analysis paper on “Dumpster Diving,” by Lars Eighner

paper #1 • A three page analysis paper on “Dumpster Diving,” by Lars Eighner

 

• 2.You will be asked to say something interesting about the essay and explain how it contributes to the writer’s main point. (You may use a claim or variation of a claim from you reader response.)
• 3. This essay will be organized as a five-paragraph essay, and use in-text citations.

 

 

Things to consider in forming the thesis for your analysis

paper-1

1.  • Who is the author’s audience?
2.  • What is the author’s thesis or central idea or reason for writing?  That is, what does the writer want his audience to know, think, feel or understand?
3. • What questions does the author address (either implicitly or explicitly)?
4.  • How does the author structure the text?  What are the key parts, and how do they relate to one another or to the thesis?
5. • What strategies has the author used to develop his ideas?
6.  • What examples or evidence does the author use to develop his point?
7. • What is the context and subtext

 

 

How to organize your paper (Refer to “The Five-Paragraph Essay”)

 

 

EXAMPLE

 

The Steps to Writing your paper

• Form your thesis statement including topic and three key points Find something interesting to say about the text that is complex and interpretive, and can be developed in three body paragraphs.  For example, a thesis that says, “Washington writes about the value of music” is not suitable for analysis because it is flat and factual.  However, stating, “Washington shows how music moves the soul” is suitable because it interprets what you think his intention is.  Then, in your three body paragraphs, you demonstrate how his essay shows this.

Find three key points  State three ways you will demonstrate the truth of your thesis.  Each key point will form the topic of a body paragraph.

1 This information is from The Bedford Handbook, 8th ed. by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers

Sometimes, your initial thesis is called a “working thesis” because in the process of writing your paper, you might modify and refine your thesis

• Introduction Some of you may want to write your introduction first, as a way of inspiring and propelling you forward.  Since I usually write from inspiration, I begin with the introduction, which leads me to my thesis (although there are times when I scrap my initial introduction (or parts of it) because, I still wasn’t clear what my point was.  Remember, writing papers is no less an art form than a science.

• Write the body of your paper   The body will have three paragraphs, each beginning with a topic sentence based on a key point from your thesis through which you will demonstrate, using evidence and explanation, the truth of your thesis.

For example, if your thesis is “Washington shows how music moves the soul,” one key point could be, “One method he uses is through the rhythm of his writing.”  You would then use examples of his writing and explain how his verb choices or short sentences create a syncopated movement.  Your second body paragraph would move onto your second key point.

• Conclusion As you have already heard, good conclusions need to be earned throughout the entire paper; a good conclusion cannot be tacked on at the end.  However, to write a decent conclusion, be sure to summarize the points of your paper, circle back to your introduction, and leave your reader with a lingering thought or image.

 

 

Paper #1: 

Analysis Introductions and Thesis Statements   Introductions open the door to the reader; it’s where you say, “Welcome to my mind.”  There are ten thousand ways to start a paper, but most importantly, introductions have to connect to your thesis.

Introductions serve four functions

• Engage the reader

• Provide necessary context (i.e. title and author of essay and relevant historical, political, biographical, or cultural information)

• Summarize the essay

• Contain the thesis (placed near or at the end of the intro)  Different approaches for writing an introduction

• Personal experience that connects to your thesis may interest your reader.  However, keep it short and select details that best make your point).

• Quotations, either from the text you are discussing or from another source that illustrate your point, can be thought-provoking openers.

• Truisms (like home is where the heart is) are sayings that are generally true (although they can be clichéd, and for every truism stating one thing is another to contradict it).  Still, a truism is a general statement that can be explained and lead to your thesis.

• Definitions use broad, abstract words like “freedom” or “honor” and explain how that word connects to the larger point you are making in your paper.

• Questions can be good openers because they immediately engage your reader but only if it’s a real and pertinent question.  (For some reason, students who begin papers with questions often ask stupid questions, like, “How would you like to be killed for neglecting to say ‘sir’ to a white man?”  Obviously, no one would like to be killed for this.)

• Historical, political, or cultural information is always appropriate, and you often need to include context anyway.  For example, a paper on Wright might begin with a brief but pertinent review of Jim Crow.

• Miscellaneous connections are a kind of catchall for a thousand different approaches, such as description or a sensual response.

What else to include in your introduction  

• Title of text

• First and last name of author (subsequent references to author are by last name only)

• Summary of essay in one or two sentences so that the reader who has not read the essay you are writing about will still understand your paper.

• Historical, political, cultural, or biographical information that provides necessary context.

Thesis statements  The thesis is the point of your paper (main idea) that will be demonstrated through your body paragraphs.  Thesis statements are usually placed at or near the end of your introduction.  

A thesis statement is to a paper what a claim is to a paragraph, and, like claims, a thesis statement is an interesting and interpretive statement that presents your understanding of the text.  Furthermore, thesis statements can be as simple as the claims you made for your analytical paragraphs. However, a good starting thesis could simply state what the writer wants the reader to know, think, feel, or understand, just like your analytical paragraphs.

 

For example, the claim from my Chief Seattle response could also be a thesis statement: “Chief Seattle shows that separation from the earth leads to destruction.”  This claim presents my interpretation of one point Chief Seattle makes in his letter.

The working thesis The initial thesis is called the working thesis because often, as we develop our body paragraphs, we find either that the evidence doesn’t fit the thesis as first stated or that our understanding of the text has changed or deepened. This, in turn, affects our thesis statement.  In these cases, you need to revise your thesis to fit the evidence or reflect your deeper understanding of the text.

The thesis should always be composed as a simple, clear statement (although it can also be two independent clauses connected with a semicolon).

 

When composing your thesis (which takes time), use the lessons we have learned from locating subjects and verbs, by using strong verbs, and from simplifying sentences, by omitting unnecessary words.  To compose an incisive thesis is to utter a thought of startling insight: such insight doesn’t come cheap.