How Do You Write an Analytical Essay?

What Is an Analytical Essay?

An analytical essay is a type of essay writing where the main purpose of it is to analyze, evaluate, examine, and interpret such things as an event, poem, play, or other work of art. The analytical essay narrows down on concentrating on how a work or art is written or produced.

For example, how certain themes demonstrate themselves in a story, or how the use metaphors can give a meaning to the poem. To make it simpler, an analytical essay will require the writer to break down the work of art into sections, category, or smaller pieces to understand the entire work of art.

The Thesis Statement of an Essay

Almost all of types of the essay have a thesis statement. The thesis statement is the main point or the main focus of your essay that exactly tells the audience what the essay is going to be about. It usually has a 2-3 sentences.

In the case of an analysis essay, the thesis statement of it is centered and focused on providing an argument of the topic or subject. It is intended to analyze and interpret the argument that you have provided. Your thesis statement would now be the building blocks of your analytical essay.

Analytical Essay Outline

There are many ways on how you can outline your analytical essay, but whatever it is, your analytical essay should always have three main parts of essay: introduction, body, and conclusion.

  • The introduction. Your introduction should capture the interest of your readers. It should include:
    • An attention-grabber statement
    • A thesis statement
    • A supporting evidence to your thesis.
  • The body. This is the main part and this is where you do the analysis of your topic or subject. It should include:
    • The main topic (heading)
    • The subtopic (subheading)
    • The supporting details
  • The conclusion. This is where you summarize everything you have written in your analytical essay.

Tips for Writing an Analytical Essay

Here are some of the tips that might help you create effective essay analysis.

  • Your analytical essay should only focus on one topic or subject to avoid confusions and difficult transitions.
  • Your analytical essay should be argumentative and must have an arguable thesis statement that can be later on used to develop the body of the essay.
  • The Introduction, the body, and the essay conclusion must always be present in your analytical essay and it should be in proper order. Also, include a section of works cited if necessary.
  • The paragraphs of your analytical essay should be well-developed and must have a transition. This means that the topics of your essay should relate back to the thesis statement.
  • Do not use “lab talk” (Example, “In this paper, I will prove…”) It shows that everything you write is your opinion.
  • Do not make long summary writing or include unnecessary information. Always remember that you are writing an analysis and that it should focus more on the argument.
  • Always follow logical structure and organization in writing your analytical essay.
    Include quotes, lines passages or details to make claims about the whole work.
  • Avoid generalizations. (Example: “All men think…”)

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