Preparing your Literary
Essay
on Purple
Hibiscus
Point – Evidence (Quotation) – Explanation
Point
Give an answer, explaining the part of the aspect of
the character or the theme you are describing and your idea (make sure it is
relevant to the question, be concise and careful with expression)
Sentence starters:
In my opinion/ I think that …/ Firstly/ At the
beginning of the novel/ However, the character changes when… / Not only …
/Despite the fact that …/ Despite the lack of … / While …
Expressions:
due to/
especially as/ which (eventually) leads to/ which means that/ not only …. but
it is also/ a central issue or character is/ Certainly, this is a main theme in
the novel/Certainly, this character is central to the plot because …
Evidence (Quotation)
Try to integrate the quotation – remember it can also
be only one word! Use a comma before the quotation and remember to use
quotation marks!
e.g. This is shown in the quote,
“…”
This is suggested with the quote, “…”
This is implied with the quote, “…”
When Ishiguro writes, “…”
Key words: After / Before / When … (event)...
QUOTATION
Explain
This is the difficult part – analysing the quotation
and making it relevant to the original question.
Begin with a basic analysis:
ü In this
quotation…
ü From this
quotation…
ü The description
of … gives an impression/idea about …
ü This quotation
suggests/shows/reveals the/how/why …
ü We can infer
from this quotation just how ….
ü This line
reveals the …
ü Considering the
context, this could link to ...
ü However, perhaps
this indicates ...
ü Additionally
this could be interpreted as ...
ü This writer uses
the word which is important because …
ü This implies
.../ This suggests .../ This shows .../This reveals
ü However, on the
other hand it might suggest that …
ü Alternatively,
this could be interpreted as a sign of …
Try to DIG
DOWN...
THIS SUGGESTS
THIS MAKES US
THINK
THERFORE THE
READER UNDERSTANDS
THIS LINKS TO
THE SPEAKERS MESSAGE THAT
