What Is an Analytical Essay?
The typical definition of an analytical essay is a piece of writing, in which an author analyzes, critiques, and interprets a certain event, situation, or even a work of art. Analytical writing in general tends to dissect a topic into multiple components/ subtopics, to analyze these in detail, and then synthesize all this information to formulate conclusions or to extract main points (the essence).
The Major Differences Between Analytical Essay and Descriptive Essay
The difference between these essay types, and, for analysis essay sample, critical thinking essay, is quite clear because descriptive writing has the purpose to communicate what you would like to describe, the situation or a concept. The analytical essay writing has an objective to analyze by answering the classic "so what?" question. It speaks of the consequences of a certain situation.
The most important features of analytical writing include:
- It is not a summary! You must learn how to analyze because it is the main purpose since you do not have to summarize things.
- It must have a thesis statement, which must state an argument based on what you have read or seen.
- Every statement that you make must be backed up by research, which is why it is necessary to provide quotes and references to avoid any plagiarism risks.
- It must have a clear structure with the topic sentences where you connect the paragraphs.
Most importantly, you should not forget that descriptive writing should offer an explanation of an event while analytical writing must analyze this particular event.
How to Write an Analytical Essay Step-by-step
Every academic assignment can be difficult to implement. But that doesn’t mean it is impossible to do it at all. Applying a step-by-step approach, you can handle the toughest task. Pick up some helpful ideas in this simple guide to analytical essay writing. If after all you need help, ask our analysis cheap essay writer for it.
STEP 1: Preparing to write an essay
- It is necessary to find the core of your analytical essay. As a rule, such paper contains an in-depth analysis or represents a solid opinion. Usually, students have to analyze a literary work or movie, but you also can be asked to consider an issue or problem. To handle this, decide on the focus of your paper. Provide facts taken from either the book, movie or a result of your research to support your opinion.
- Decide what you will write about. If you prepare an essay for a lesson, the teacher usually gives a topic (or topics). Attentively read the task. Sometimes you have to choose your own topic. Then questions like “how to start an analytical essay” arise. If you aim to write an analytical essay on prose, you can justify your ideas based on the actions of a certain hero or a number of characters. You can also discuss why one or another stanza/part is the main motive. Looking for analytical essay example, pay attention to such presentation of topic: "Expand the concept of "retaliation" in the epic prose Beowulf." If you write about a historical event, try to pay attention to driving forces that have influenced the course of events. If you analyze scientific research/results, use the scientific method to analyze the conclusions and gather all final thoughts.
- Begin with the thesis approval. A thesis is a piece of text or a few pieces summarizing your assertions and intentions in a paper. The thesis should inform the reader what problems your analytical paper will touch upon. An instance of a thesis statement: Comparison of the concept of "retaliation" of Grendel's mythological character and the dragon's revenge showed an example that belief in fair punishment was an integral part of the early Middle Ages, and the dragon was the example of dignity and a part of the act of revenge.
- Find additional evidence. Revise the material you are working with. A book, film and scientific materials that supplement your statement can be used to maintain the thesis approval. List the secondary arguments, mark pages where they are posted and find out how they maintain your opinion. An analysis essays examples of an additional argument: To prove that the dragon's revenge was fairer than Grendel's. Pay attention to those excerpts of paper, which describe events that unfold before the monster’s attack, reactions of characters to these attacks.
- Write an analytical essay outline. By learning the outline rules, you will know how to structure your analytical essay and make it easier to write your essay. In most cases, an analytical essay will include an analysis essay introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your analytical essay should outline at least three main arguments that must be present in both thesis and body paragraphs. Remember to list all the main points in your analytical essay structure.
STEP 2: Composing an analytical essay
- Write an introduction. Its aim is providing those individuals, who will listen to or read it, with basic information about the issue. Be creative and do everything to make the intro exciting, but do not overdo it. Try not to sum up events, facts, and statements in the introduction part and bring your personal ideas. Instead, focus on initial points to stress on to attract the readers’ attention. Avoid dramatic introductions using question marks and exclamation at the very beginning – these are better to apply further.
- Write the paragraphs of the main part. According to the general structure, each paragraph consists of 1) the main sentence, 2) a text analysis, and 3) a fact from the text, which confirms the analysis of the paper and a thesis statement. It contains information on the content of a paragraph. You analyze the text when you think over the main issues and draw your opinion on the problem stated. Don’t forget that every statement should support a thesis. In general, using the first person in analytical writing should be avoided by all means. Exceptions might include cases in which you are explicitly asked to provide your personal opinion/view.
- It’s necessary to choose “right place” in your text to insert quotes and paraphrase thoughts. Citation means that a certain passage of the text is quoted and inserted into an essay. A quote is indispensable when you want to apprehend an essence of the paper and support your argument or simply take other people's ideas for your own. Of course, no. It goes without saying, that analytical essay writing service is better for such aim. Make sure you use the correct quote form depending on the style you are required to follow: MLA, APA or Chicago citation maker. Paraphrasing is a summary of the analytical essay. As a rule, summing up is used when you select the basic information making the argument persuasive.
- Make your own conclusions. Writing an analytical essay conclusion, you should remind the reader of proves which were given in the process of argumentation. You can also rephrase the thesis, but you shouldn’t repeat word-for-word introduction, make this piece another. Some teachers want you to formulate a link between events in conclusion. This means that you need to submit "integrated solutions". You have to show how the fact and proofs you’ve presented are related to the main idea of your paper, and how your opinion can affect the reader's assessment.
STEP 3: The final stage
- Check your essay for grammatical and spelling mistakes. As a rule, an analytical essay that has got many mistakes gets worse marks than the one that hasn’t. Check spelling and grammar, search for complex sentences of the rhetorical plan in the text, check punctuation marks, and also don't forget to use an essay plagiarism checker to make sure your paper contains no plagiarism.
- Read a whole paper aloud. Reading aloud helps to identify those places in an essay, attention to which wasn’t paid before. You will also be able to find complicated independent suggestions and assertions that have been overlooked. You may understand that some quotes freely supplement and illustrate your point of view. It's time to combine them and create a balanced fundament for your text. Think about relevant examples or, if the analytical essay format and theme allow, search for statistics, analyze them. Step by step, complement your essay until you understand that the material is sufficient and understandable. Now you can write the introductory part and draw conclusions.
- Make sure the character names, place and location names are spelled correctly. Return to work or article and check whether you wrote everything correctly. Some mistakes become visible only if you do several rounds of re-reading and correcting an essay. If you are analyzing a movie, find a list of characters and credible review online. Use two or three sources to make sure that you have all written appropriately.
Analytical Essay Topic Ideas
It is not easy to find a good analytical essay topic because it must not be too broad. Yet, it should not be narrowed down too much posing no importance. The secret trick is to choose something inspiring where you can reflect your thoughts and back up certain arguments that you make. Do your best to base your topic on a thesis statement. Brainstorm your topic for an analytical essay idea by looking below:
- What are the physical reasons for gambling?
- How can young adults avoid procrastination?
- What is the biochemical background when a person gets angry?
- How can people fight their phobias?
- Should children start with electronic books instead of those in print?
- Why do people have hot flashes during exams?
- What is the difference between Walloons and Flemish people?
- What is the K-Pop Phenomenon?
- How to choose a correct college internship?
- Do military academies have a better instruction quality?
- Is there any link between fashion and modern identity?
- How did Covid-19 isolation help us to reconsider our values?
- What are the causes of teen violence?
- Should rural medical practices be forbidden?
- Why is the social impact of the First Amendment so influential?
Tips for Writing Analytical Essay
- Ask yourself, "What am I trying to prove?"
An answer to this question should be placed in your thesis statement. If this is not the case, return to the beginning and change the thesis.
- Do not expatiate
The thoughtless thought implies erroneous conclusions. If you want to write a conscious analytical essay, but without giving clear arguments, you reduce its impact on the reader. Unlike a descriptive essay, one should not use unnecessary suggestions to make the paper seem longer in size and complicated. It is best to write briefly but in essence. Each sentence should interpret specific thoughts and analyze a particular idea you want to explain.
- Do not overload the text with rash quoting
Remember that you need to borrow ideas from other authors to support your arguments, but you do not have to write off and copy everything some writer states. Otherwise, your teacher will think that you did not come to anything in the end with your poetry or character analysis essay. It's best to use metaphors and repetitions in the beginning but you can also attract them to finalize the work. The introduction and conclusions should not be detailed and deep.
- “Zest” your text
It is necessary that from among thousands of essays the teacher remembered yours. If the format allows, an interesting design can become your “zest” - submit the text in the form of a dialogue, a letter, a diary, an autobiography, a play etc. Think of an unexpected or provocative headline, "loud" epigraphs, use illustrations and infographics. Suggest non-standard ideas, which can give every reader food for thought.
- Avoid everyday language
If you write an analytical or critical analysis, avoid everyday language. An informal language can diversify your work, but using verbal slang, you risk losing the power of your arguments.
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FAQ
- How do you start an analytical essay?
The safest solution for a successful introduction in your analytical essay is to pose a bold statement, provide an interesting idea, or pose a rhetorical question that will inspire your audience.
- What makes a good analysis?
It is a mixture of your own voice and statistical data that is analyzed without bias by providing both sides of the issue if it is relevant.
- How long should an analysis essay be?
The most typical analytical essay is around 500 words (introduction, three body paragraphs, and conclusion). However, your analysis essay may differ based on your subject and original instructions.
- How to be analytical in writing?
It should have the following pattern: introduction - argument - data (statistics) - your analysis. By doing so, you will always support your arguments with a piece of evidence while keeping things clear. The trick is to follow the same structure by keeping your readers focused.
