This resource provides a way for students to develop ideas and content for an essay on August Wilson’s play, Fences.
This set of two worksheets offers a succinct and organized means for students to:
- Generate Character Analysis Ideas
- Gather Quotations to Support Character Analysis
- Generate Theme Ideas
- Generate Thoughts on Symbolism & Setting
- Connect Literary Elements to Theme
- Plan a Six-Paragraph Theme-Analysis Essay on Fences
With sections looking at character, theme, setting and symbolism, the first 2-page worksheet leads students through some specific methods of analysis that will naturally lead to content ideas for a literary analysis essay on the play. And there are tips provided for what to look for when analyzing character, theme, symbolism and setting.
The next 1-page worksheet helps students draft a thesis statement then plan and organize an essay with specific ideas for supporting points. (Templates, tips and advice are built into the worksheet.)
There is room for student choice here too. This is not a top-down, cookie cutter essay planner.
Maybe the best way to use this resource is as a template early in the school year/semester to walk students through the process of developing ideas for what to include in an essay on a literary text.
But if you find that your students at any point in the semester are struggling to generate ideas for what to write about in literary analysis essays, this sort of focused and directed worksheet can go a long way to bridge the gap between intention and execution.