover all areas we discussed, just focus on proving 1 or 2 points through rhetorical analysis
Use Topic Sentences & an Outline to narrow your thesis
Try to open each paragraph with a strong Topic Sentence
Use the reading questions on Blackboard and your handbook to give you ideas for the essay
Don't forget to attach a Works Cited page with Skloot's novel listed as a source. If you consult or use any other sources, cite those as well, although it is not recommended that you consult sources other than Skloot's novel.

Blackboard Assignments:
Discussion Board Posting 1: Analysis of Ueland and Skloot's writing
Discussion Board Posting 2: Rhetorical analysis of one of Skloot's chapters (approximately 500 words total). Don't forget to use MLA format,to cite direct quotes and paraphrases. Use your handbook to help with Rhetorical Analysis structure and content.

Helpful hints
In the opening sentence, give the name of the author, the title of the chapter you are summarizing along with a sense of the chapter's overall context in terms of other chapters, Skloot's style, or history.

Then consider some of the following questions as you write your summary:
Who is the narrator, and what perspective does s/he take (1st person? limited? omniscient?)
What tone does this chapter take, and which specific phrases or images develop this tone?
What ethical issues does it describe or major plot points develop, and perhaps how does it relate to other chapters you have read?
How does it create a particular point of view for the reader (again, isolate specific phrases and words that establish point of view)?

Write in the present tense, and use quotation marks if needed. Do not include opinion in this part of the essay.

-How does the point of view of this chapter illuminate or complicate or challenge issues that appear in other chapters?
-How does this chapter establish setting and chronology relative to other chapters?
-What aspect of this chapter appealed to you (or offended you) in terms of style, subject matter, or tone?
-How did this chapter "paint a picture"of character or setting using words and images?

Objectives
By the end of this assignment you should be able to
• Identify the perspective of narration (1st person, limited, ominsicent)
• Conduct a rhetorical analysis of a key literary passage
• Detect how point of view is established and how it affects your interpretation of character
• Paraphrase, quote and cite plot points smoothly and honestly
• Cite a primary source in MLA format

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