How to Write a Good Business Letter with Template, Sample, and Tips
- 18 June 2020
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Explication essays need a close reading of a literary text to perform a proper interpretation of a specific passage. In this case, an examination of poetry must cover an author’s choice of words. Moreover, a successful explication essay contains a paragraph that clarifies a particular section from where a writer took a textual fragment. Basically, if students understand how to write an explication essay, they pay attention to sentence length and how punctuation affects a poet’s message and intent. Through analysis, people tell readers what written pieces mean or authors’ intentions are. In turn, they should give a personal statement about an observed work. As a result, an explication essay examines passages from longer literary works to explain and interpret them for readers.
What Is an Explication Essay and Its Purpose
According to its definition, an explication essay is a specific form of academic writing that examines sentences, passages, excerpts, poems, verses, or texts from longer literary works to explain and interpret on a more detailed level. The main purpose of writing an explication essay is to examine and explain underlying meanings, themes, and literary devices used by a particular author, and it requires a close reading of an assigned material under review (Acheson & Boyne, 2021). By evaluating these components, writers can interpret different themes, symbols, and messages provided within a particular text, and they should have a sharp focus because their content is relatively small. When writing an explication essay, it is vital to ensure a paper has a clear thesis presented in an introduction, supported analysis that interprets a specific meaning of a single passage or a poet’s intent, and a concise conclusion (Lostracco et al., 2021). The goal is to provide a thorough and insightful interpretation that deepens a reader’s appreciation and understanding of a literary piece. In terms of pages and words, the length of an explication essay can vary based on specific guidelines provided by instructors or institutions, requirements outlined in an assignment prompt, and academic levels, while general guidelines are:
High School:
- Pages: 2-3 pages
- Words: 500-750 words
College (Undergraduate):
- Pages: 3-5 pages
- Words: 750-1,250 words
University (Bachelor’s Degree):
- Pages: 4-6 pages
- Words: 1,000-1,500 words
Master’s:
- Pages: 6-8 pages
- Words: 1,500-2,000 words
Ph.D.:
- Pages: 8-10+ pages
- Words: 2,000-3,000+ words
Format
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Title | Start with writing a concise, unique, and informative title that indicates an assigned text being explicated. |
| Introduction | Introduce an observed poem, its title, and its author, provide context, and end with a thesis statement. |
| Thesis Statement | Present a clear and specific statement that outlines a main argument or focus of an explication. |
| Background | Include opening lines or stanzas of a specific passage or text under review and summarize them and their context. |
| Evidence and Quotations | Support your analysis with specific evidence and direct quotations from an observed text. |
| Literary Devices | Examine key literary devices, such as imagery, metaphor, simile, and symbolism. |
| Structure and Form | Analyze an excerpt’s structure, form, and any notable shifts in tone or perspective. |
| Language and Diction | Discuss a poet’s choice of words, language style, and its impact on meaning. |
| Themes and Motifs | Explore central themes and motifs presented in a text. |
| Contextual Analysis | Connect a reviewed text to broader historical, cultural, or literary contexts. |
| Personal Interpretation | Provide a personal interpretation and insight into deeper meanings and implications of a passage. |
| Conclusion | Summarize a final writing with main points of an explication, restate a thesis in light of the evidence presented, and offer final insights. |
| List of Sources | Cite an author and his or her text with other credible sources and format citation entries according to a required style guide (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, Harvard, and others). |
Note: Some sections can be added, deleted, or combined with each other, while all body paragraphs must include direct quotes or paraphrased in-text citations from an assigned passage or textual fragment with corresponding referencing information. To write an explication essay, people closely analyze a specific excerpt or text, breaking down its literary elements, themes, and stylistic devices to uncover deeper meanings and support their interpretations with detailed evidence.
Right Explication Examples
Word Choice
Any examination of a short passage must cover an author’s choice of words. Basically, chosen words or terms provide a unique tone and context. For example, phrases give a particular passage meaning, and altering corresponding words can result in a wrong interpretation of a work under review (Greetham, 2023). In particular, the phrase “a woman sobbing” creates an expression of grief, while “a lady weeping” paints an elegant picture. Thus, a speicif choice of words is pertinent in understanding and analyzing a poem.
Rhythm and Beat
An explication essay should examine how a combination of words gives a distinctive flow or tempo to an observed passage. For instance, it is significant to look at a writer’s word organization and how it works to create a tone (Hakemulder & Mangen, 2024). Besides, a correct word organization can create a rhythm in a poem. In turn, imagery and figurative language create a visual meaning of authors and their personalities.
Author’s Credibility
Establishing a poet’s credibility is crucial because it allows one to assess a reliability of a particular information or a quality of a written work. For example, different authors have their own reasons for writing poems or other literary works (Bump, 2022). Therefore, understanding poet’s qualifications allows writers to know their potential biases. In turn, an author’s reputation and credibility give one confidence about a unique context of poetry.
Structure and Punctuation
People should pay attention to sentence length and how punctuation affects an author’s message and intent. Basically, short sentences and sparse phrasing give passages of hard quality (Lostracco et al., 2021). Furthermore, a long sentence mostly omits punctuation and utilizes repetition to create cadence in writing. As a result, a significant part of an explication process is an analysis of poetry construction.
Symbols and Themes
Writing an explication essay should examine how poetry passages represent and influence a specific theme of literary works. For instance, a particular use of words that symbolize things helps to depict a story’s setting (Greetham, 2023). Moreover, an explication essay’s focus in writing is a short story on major plot points. In this case, themes and character objectives lead to a unique construction of a rising action and other essential parts of an assigned story for interpretation.
Clarity
A successful explication essay contains a paragraph that clarifies a section of a focus piece. Basically, interpreting specific parts is challenging to digest. For example, if one covers a protagonist’s greed in a book, while it is ambiguous as to whether this main character stole some money or earned it, an entire paper should offer clarity (Lostracco et al., 2021). In this case, an explication essay should include evidence from a passage to prove to readers if a particular protagonist stole some money or not.
Imagery
A literature paper should analyze what imagery evokes. In this case, a specific way how an author evokes imagery contributes to a particular theme of a chosen passage (Acheson & Boyne, 2021). Furthermore, a unique way how a poet places some themes affects an excerpt’s context. Hence, it is essential to differentiate how various images connect or contrast with one another during writing an explication process.
Sound
It is vital to identify a unique sound of words and their placement in sentences to determine their effectiveness in an assigned text. Basically, they contribute to a whole work in terms of their significance for its explication (Acheson & Boyne, 2021). In turn, any surprising shifts, such as alliteration and repetition, are useful in telling a story. Finally, writers should explain an overall effectiveness of sound words in a literary work or a poem.
A Figure of Speech and Point of View
In addition to analyzing imagery, an essay should also note figurative language, which adds to creating a sensory image. Basically, writers consider a specific meaning bought out by metaphors, similes, analogies, and personification (Acheson & Boyne, 2021). Besides, establishing who is telling a particular story and its main point of view helps to determine an overall reliability of writing. In turn, an narrator’s viewpoint can influence a unique way in which one reads an entire text and understands its context.
Poetry Explication Genre
Explication in poetry is a close reading of a single poem or passage. Basically, it describes possible meanings, unique relationships of words, images, and other units that make up a poem (Acheson & Boyne, 2021). Moreover, writing an explication essay allows readers to understand a poem better. In this case, readers can observe structural features and how they contribute to the whole poem.
Importance of Citing a Poem
When citing a poem in an explication essay, writers include an author’s surname and line numbers at the end of an in-text citation. For example, in analysis, a quote from a poem is cited as “My beautiful Annabel Lee” (Poe line 16). In this case, a reason for placing a specific line in quotation marks and identifying its author is to give credit for a poetry passage (Greetham, 2023). Then, this in-text citation supports central claims in a writing analysis. Moreover, knowledge of how to cite poems is essential to avoid plagiarism and validates a writer’s interpretation.
Steps on How to Write an Explication Essay
To structure an explication, people organize their writing into an introduction with a thesis, followed by body paragraphs that analyze specific elements of a specific literary text in detail, and conclude with a summary that reinforces their main insights and interpretations. In turn, common steps for writing a good explication essay include:
- Read a Poem Carefully: Begin by thoroughly reading an observed text to understand its overall meaning, themes, and structure.
- Annotate Passages: Make notes on an assigned text, highlighting key literary devices, phrases, and elements that stand out or seem significant.
- Formulate a Thesis Statement: Develop a specific thesis that outlines a main argument or writing focus of your explication essay.
- Outline an Essay: Create an outline to organize your thoughts and structure your essay logically, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- Write an Introduction: Introduce your poem and its poet, its context, your thesis statement, and any necessary background information.
- Analyze a Text: Examine a text and its details in your body paragraphs, focusing on specific literary elements, such as imagery, symbolism, tone, structure, and language.
- Provide Evidence: Support your analysis with direct quotations and specific references from a text under review and explain how each evidence supports your thesis.
- Discuss Author’s Techniques: Explain how a poet’s use of literary devices contributes to an overall meaning and impact of a passage.
- Write a Conclusion: Summarize main points of your analysis, restate your thesis in light of the evidence presented, and offer any final insights or interpretations.
- Revise and Edit: Review your explication essay for any mistakes in clarity, coherence, and accuracy of writing and edit your document for grammar, punctuation, and formatting.
What to Include
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Historical Context | Discuss a historical background during a specific time when an assigned text was written and its influence on its themes and content. |
| Cultural Context | Explore cultural aspects that are relevant to an observed poem and how they shape its meaning and interpretation. |
| Author’s Biography | Provide relevant information about a poet’s life and how personal experiences might have influenced a reason for writing a literature piece. |
| Publication Context | Consider some circumstances of a text’s publication and its initial acceptance by contemporary audiences. |
| Comparative Analysis | Compare an assigned text to other literature works by the same author or pieces with similar themes or styles. |
| Critical Perspectives | Include viewpoints from different literary critics or scholars and discuss how these perspectives enhance a better understanding of a passage. |
| Reader Response | Reflect on a personal response to an observed textual fragment and how it might differ from other interpretations. |
| Symbolic Meanings | Write about some symbolic meanings of specific elements within a text and how they contribute to an overall message. |
| Psychological Analysis | Explore some psychological dimensions of main characters or a narrative itself, using theories of psychology to enhance understanding. |
| Stylistic Devices | Analyze specific stylistic devices, such as syntax, rhythm, and pacing, that contribute to a text’s unique style. |
| Philosophical Themes | Examine any underlying philosophical themes or questions posed by an entire text. |
| Narrative Techniques | Analyze some narrative techniques and points of view used by a poet and how they affect a reader’s perception. |
| Ethical Dilemmas | Explore any ethical dilemmas presented in a particular text and their implications for characters and themes. |
| Motifs | Identify recurring motifs and discuss how they reinforce central themes or ideas of an assigned passage. |
| Allusions | Identify and analyze references to historical events, mythology, religion, or other works of literature within an explication essay. |
Outlined Structure
Introduction
To start an explication essay, writers begin with an engaging introduction that provides context for an observed literary work, presents a specific passage or text to be analyzed, and includes a clear thesis statement outlining their main arguments or interpretations. In this case, an introductory paragraph presents an explication essay’s topic and ends with a thesis statement (Greetham, 2023). Moreover, writers need to grab an attention of readers, state a particular title and author’s surname, and give an overview of story elements. Finally, a first paragraph should contain a thesis statement that sets a specific course and order for writing the following paragraphs. In turn, some examples of sentence starters for beginning an explication essay include:
- In [Title of a Literary Work], [Author’s Surname] explores the theme of … .
- A particular poem/passage [Title] by [Author’s Surname] represents … .
- Through an effective use of [Literary Device], [Author’s Surname] conveys … .
- In the opening lines of [Title], [Author’s Surname] introduces … .
- A central theme of [Author’s Surname]’s [Title] is highlighted through … .
- By examining [Specific Element] in [Title], readers can understand how [Author’s Surname] provides … .
- A well-organized use of [Imagery/Metaphor/Symbolism] in [Author’s Surname]’s [Title] reflects … .
- In [Title], [Author’s Surname] masterfully illustrates … .
- A single passage from [Title] reveals [Author’s Surname]’s perspective on … .
- Throughout [Author’s Surname]’s [Title], a recurring motif of [Motif] emphasizes … .
Body
To write a literary explication, people closely analyze a passage’s language, structure, and literary devices, providing detailed evidence and interpretation to reveal a deeper meaning and significance of an entire piece. In a body section, writers should describe their arguments on a topic (Dodgson, 2021). Basically, they discuss an actual significance of poetry under analysis. Furthermore, analysis and interpretation parts of excerpts take place to strengthen arguments. In this case, people provide supporting examples from passages to support their examination when organizing their explication essays. Finally, body paragraphs include a thorough examination and clarification of a particular content to give readers a well-developed understanding of poetry.
Conclusion
A last paragraph of writing an explication essay should sum up writer’s arguments. In this case, this part of a paper must restate a central thesis and wrap-up all ideas presented in a paper (Greetham, 2023). Moreover, writers discuss an actual significance of a poem under analysis. As a result, they should indicate a real importance of writing an entire analysis in understanding a single passage and a literary work as a whole.
Useful Explication Verbs
| Verb | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Analyze | To examine in detail a structure or elements in a passage under review. |
| Interpret | To explain a meaning. |
| Illustrate | To clarify or explain by giving examples or details. |
| Reveal | To make known something that was not previously evident. |
| Demonstrate | To show clearly through evidence and reasoning how a particular element works. |
| Highlight | To emphasize or draw attention to a particular element or theme. |
| Examine | To inspect or scrutinize a specific passage carefully. |
| Discuss | To talk about different aspects in detail. |
| Argue | To present reasons and evidence for a particular interpretation. |
| Support | To back up an argument or interpretation with evidence. |
| Suggest | To imply or indicate an idea. |
| Describe | To give a detailed account of elements. |
| Compare | To examine similarities and/or differences between elements or poems. |
| Contrast | To highlight differences between elements or literary works. |
| Identify | To recognize and name specific elements or aspects. |
| Explore | To investigate in depth various aspects. |
| Exemplify | To illustrate or clarify by giving an example. |
| Assess | To evaluate or estimate a unique nature, quality, or significance of elements. |
| Explain | To make clear how or why something in a specific passage works or what it means. |
| Relate | To show or establish a connection between elements. |
| Critique | To review or analyze critically. |
| Contextualize | To place or study a poem within its historical, cultural, or literary context. |
| Clarify | To make a concept or idea in an excerpt clear or understandable. |
| Develop | To elaborate on an idea or theme from a textual fragment in detail. |
| Evaluate | To judge or determine a significance, worth, or quality of elements. |
| Interpret | To explain a meaning or significance of something. |
| Reveal | To uncover or expose elements within an observed text that are not immediately obvious. |
| Convey | To communicate or make known key themes or messages. |
| Depict | To describe or portray elements. |
| Justify | To show or prove why a particular interpretation or argument is valid. |
| Synthesize | To combine elements from an entire literary text to form a coherent whole or new understanding. |
Common Mistakes
- Ignoring Text’s Details: Overlooking specific words, phrases, or literary devices used by a poet can lead to writing a biased explication essay.
- Lack of a Clear Thesis: Failing to present a clear and specific thesis statement can result in a lack of focus in your essay.
- Insufficient Evidence: Not providing enough textual evidence to support your analysis weakens your argument.
- Overgeneralization: Making broad statements without providing quotes from an assigned text.
- Ignoring Context: Neglecting historical, cultural, or literary contexts of a poem can lead to a misinterpretation.
- Vague Analysis: Offering a surface-level interpretation without exploring deeper meanings, explanations, and implications of a particular passage can lead to weak arguments.
- Misinterpreting a Text: Misreading or misinterpreting key aspects of an assigned text can lead to incorrect conclusions.
- Poor Organization: A disorganized explication essay with no clear structure can confuse readers.
- Ignoring Literary Devices: Failing to analyze specific literary devices used by a poet results in missing important aspects of an observed text.
- Weak Conclusion: A weak or vague conclusion can undermine an entire essay.
Summing Up
An explication essay should have a clear thesis presented in an introduction paragraph and a supported analysis that interprets a specific meaning of poetry. Basically, this examination should include:
Textual Evidence
An essay must include textual evidence with specific examples from an observed literary work. Basically, an in-text citation is a combination of paraphrased information or direct quotes from passages. In turn, supportive evidence should consist of elements such as imagery and sentence structure that develop an entire story.
Explanation
Writers must provide an exhaustive explanation of a poem under analysis. In this case, they tell readers what authors of poems mean in their textual excerpts. Besides, such information includes arguments, insights, and reflections in writing an explication essay.
Reflection
Writers must evaluate how an essay relates to a specific work of literature as a whole and how it uses literary devices to achieve an intended goal. In this case, they must give a personal statement about a poem that they observe.
References
Acheson, K. O., & Boyne, M. R. (2021). Writing essays about literature: A brief guide for university and college students. Broadview Press.
Bump, J. F. (2022). The value of literature, today and tomorrow. Literature, 2(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.3390/literature2010001
Dodgson, J. E. (2021). Critical analysis: The often-missing step in conducting literature review research. Journal of Human Lactation, 37(1), 27–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334420977815
Greetham, B. (2023). How to write better essays. Bloomsbury Academic.
Hakemulder, F., & Mangen, A. (2024). Literary reading on paper and screens: Associations between reading habits and preferences and experiencing meaningfulness. Reading Research Quarterly, 59(1), 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.527
Lostracco, J., Wilkerson, G., & Lydic, D. (2021). Analyzing short stories. Kendall Hunt.
