A plot analysis can sometimes be a bit misleading.  The choice seems simple enough: analyze the structure of events in the story.  But the task is much more complicated than just relating what happens when. 

The plot--or twists and turns--of the selected work serve primarily to unfold the conflict(s) presented by the story.  Remember as well that these conflicts may be external (rising from outside the character) or internal (coming from personal struggle and insight).  Without the actions and reactions, the piece would fall flat.  The traditional pattern of plot gives us the following path:

Exposition--The context of a work and an introduction into characters, conflicts, and situations;

Rising Action--The building and intensification of conflict(s);

Climax (or Crisis)--The fulcrum or point at which the story turns;

Falling Action--The "winding down" of action/conflict; and

Resolution (or denouement)--The closure of the story or the final "wrap-up" of the conflict(s).

While these each sound like neat packages of information, they seldom appear so definable in a work.  The exposition may go on for pages and be extended by the rising action toward a quick climax and then an extended falling action and resolution.  Or you may find varying combinations of these sections.  Perhaps several small conflicts, each produced by or impacting a different character, must reach resolution before the story is complete.

In order to analyze plot, we must consider how that structure conveys or opens up the other elements of the story.  How does the plot reveal these other aspects--theme, setting, characters, symbol,  and conflict?  In what way does the plot lead us to understanding the work and its purpose?

A plot analysis, then, becomes an involved examination of the work's composition--a close look at how and why events and decisions within the piece draw the story through to its end.  While there is much to consider in this kind of analysis, there is much to gain in understanding the work itself.

Begin by identifying those specific "parts" listed above--exposition, rising action, and so on.  Do some mini-analyses--short paragraphs that define your ideas on each part and where you connect those thoughts to the story.  What pattern do you see emerging? 

Write it!