Essay Structure: Close Reading

The essay, in some ways, can be like a gracefully told story. Give it some tension, some drama.
Beginning (page 1; one, two or more paragraphs)
Function: let your intellectually curious reader know what is the topic of your essay, why you
write it and what you want to discover (motive and analytical question) and what is your
argument (thesis). Also, establish context for the topic and possibly the texts at handorient
your readers.
The principle that guides the beginning is the analytical questions or problem that compels
you to write. What analytical problem does your reader need to recognize, and why? How should
they think about that problem? For Essay 1: your problem will stem from the passages youve
chosen to close read. What do we need to understand? You can put a thesis at the end of the first
paragraph or two (most common). Or you can let the audiences understanding of the problem
keep them focused for a thesis statement to come in the body of the paper. In such a case, a clear
analytical question or questions in the beginning can help them focus.
Middle (pages 2-3 or more)
Function: solve the complex problem youve posed. Show your work.
Essay 1: Break down your problem via examples from the text that are organized in a
clear, direct, and coherent manner. Each body paragraph should contain a clear topic sentence
that addresses one part of your argument, with several passages or quotations from the text, and a
concluding sentence that also helps you transition to the next paragraph. Introduce your
passages, reveal your close readings and explain how they work (This first passage is
interesting because; In this second passage, though, we can see that). As you introduce
each passage, make sure you give the authors name and text title and identity of author, if
necessary (will your audience know who Wharton is, for example? Gaitskill?). Give the main
ideas or tensions of each passage, including the actions and issues that relate to your problem
and are represented in your thesis. Then move on to explain the relationship, the comparison
between these passages, in relation to the analytical problem that guides your paper. How should
your audience understand each passage? How do the passages compare, in the context of your
analytical problem? What is the significance of this comparison? Why does it matter? What are
you teaching us? Its probably best, most honest and interesting if you think about the
complexities of the problem with which your argument still struggles, the intriguing puzzles that
remain. Is the comparison straightforward or complicated? Why? Have you got all the possible
answers?
End (last page)
Function: give your audience a feeling for what theyve learned.
Essay 1: Offer a clever re-articulation of your argument. If any key point has been
implicit in what youve been writing, make it explicit. Highlight the strengths of your
interpretation, in light of the complexities and intriguing nature of the problem youve explored
(but avoid dry summary). Let your audience know they have a new way to think about this story
and keep them thinking. Your conclusion should both present closure, and also open vistas of
new thinking.