Writing Commentary
Completion requirements
Writing Commentary
Thesis? Check. Outline? Check. The next step is to develop your paragraphs by adding commentary. Commentary is a fancy way of saying "analysis" or "explanation". Your body paragraphs are the part of your essay where you "analyze" and comment on the
evidence you've chosen to defend your thesis. It is where your writer's voice, your own personality, comes into action; there is no "right" way to explain evidence. Commentary is one of the hardest things to learn, because there's no magic formula
and it makes up most of your essay. Your thought and understanding, the heaviest weighting on a CRT rubric, comes solely from your commentary.
Commentary is not plot summary. Many students misunderstand the real purpose of commentary and end up re-telling general details of the text. However, that is a book report and not a literary analysis. In order to understand why you do not need to retell the text to your reader, first consider who your audience is for your critical response to text.
Who is most likely going to read your essay? A doctor? A lawyer? Probably not. The people who will be reading your work are other writers, professors, teachers and students like you who have been assigned to write them. This means your reader is familiar with the text and doesn't need to be retold the plot. This doesn't mean you never address any plot, but your informed, academic reader only needs plot reminders, not a retelling of the entire story.
Think of it this way. Would you need to explain to David Beckham how to kick a soccer ball? Would you need to explain to Jimi Hendrix how to play a guitar? No. Beckham wouldn’t need for you to explain how to kick the ball because he is already an expert at that, but he might be interested in hearing how you compare and contrast his kicking techniques to Lionel Messi. And Jimi Hendrix would not have been interested in hearing you explain how to play the guitar because he’s an expert at that, but he might be interested in how you see his influence in music today.
You should assume your reader is an expert, so be sure not to summarize the plot; instead, focus on the analysis of the evidence (commentary) and tell your informed reader something he/she has not heard and does not know.
Here is an example of a paragraph that summarizes the plot using textual evidence:
In observing the format of the plot summary paragraph, we begin to see the flaw in the logic of how the paragraph comes to the conclusion that the plot summary shows the theme “ambition leads to corruption.” The flaw in the logic occurs
because the writer still has not explained the how? question: How does this plot summary show “ambition leads to corruption?” The writer has only addressed the what? question but not explained anything. The
whole entire point of literary analysis is to explain the evidence and to answer the how? question. So, if you write an entire essay without explanation, you have essentially written a “book report” and not a literary analysis
essay (key word is “analysis").
This page offers more detailed examples of plot summary versus commentary.
Commentary is not plot summary. Many students misunderstand the real purpose of commentary and end up re-telling general details of the text. However, that is a book report and not a literary analysis. In order to understand why you do not need to retell the text to your reader, first consider who your audience is for your critical response to text.
Who is most likely going to read your essay? A doctor? A lawyer? Probably not. The people who will be reading your work are other writers, professors, teachers and students like you who have been assigned to write them. This means your reader is familiar with the text and doesn't need to be retold the plot. This doesn't mean you never address any plot, but your informed, academic reader only needs plot reminders, not a retelling of the entire story.
Think of it this way. Would you need to explain to David Beckham how to kick a soccer ball? Would you need to explain to Jimi Hendrix how to play a guitar? No. Beckham wouldn’t need for you to explain how to kick the ball because he is already an expert at that, but he might be interested in hearing how you compare and contrast his kicking techniques to Lionel Messi. And Jimi Hendrix would not have been interested in hearing you explain how to play the guitar because he’s an expert at that, but he might be interested in how you see his influence in music today.
You should assume your reader is an expert, so be sure not to summarize the plot; instead, focus on the analysis of the evidence (commentary) and tell your informed reader something he/she has not heard and does not know.
Here is an example of a paragraph that summarizes the plot using textual evidence:
First this happened as shown in this quotation, "quotation." Then this
happened, as shown in this quotation, "quotation." Then this happened as
shown in this quotation, "quotation." Then this happened, too. Finally,
this happened. All of this shows how ambition leads to corruption.
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Commentary is...
- Explaining how textual evidence demonstrates the argument (the thesis statement)
- Discussing the importance of each quotation in proving the thesis
- Supporting your opinion, which is your thesis statement
- Elaborating on your thesis to make it more specific
Source: Dobbs, M. (2016, July 05). Teaching Students How to Write Commentary for the Literary Analysis Essay - Bespoke ELA: Essay Writing Tips + Lesson Plans. Retrieved June 07, 2020, from https://www.bespokeclassroom.com/blog/2016/7/4/teaching-students-how-to-write-commentary-for-the-literary-analysis-essay