Book Analysis Outline : Literary Analysis Outline Structure

Book Analysis Outline

A book analysis is a description, critical analysis, and an evaluation on the quality, meaning, and significance of a book. It should focus on the book's purpose, content, and authority.

The following is a book analysis outline:

1. Introduction

Your introduction should begin creatively in order to catch your reader’s interest. It is meant to provide essential background about the book and prepare the reader for your major thesis. The introduction must include the author and title of the book as well as an explanation of the theme to be discussed. Other essential background information may include setting, an introduction of main characters, etc. The major thesis goes in this paragraph usually at the end. It includes:

Creative Hook

This is the beginning sentence of the introduction that catches the reader’s interest.

Ways of beginning creatively include the following:

• A startling fact or bit of information.
• A snatch of dialogue between two characters.
• A meaningful quotation from the book.
• A universal idea.
• A rich, vivid description of the setting.

Thesis

This is a statement that provides the subject and overall opinion of your essay. For a book analysis your major thesis must:

• Relate to the theme of the work.
• Suggest how this theme is revealed by the author.
• Suggest the organization of the paper.

2. Body

The body is made up of the support paragraphs of your book analysis. These paragraphs contain supporting examples and explanations for your topic sentences. Each paragraph in the body includes

• Topic sentence.

  This is the first sentence of a body paragraph. It identifies one aspect of the major thesis and states a primary reason why the major thesis is true.

• Textual Evidence.

  A specific example from the book used to provide evidence for your topic sentence. Textual evidence can be a combination of paraphrase and direct quotation from the work.

• Commentary.

  Your explanation and interpretation of the textual evidence. Commentary tells the reader what the author of the book means or how the textual evidence proves the topic sentence. Commentary may include interpretations, analysis, arguments, insights or reflections.

• Transitions.

  These are words or phrases that connect one idea to the next, both between and within paragraphs. Transition devices include using connecting words as well as repeating key words or using synonyms.

• Lead-In.

  This is a phrase or sentence that prepares the reader for textual evidence by introducing the speaker, setting, or situation.

• Concluding Sentence.

  This is the last sentence of the body paragraph. It concludes the paragraph by tying the textual evidence and commentary back to the thesis.

3. Conclusion

You should begin your conclusion by restating your major thesis without exactly repeating the words. Your conclusion should serve the following purposes:

• Reflect on how your essay topic relates to the book as a whole.
• Evaluate how the author has successfully achieved their goal.
• Give a personal statement about the book.
• Make predictions.
• Connect back to your creative opening.
• Give your opinion of the book’s value or significance.