Like Personal Essays and Persuasive Essays, Literary Essays are written around a central idea, or thesis statement. In a Literary Essay, however, that idea is drawn from literature. For example, it may be about the theme of a book, an analysis of the author's style, or identifying a character trait of somebody in the book. The student supports his or her thesis statement with evidence from the text. Fourth grade students typically have to write a Literary Essay for the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concept Examinations, our state tests. Some characteristics of Literary Essays include:
a thesis statement;
transition words, such as "for instance," "in addition," "in conclusion," and "according to the text;" and
introduction and conclusion paragraphs.
Examples:
Literary Essay Rubric - Ms. Becker uses this rubric to grade students' Literary Essays.
Literary Essays - CCSS - Students fulfill these Common Core State Standards by writing Literary Essays.