Exploding Analysis Paragraph Checklist
Topic Sentence
❏ Compose a thesis statement
❏ Title, author, plot archetype + crucial literary device* + theme/argument**
Plot Background
❏ Put the passage into context (you are close reading and thinking critically by
paraphrasing, selecting words and phrases to quote, and making connections in the
passage)
Exploding Analysis
❏ How does the crucial literary device in your passage exploring the plot archetype
contribute to the protagonist’s characterization as he journeys to resolve his central
conflict?
❏ Why is the plot archetype important to creating the text’s meaning?
❏ What is the writer’s purpose in including the plot archetype?
❏ How does the plot archetype and its meaning connect to the author’s message about
the protagonist’s journey to maturity?
Notes:
Theme topic: mentor archetype
*Literary device: personification, metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, motif, repetition, etc.
**Theme/Argument: What is the author’s message about the role of the plot archetype in the
protagonist’s journey to maturity?
Topic Sentence
❏ Compose a thesis statement
❏ Title, author, plot archetype + crucial literary device* + theme/argument**
Plot Background
❏ Put the passage into context (you are close reading and thinking critically by
paraphrasing, selecting words and phrases to quote, and making connections in the
passage)
Exploding Analysis
❏ How does the crucial literary device in your passage exploring the plot archetype
contribute to the protagonist’s characterization as he journeys to resolve his central
conflict?
❏ Why is the plot archetype important to creating the text’s meaning?
❏ What is the writer’s purpose in including the plot archetype?
❏ How does the plot archetype and its meaning connect to the author’s message about
the protagonist’s journey to maturity?
Notes:
Theme topic: mentor archetype
*Literary device: personification, metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, motif, repetition, etc.
**Theme/Argument: What is the author’s message about the role of the plot archetype in the
protagonist’s journey to maturity?
