how to write a literary essay 4th grade

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Literary Essays: Setting the Stage

As part my MFA program, I’ve had to write eight page papers on a paragraph or two of text. That’s a lot of words about not too many words. I’ve also watched my daughters draft critical analyses on literary works in both high school and college. Writing a literary essay is a lifelong skill that we are all working to master, so what can we expect our elementary writers to be able to do, and how can we provide instruction so they can succeed at a sophisticated task.

As with most writing units, the first thing I show students is a chart with the steps involved in writing a literary essay, a final product, and the student-facing checklist for opinion writing. Strong literary essays have a claim that is supported through text and interpretation, and it’s important for students to understand this concept.

More than anything else, a strong literary essay requires close reading. I teach students to read a passage many times, using different lenses each time. In this example, I have marked up the text,  Spaghetti  by Cynthia Rylant. This short story and many others can be found in  Every Living Thing. 

One of the ways I teach students to do this kind of work is to present them with a chart that looks something like this:

That way, each sticky note represents what you’re looking for in a read-through, what you might mark up with a specific color. These concepts might change depending on your students, but the idea of reading with just one particular focus is important. If you haven’t read  Falling in Love With Close Reading  by Kate Roberts and Chris Lehman, you will get lots of ideas about how to implement this sort of work from their book.

Depending on your students, you might want to consider making short text packets. Typed versions of favorite picture books work well, as well as poems. It’s important that whatever texts you use, students can (and are willing) to read them several times. Although I am always revamping and updating my short text collections, some tested and true texts are:

Picture Books

• Crow Call  by Lois Lowry
• When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
• The Stranded Whale  by Jane Yolen
• Owl Moon  by Jane Yolen
• The Table Where Rich People Sit  by Byrd Baylor
• A Day’s Work  by Eve Bunting

Short Texts/Story Collections

• Hey World, Here I Am by Jean Little
• Every Living Thing  by Cynthia Rylant
• Knots in My Yoyo String  by Jerry Spinelli

Additionally, almost any poem works for analysis, and literary essays are a wonderful pathway to infuse poetry into your students’ lives.

Once you have students reading their texts over and over and marking it up, then it’s time to develop some more in-depth thinking. I have several examples of this that I keep in my teaching notebook.

The chart on the right tells students how to do this work and the examples show them what the work looks like. Both are important. I have to say that I have come to many new realizations–had many authentic a-ha moments–by using repeated thinking stems. It’s a powerful process if students have the time and the stamina to really take a deep dive into their thinking.

Once students have worked through their thinking, they can think about what they have the most to say about, and that decision helps drive the direction of their essay. The follwing chart works well for sorting through their thoughts and patches of thinking.

At this point, most students are ready to plan their essays. Again, I give them a chart of how to do it, and examples of what the work might look like.

I can’t guarantee that everyone will write prize-winning essays, but I will say that this sort of work is important for developing independent thinkers with stamina and appreciation for the work of writing.

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Published by Melanie Meehan

I am the Writing and Social Studies Coordinator in Simsbury, CT, and I love what I do. I get to write and inspire others to write! Additionally, I am the mom to four fabulous daughters and the wife of a great husband. View all posts by Melanie Meehan

9 thoughts on “ Literary Essays: Setting the Stage ”

You made it look so simple with all of the charts/visuals you share with us! (We both know this kind of unit isn’t so I appreciate you showing the steps involved.)

There is a lot of great thinking here to mull over. Thanks for providing such great information!

That’s super fabulous, I am a school owner of a Center of foreign languages and I teach English and French, here in Patras, Greece.I teach all levels and prepare students for certificate or diploma exams, they start at 6 and finish at 13 years old or later. This year I intend to have extra offered classes about writing stories, especially a team of 8 girls(6th grade) were begging me literally since last year because they write stories themselves! Essay writing is a crucial part of writing essays when the time comes to sit the exams so they need to know the craft of doing it. More girls heard about that from their siblings and now I have another group of 5th grade! I would love to have some models to show them and help them with their writing process! That would be awesome! Thank you, so much!

Reading this post brings me back to a world before the teaching of writing became an actual thing. In my day, you learned grammar and spelling and that an essay consisted of 5 paragraphs with a beginning, ending and two or three well supported ideas in the middle. We’ve come a long way. Sometimes I wonder, however, if all students are “ready” for the plethora of information that is available for teaching writing. When I taught writing I always enjoyed conferencing with students (grade 4 to college freshmen) to find out what they really wanted to say, or what was challenging them in their writing journey.

I love the way you guide the students with concrete examples. Thanks for sharing this work.

Dear Melanie, This is a beautifully written post that has inspired my preparation as I approach this unit with my 7th graders. I was just getting ready to pull out all of my TC work from last summer and now I am truly inspired. Thank you very much for your efforts!

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I am curious what grades you have used these with. Thanks. They are very helpful and well-done.

I have used them with grades 4 and 5, but I think they could be used with higher grades as well.

Thanks so much for this lesson. This gives me some great fresh ideas on how to teach this difficult topic! I am trying to build a bank of sample literary essays to share with students. I would like to share with them essays from different pieces of literature than what I am asking them to analyze. I find my student struggle with this type of writing. I would love to have a few models to show them. Does anyone have any quality student samples that they would be willing to share? I teach 7th, 8th, and 10th grades. Thanks!

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• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

• An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
• A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
• A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

• Who is telling the story?
• How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

• Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
• Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
• Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

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The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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How to Write a Fourth Grade Essay

Karen hollowell.

If you are a fourth grade student, you are just beginning to learn about composing an essay. You began writing words and short sentences in kindergarten and first grade, and learned how to combine sentences into a paragraph in second and third grade. In fourth grade, you will learn how to combine paragraphs into a composition. A basic essay is made of five paragraphs that discuss one topic. These paragraphs introduce, support, and conclude your information, but should do so in a way that another reader can easily understand.

Explore this article

• How To Write A Fourth Grade Essay
• Choose a topic
• Write the introduction
• Write the body of the essay
• Write the conclusion
• Proofread your essay

1 How To Write A Fourth Grade Essay

2 choose a topic.

Choose a topic. Sometimes the teacher may give you a list of topics, or you may have to brainstorm ideas. When deciding on a topic, focus on a specific subject. For example, if you want to write about dogs, choose one breed of dog or discuss characteristics of dogs that make them good pets.

3 Write the introduction

Write the introduction. This is the first paragraph of your essay. It will contain two or three sentences that tell the reader what you will be discussing in your composition. (Ref. 1.)

4 Write the body of the essay

Write the body of the essay. The body is usually three paragraphs that include details supporting your topic. For example, if your essay is about your favorite character in a novel, each paragraph should discuss one aspect of the character that relates to why he or she is your favorite.

5 Write the conclusion

Write the conclusion. The ending paragraph is similar to the introduction, but you do not use the same words. The conclusion needs to summarize the main point of your essay. For example, a conclusion for an essay about your favorite character in "Huckleberry Finn" might be written like this: "Jim is my favorite character in this novel because he remained brave even though he faced many dangers. He was also a good friend to Huck and helped him to see how bad slavery was."

6 Proofread your essay

Proofread your essay. Your teacher will probably guide you through this process until you know the procedure. Usually you will read your essay after you have written it to be sure the sentences support the topic. Delete or add details as necessary at this time. Then check for grammar mistakes like subject/verb agreement and spelling errors. It is also a good idea to get a classmate or someone at home to read your essay. They may be able to see things that you missed. They can also tell you if your writing was easy to understand.

• 1 Sample Five Paragraph Essay

About the Author

Karen Hollowell has been teaching since 1994. She has taught English/literature and social studies in grades 7-12 and taught kindergarten for nine years. She currently teaches fourth grade reading/language and social studies. Hollowell earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Mississippi and her Master of Arts in elementary education from Alcorn State University.

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• ELA G4:M1:U2:L13

Writing a Literary Essay: Conclusion

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

• W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
• W.4.2a: Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
• W.4.2e: Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.
• W.4.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
• I can plan and write the conclusion paragraph for my essay. ( W.4.2e, W.4.5 )
• I can revise my essay so related information is grouped into paragraphs, and each paragraph explains a main idea. ( W.4.2a )
• Conclusion of literary essay ( W.4.2e, W.4.5 )
• Revision notes ( W.4.2a )
• Strategically pair students for work during Opening A, with at least one strong reader per pair.
• Prepare the Organizing the Model: Conclusion Paragraph strips (see supporting materials).
• Review the Thumb-O-Meter protocol. See Classroom Protocols.
• Post: Learning targets, Literary Essay anchor chart, and Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart.

Tech and Multimedia

• Work Time A: Students write their conclusion paragraph on a word-processing document--for example, a Google Doc.

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.C.1o and 4.II.A.1

Important points in the lesson itself

• The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to work closely with essay structure, building on their understanding one paragraph at a time. In this lesson, students focus on the concluding paragraph of their literary essay. They also revise their writing for organization using colors and kinesthetic activities.
• ELLs may find it challenging to keep pace with the class as they work to revise each paragraph to underline each sentence based on its relevance to the introduction. While circulating and supporting students, consider working individually with students who need heavier support. Reread each sentence with them and support them as they determine which color to use as they underline.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

• Challenge students to use the sentence frame introduced at the end of the Mini Language Dive as they write their conclusions: "[Poet] was inspired to write poetry about ______, and his or her work has also _______."Invite intermediate and advanced proficiency students to generate alternative sentence frames they could use in their concluding paragraphs.

For heavier support:

• During Work Time A, distribute a template with a cloze version of a concluding paragraph. Allow students who need prompting or who may be overwhelmed by starting from scratch to use this version. Example: "[Poet] was inspired to write poetry about ________. My favorite poem by [Poet] is "________" because __________. In the book Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, Jack writes ________ after reading "_________" by [Poet]."
• During Work Time B, rewrite a selection of sentences from the organization model on sentence strips. Color-code each sentence according to its relevant sentence in the introduction. Present the paragraphs scrambled and invite students to organize the sentence strips into the correct paragraphs. Ask students how the sorting activity is similar to the revision process.
• Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): Some students may require additional support with the expectations for the concluding paragraph. Consider reviewing and clarifying the Informative Writing Checklist with a small group. Also consider thinking aloud to make the thought process explicit. (Example: Provide a think-aloud to show how you incorporate ideas from the model literary essay into an original paragraph.) This way, students will not only see the model visually, but also will be able to understand the thought processes behind it.
• Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): This lesson provides 25 minutes of writing time. Some students may need additional support to build their writing stamina. Support students in building their stamina and focus by providing scaffolds that build an environment that is conducive to writing (see Meeting Students' Needs column).
• Multiple Means of Engagement (MME) : Students who need additional support with writing may have negative associations with writing tasks based on previous experiences. Help them feel successful with writing by allowing them to create feasible goals and celebrate when these goals are met. For instance, place a sticker or a star at a specific point on the page (e.g., two pages) that provides a visual writing target for the day. Also, construct goals for sustained writing by chunking the 25-minute writing block into smaller pieces. Provide choice for a break activity at specific time points when students have demonstrated writing progress. Celebrate students who meet their writing goals, whether it is length of the text or sustained writing time.

Key:  Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

• conclusion, restate (L)
• Organizing the Model: Conclusion Paragraph strips (one set per pair)
• Painted Essay(r) template (from Lesson 9; one per student)
• Model literary essay (from Lesson 9; one per student and one to display)
• Literary Essay anchor chart (begun in Lesson 10; added to during Opening A)
• Literary Essay anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
• Informative Essay Prompt: What Inspires Poets? (from Lesson 6, one per student and one to display)
• Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1)
• Informative Writing Checklist (from Lesson 9; one per student and one to display)
• Expert group poet biographies (from Lesson 7; one per student in each expert group)
• Close Read Note-catcher: Expert Group Poet (from Lesson 7; one per student)
• Green, blue, and yellow markers (one of each color per student)
• Literary essay draft (begun in Lesson 10; added to during Work Time A; one per student)
• Domain-Specific Word Wall (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 3)
• Organization model (one per student and one to display)

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

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