When Allison and I wrote Beyond Literary Analysis, we read thousands of pieces of writing in the quest to figure out what kind of analysis professional, published writer truly write outside academia. In other words, beyond what English teachers have culturally and historically deemed to be our analytical territory, what kind of analytical writing will our students actually do out in the world?

Our findings became my favorite page of my favorite book:

Can you guess which one still makes people nervous, though?

Did you guess “personal connection” analysis? You’re right.

Probably because of our own education and training, English teachers tend to be skittish when it comes to encouraging students to blend the personal with the analytical.

But isn’t that HOW we analyze? By running something through the filters of our own perception? Or own experience?

And when it comes to textual analysis, what could possibly be more…