In this eight lesson, self paced course learners can prepare for writing a literary analysis essay on a timed assessment. We will be reading Ernest Hemingway's "A Day's Wait" which is a short fiction story that has popped up on many past state examinations due to its short length and notoriety.  With two New York state teacher certifications in English Language Arts and Special Education, I have taught English and Social Studies in the classroom and remotely for over ten years. While teaching in a public school, I was a member of test and grading committees for various state and district wide assessments. I consider myself an expert on ELA assessments, specifically those that require learners to write a literary analysis. I created an Interactive Literary Element Study Guide to assist learners with studying for ELA assessments or classroom writing assignments. 
 
After completing a text only literary analysis for "A Day's Wait", learners will read, annotate and analyze "The Old Man at the Bridge" by Ernest Hemingway in order to write a text only literary analysis and a historical literary analysis. This story is shorter in length, so learners will focus on identifying abstract literary elements such as symbolism. Learners can watch step by step lesson videos for writing about symbolism! 

Learners will be provided with an active reading PDF that includes a text analysis question from a state assessment, copies of the stories, and an interactive literary element study guide that breaks down the steps involved in writing a literary analysis essay.  Learners can complete the study guide along with the lesson videos. Literature can be interpreted in many different ways, so in the videos I make sure to provide lots of possible examples. I model live writing for learners, so they realize the process can take time. For learners that are taking a timed exam, they can gain an understanding of how long they should dedicate to a literary analysis writing assessment.