Writing the Critical-analytic Essay
A unit plan using Dimension 2: Acquire and integrate knowledge and Dimension 3: Extend and refine knowledge in 10 lessons.
The Analytic Essay is an interpretive exercise in which you display your close reading skills by analyzing a work, novel, play poem, etc. This essay should be clearly focused on matters of craft, technique, and style. It should also touch on how this writer fits into contemporary trends, what previous authors may have influenced his or her, etc.
Aim: To enable secondary students to write a comprehensive analytical essay on All Quiet on the Western Front; to practise the levels of mastery needed for this task; to achieve accuracy and speed in the procedural knowledge needed to complete this task.
Declarative knowledge presumed: A reading of this novel.
Sample target question: "Novels are written for various reasons, as social commentary, as personal reminiscences, for entertainment, or for celebration of character or event, etc. Write an analytical essay on All Quiet on the Western Front focussing on one element of it:
Teacher Structured:
Lesson 1: (Dimension 1: Attitudes and perceptions p. 18)
Why learn this? Analytic essays occur across the curriculum, in drama, religion, multi-strand science, history, geography, legal studies, film studies, English, QCS, university.
Understanding the task : analytic = what it's all about, how the author tackles his task; identifying its point of view along the range of possible views; identifying the elements of the work; appraising key concepts, themes, or characters.
Analysis is not a book review, appreciation (matters of taste, usefulness), or plot summary.
Read samples, model analytic essays e.g., "Good novels do more than tell a story" AP Note structure, synonyms: exemplifies, illustrates, projects, brought forth, demonstrates,
Do a PLAN and a QAR post reading reflection on the text.
Lesson 2: Paragraph structure: QESCL method: (Outline, explain, support, conclude, link); signpost sentences and linking sentences.
Lesson 3: How to brainstorm ideas; picking pertinent points (see Abstracting below); examples and oral and writing exercises. Graphic organiser p. 253. Use a Frayer model.
Lesson 4: How to use quotations and examples: samples and writing exercises. Using a comparison matrix p. 121. Advice for this task web search See Links below.
Lesson 5: Post-reading prewriting orientation: use a RAFT model. Types of questions and types of plans; samples and writing exercises (144)
Lesson 6: Scholarly tone, language and metaphors; creating interest.
More Student Structured:
Lesson 7: Putting it together: From notes to plan; arranging/ recording best quotations and examples; From incidents to character profile - use Inductive reasoning (Student Handbook 21, DLTeacher's Manual 142.)
Lesson 8: From plan to first draft.
Lesson 9: Revising a draft; editing; critically examine the text; text and question aligned?.
Lesson 10: Completing and submission of final copy. Attach criteria sheet.
Resources: Some relevant links
Abstracting (Dimensions of Learning Teacher's Manual p. 130)
To be proficient and confident dealing with unfamiliar information; making sense of information; relating data to general patterns, generating metaphors and analogies. "to make connections across disciplines" to "find patterns that have meaning."
Process(from literal to abstract)