What is the purpose of citing textual evidence in a literary analysis essay?

The purpose of citing textual evidence in a literary analysis essay is to ...

to support the argument made in the thesis statement.

It's always good to cite textual evidence, especially in a literary analysis essay because it supports the argument. To give a proper and valid argument you need evidence to back it up what you want to say. Otherwise, your argument can, possibly, not be taken seriously by readers.

- Marlon Nunez

It is important to write down some evidences in an essay to show credibility. That whatever you write including the facts are from validated sources. This gives the readers the idea to trust your write-up and make reference from it in the future if they need to. This gives you write up face validity and sound literary. It gives and objective vibe since this essay requires analysis that needs critical thinking, and that though there are emotions included, it is guarded with facts.