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English · Grade 9

Analytical Paragraphs and Claims

Learners learn to write the basic unit of literary analysis: a paragraph that makes an arguable claim and proves it. Using Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour,” they separate claims from summary and opinion, assemble paragraphs from claim, evidence, commentary and a closing link, diagnose weak paragraphs and revise them. They then plan and write about stories they have never seen.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 135 minutes
  • Analytical paragraph check: 10 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs, put in order, sort into groups and arrange tiles
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What learners will discover

  • Distinguish an arguable analytical claim from a summary, a fact or a personal opinion.
  • Build an analytical paragraph with a claim, context, integrated evidence, layered commentary and a closing sentence that explains why the claim matters.
  • Diagnose and revise weak paragraphs: summary drift, quotation dumping, unsupported claims and missing commentary.
  • Plan and write an analytical paragraph about an unfamiliar story without step-by-step support.

Lessons

  1. What makes a claim analytical? 6 steps3 practiceabout 32 min
  2. Build the paragraph 6 steps4 practiceabout 38 min
  3. Diagnose and revise 5 steps3 practiceabout 30 min
  4. On your own: a story you have never seen 6 steps3 practiceabout 25 min
  5. Analytical paragraph check 10 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 9th grade reading

Guide for grown-ups