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How To Avoid Using “We,” “You,” And “I” in an Essay

• Posted on October 27, 2022 October 27, 2022

Maintaining a formal voice while writing academic essays and papers is essential to sound objective. 

One of the main rules of academic or formal writing is to avoid first-person pronouns like “we,” “you,” and “I.” These words pull focus away from the topic and shift it to the speaker – the opposite of your goal.

While it may seem difficult at first, some tricks can help you avoid personal language and keep a professional tone.

Let’s learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

What Is a Personal Pronoun?

Pronouns are words used to refer to a noun indirectly. Examples include “he,” “his,” “her,” and “hers.” Any time you refer to a noun – whether a person, object, or animal – without using its name, you use a pronoun.

Personal pronouns are a type of pronoun. A personal pronoun is a pronoun you use whenever you directly refer to the subject of the sentence. 

Take the following short paragraph as an example:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. Mr. Smith also said that Mr. Smith lost Mr. Smith’s laptop in the lunchroom.”

The above sentence contains no pronouns at all. There are three places where you would insert a pronoun, but only two where you would put a personal pronoun. See the revised sentence below:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. He also said that he lost his laptop in the lunchroom.”

“He” is a personal pronoun because we are talking directly about Mr. Smith. “His” is not a personal pronoun (it’s a possessive pronoun) because we are not speaking directly about Mr. Smith. Rather, we are talking about Mr. Smith’s laptop.

If later on you talk about Mr. Smith’s laptop, you may say:

“Mr. Smith found it in his car, not the lunchroom!” 

In this case, “it” is a personal pronoun because in this point of view we are making a reference to the laptop directly and not as something owned by Mr. Smith.

Why Avoid Personal Pronouns in Essay Writing

We’re teaching you how to avoid using “I” in writing, but why is this necessary? Academic writing aims to focus on a clear topic, sound objective, and paint the writer as a source of authority. Word choice can significantly impact your success in achieving these goals.

Writing that uses personal pronouns can unintentionally shift the reader’s focus onto the writer, pulling their focus away from the topic at hand.

Personal pronouns may also make your work seem less objective. 

One of the most challenging parts of essay writing is learning which words to avoid and how to avoid them. Fortunately, following a few simple tricks, you can master the English Language and write like a pro in no time.

Alternatives To Using Personal Pronouns

How to not use “I” in a paper? What are the alternatives? There are many ways to avoid the use of personal pronouns in academic writing. By shifting your word choice and sentence structure, you can keep the overall meaning of your sentences while re-shaping your tone.

Utilize Passive Voice

In conventional writing, students are taught to avoid the passive voice as much as possible, but it can be an excellent way to avoid first-person pronouns in academic writing.

You can use the passive voice to avoid using pronouns. Take this sentence, for example:

“ We used 150 ml of HCl for the experiment.”

Instead of using “we” and the active voice, you can use a passive voice without a pronoun. The sentence above becomes:

“150 ml of HCl were used for the experiment.” 

Using the passive voice removes your team from the experiment and makes your work sound more objective.

Take a Third-Person Perspective

Another answer to “how to avoid using ‘we’ in an essay?” is the use of a third-person perspective. Changing the perspective is a good way to take first-person pronouns out of a sentence. A third-person point of view will not use any first-person pronouns because the information is not given from the speaker’s perspective.

A third-person sentence is spoken entirely about the subject where the speaker is outside of the sentence.

Take a look at the sentence below:

“In this article you will learn about formal writing.”

The perspective in that sentence is second person, and it uses the personal pronoun “you.” You can change this sentence to sound more objective by using third-person pronouns:

“In this article the reader will learn about formal writing.”

The use of a third-person point of view makes the second sentence sound more academic and confident. Second-person pronouns, like those used in the first sentence, sound less formal and objective.

Be Specific With Word Choice

You can avoid first-personal pronouns by choosing your words carefully. Often, you may find that you are inserting unnecessary nouns into your work. 

Take the following sentence as an example:

“ My research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

In this case, the first-person pronoun ‘my’ can be entirely cut out from the sentence. It then becomes:

“Research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

The second sentence is more succinct and sounds more authoritative without changing the sentence structure.

You should also make sure to watch out for the improper use of adverbs and nouns. Being careful with your word choice regarding nouns, adverbs, verbs, and adjectives can help mitigate your use of personal pronouns. 

“They bravely started the French revolution in 1789.” 

While this sentence might be fine in a story about the revolution, an essay or academic piece should only focus on the facts. The world ‘bravely’ is a good indicator that you are inserting unnecessary personal pronouns into your work.

We can revise this sentence into:

“The French revolution started in 1789.” 

Avoid adverbs (adjectives that describe verbs), and you will find that you avoid personal pronouns by default.

Closing Thoughts

In academic writing, It is crucial to sound objective and focus on the topic. Using personal pronouns pulls the focus away from the subject and makes writing sound subjective.

Hopefully, this article has helped you learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

When working on any formal writing assignment, avoid personal pronouns and informal language as much as possible.

While getting the hang of academic writing, you will likely make some mistakes, so revising is vital. Always double-check for personal pronouns, plagiarism , spelling mistakes, and correctly cited pieces. 

 You can prevent and correct mistakes using a plagiarism checker at any time, completely for free.

Quetext is a platform that helps you with all those tasks. Check out all resources that are available to you today.

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Is It Okay to Use "We" In a Research Paper? Here's What You Need to Know

Explore "we" in research papers: guidelines, alternatives, and considerations for effective academic writing.

Jun 25, 2024

When embarking on the journey of academic writing, particularly in research papers, one of the first questions that often arises is about pronoun usage. Specifically, many writers grapple with the question: Is it okay to use "we" in a research paper?

This seemingly simple grammatical choice carries significant weight in academic circles. Using pronouns, especially first-person pronouns like "we," can influence the tone, clarity, and perceived objectivity of your work. It's a topic that has sparked debates among scholars, with opinions evolving and varying across different disciplines.

The importance of pronoun usage in academic writing cannot be overstated, especially in contexts like thesis and scientific writing. It affects how your research is perceived, how you position yourself as an author, and how you engage with your readers using the first person or third person.

The choice between using "we," maintaining a more impersonal tone, or opting for alternatives can impact the overall effectiveness of your communication.

In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of using "we" in research papers, examining both traditional and modern perspectives. We'll delve into the pros and cons, provide guidelines for appropriate usage, and offer alternatives to help you confidently navigate writing academic papers.

Traditional Stance on Using "We" in Research Papers

 historical preference for third-person perspective.

Academic writing traditionally favored a third-person perspective, especially in scientific fields. This preference emerged in the late 19th century as part of a push for objectivity in scientific communication. The goal was to present research as unbiased facts and observations.

Key aspects:

• Emphasis on passive voice versus active voice when choosing to use the first person or third person in writing a research paper.
• The use of impersonal constructions and passive voice can help avoid personal pronouns.
• Third-person references to authors

Reasons for avoiding first-person pronouns

Arguments against using "we" in research papers:

• Perceived lack of objectivity
• Ambiguity in meaning
• Concerns about formality
• Shift of focus from research to researchers
• Adherence to established conventions
• Avoid presumption in single-authored papers when you decide to use first-person pronouns or not. when you decide to use first-person pronouns or not.

This approach shaped academic writing for decades and still influences some disciplines, especially in the context of writing a research paper. However, attitudes toward pronoun usage have begun to change in recent years.

Changing Perspectives in Academic Writing

Shift towards more personal and engaging academic prose.

Recent years have seen a move towards more accessible academic writing. This shift aims to:

• Increase readability
• Engage readers more effectively by incorporating second-person narrative techniques.
• Acknowledge the researcher's role in the work
• Promote transparency in research processes

Key changes:

• More direct language
• Increased use of active voice can make your academic papers more engaging.
• Greater acceptance of narrative elements

Acceptance of first-person pronouns in some disciplines

Some fields now allow or encourage the use of "we" and other first-person pronouns. This varies by:

• Discipline: More common in humanities and social sciences
• Journal: Some publications explicitly permit or prefer first-person usage
• Type of paper: Often more accepted in qualitative research or opinion pieces

Reasons for acceptance:

• Clarity in describing methods and decisions
• Ownership of ideas and findings is crucial when writing a research paper.
• Improved reader engagement in scientific writing
• Recognition of researcher subjectivity in some fields

However, acceptance is not universal. Many disciplines and publications still prefer traditional, impersonal styles.

When It's Appropriate to Use "We" in Research Papers

Collaborative research with multiple authors

• Natural fit for papers with multiple contributors
• Accurately reflects joint effort and shared responsibility
• Examples: "We conducted experiments..." or "We conclude that..."

Describing methodology or procedures

• Clarifies who performed specific actions, helping to avoid personal pronouns that might otherwise confuse the audience.
• Adds transparency to the research process, particularly when first-person pronouns are used effectively.
• Example: "We collected data using..."

Presenting arguments or hypotheses

• Demonstrates ownership of ideas
• Can make complex concepts more accessible in a research report.
• Example: "We argue that..." or "We hypothesize..."

Discipline-specific conventions

• Usage varies widely between fields
• More common in Social sciences, Humanities, and Some STEM fields (e.g., computer science)
• Less common in Hard sciences, Medical research
• Always check journal guidelines and field norms, particularly regarding the use of the first person or third person.

Key point: Use "we" judiciously, balancing clarity and convention.

When to Avoid Using "We" in Research Papers

Single-authored papers

• Can seem odd or presumptuous
• Alternatives: Use "I" if appropriate, Use passive voice, and Refer to yourself as " the researcher " or "the author"

Presenting factual information or literature reviews

• Facts stand independently of the author
• Keep the focus on the information, not the presenter, when writing a research paper.
• Examples: "Previous studies have shown..." instead of "We know from previous studies..."  "The data indicate..." instead of "We see in the data..."

When trying to maintain an objective tone

• Some topics in research reports require a more detached approach.
• Avoid "we" when: Reporting widely accepted facts, Describing established theories, Presenting controversial findings
• Use impersonal constructions:  "It was observed that...", "The results suggest..."

Please remember: Always prioritize clarity and follow your field's conventions.

Alternatives to Using "We"

Passive voice.

• Shifts focus to the action or result
• Examples: "The experiment was conducted..." (instead of "We experimented...")  "It was observed that..." (instead of "We observed that...")
• Use personal pronouns sparingly to avoid overly complex sentences.

Third-person perspective

• Refers to the research or study itself
• Examples: "This study examines..." (instead of "We examine...") "The results indicate..." (instead of "We found...")
• Can create a more objective tone

 Using "the researcher(s)" or "the author(s)"

• Useful for single- authored papers
• Maintains formality while acknowledging human involvement
• Examples: "The researchers collected data..." (instead of "We collected data...")  "The author argues..." (instead of "We argue...")
• Can become repetitive if overused in writing research papers.

Tips for using alternatives:

• Vary sentence structure to maintain reader interest
• Ensure clarity is not sacrificed for formality
• Choose the most appropriate alternative based on context
• Consider journal guidelines and field conventions when writing a research paper.

Remember: The goal is clear, effective communication of your research, whether you use first person or third person.

Tips for Effective Academic Writing

Consistency in pronoun usage.

• Choose a style and stick to it throughout
• Avoid mixing "we" with impersonal constructions
• Exceptions:  Different sections may require different approaches, Clearly mark any intentional shifts in perspective

Balancing formality with clarity and engagement

• Prioritize clear communication
• Use simple, direct language where possible when writing research papers, and try to use the term that best fits the context.
• Engage readers without sacrificing academic rigor
• Techniques:  Use active voice judiciously, Vary sentence structure, Incorporate relevant examples or analogies

Seeking feedback from peers or mentors

• Share drafts with colleagues in your field to improve your research report.
• Ask for specific feedback on writing style
• Consider perspectives from Senior researchers , Peers at similar career stages, Potential target audience members, and how they prefer the use of the first person or third person in research.
• Be open to constructive criticism

Additional tips:

• Read widely in your field to understand style norms when writing research papers.
• Practice different writing styles to find your voice
• Revise and edit multiple times
• Use style guides relevant to your discipline
• Consider the reader's perspective while writing

Remember: Effective academic writing communicates complex ideas while meeting field-specific expectations.

Recap of key points

• The use of "we" in research papers is evolving
• Appropriateness depends on Discipline, Journal guidelines, Research type, Personal preference
• Alternatives include passive voice and third-person perspective, while the increased use of passive voice can sometimes create ambiguity.
• Consider audience, field norms, and clarity when choosing a style
• Consistency and balance in the use of first person or third person are crucial.

Encouragement to make informed choices in academic writing

• Understand the context of your work
• Stay informed about current trends in your field
• Prioritize clear communication of your research
• Be confident in your choices, but remain flexible
• Remember: No universal rule fits all situations, Effective writing adapts to its purpose and audience
• Continually refine your writing skills, including the appropriate use of personal pronouns in APA format.

Final thoughts:

• Writing style impacts how your research is received
• Make deliberate choices to enhance your paper's impact by using appropriate personal pronouns.
• Balance tradition with evolving norms in academic writing
• Your unique voice can contribute to advancing your field, particularly in writing a research paper.

Ultimately, choose a style that best serves your research and readers while adhering to relevant guidelines of scientific writing and thesis format. It may also be acceptable to use first-person pronouns where appropriate.

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Writing with artificial intelligence, using first person in an academic essay: when is it okay.

• CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 by Jenna Pack Sheffield

Related Concepts: Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community ; First-Person Point of View ; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetorical Stance ; The First Person ; Voice

In order to determine whether or not you can speak or write from the first-person point of view, you need to engage in rhetorical analysis. You need to question whether your audience values and accepts the first person as a legitimate rhetorical stance. Source:Many times, high school students are told not to use first person (“I,” “we,” “my,” “us,” and so forth) in their essays. As a college student, you should realize that this is a rule that can and should be broken—at the right time, of course.

By now, you’ve probably written a personal essay, memoir, or narrative that used first person. After all, how could you write a personal essay about yourself, for instance, without using the dreaded “I” word?

However, academic essays differ from personal essays; they are typically researched and use a formal tone . Because of these differences, when students write an academic essay, they quickly shy away from first person because of what they have been told in high school or because they believe that first person feels too informal for an intellectual, researched text. While first person can definitely be overused in academic essays (which is likely why your teachers tell you not to use it), there are moments in a paper when it is not only appropriate, but also more effective and/or persuasive to use first person. The following are a few instances in which it is appropriate to use first person in an academic essay:

• Including a personal anecdote: You have more than likely been told that you need a strong “hook” to draw your readers in during an introduction. Sometimes, the best hook is a personal anecdote, or a short amusing story about yourself. In this situation, it would seem unnatural not to use first-person pronouns such as “I” and “myself.” Your readers will appreciate the personal touch and will want to keep reading! (For more information about incorporating personal anecdotes into your writing, see “ Employing Narrative in an Essay .”)
• Establishing your credibility ( ethos ): Ethos is a term stemming back to Ancient Greece that essentially means “character” in the sense of trustworthiness or credibility. A writer can establish her ethos by convincing the reader that she is trustworthy source. Oftentimes, the best way to do that is to get personal—tell the reader a little bit about yourself. (For more information about ethos, see “ Ethos .”)For instance, let’s say you are writing an essay arguing that dance is a sport. Using the occasional personal pronoun to let your audience know that you, in fact, are a classically trained dancer—and have the muscles and scars to prove it—goes a long way in establishing your credibility and proving your argument. And this use of first person will not distract or annoy your readers because it is purposeful.
• Clarifying passive constructions : Often, when writers try to avoid using first person in essays, they end up creating confusing, passive sentences . For instance, let’s say I am writing an essay about different word processing technologies, and I want to make the point that I am using Microsoft Word to write this essay. If I tried to avoid first-person pronouns, my sentence might read: “Right now, this essay is being written in Microsoft Word.” While this sentence is not wrong, it is what we call passive—the subject of the sentence is being acted upon because there is no one performing the action. To most people, this sentence sounds better: “Right now, I am writing this essay in Microsoft Word.” Do you see the difference? In this case, using first person makes your writing clearer.
• Stating your position in relation to others: Sometimes, especially in an argumentative essay, it is necessary to state your opinion on the topic . Readers want to know where you stand, and it is sometimes helpful to assert yourself by putting your own opinions into the essay. You can imagine the passive sentences (see above) that might occur if you try to state your argument without using the word “I.” The key here is to use first person sparingly. Use personal pronouns enough to get your point across clearly without inundating your readers with this language.

Now, the above list is certainly not exhaustive. The best thing to do is to use your good judgment, and you can always check with your instructor if you are unsure of his or her perspective on the issue. Ultimately, if you feel that using first person has a purpose or will have a strategic effect on your audience, then it is probably fine to use first-person pronouns. Just be sure not to overuse this language, at the risk of sounding narcissistic, self-centered, or unaware of others’ opinions on a topic.

Recommended Readings:

• A Synthesis of Professor Perspectives on Using First and Third Person in Academic Writing
• Finding the Bunny: How to Make a Personal Connection to Your Writing
• First-Person Point of View

Brevity – Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence – How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow – How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity – Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style – The DNA of Powerful Writing

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How to decide whether I should use “we” in an essay? [duplicate]

The answers to this question promote a view that the personal pronoun we is acceptable in an academic paper. But I did not see an answer there, or more generally on this site, that discourages the use of we. This question is different to the one mentioned above because it queries whether the word we should be used at all, not just to ask whether I or we is more appropriate.

The economics department at my university (UCT) discourages the use of personal pronouns in an essay – I was marked down in my essay for my use of the word we. At the end of my essay, I wrote

In conclusion, we note that the European sovereign debt crisis created uncertainty in the global financial market, and South Africa was one of many countries that dealt with this.

I decided to use we in my essay because I had grown accustomed to seeing it in mathematics textbooks, so I assumed that it was formal enough. But the economics department says that it is not formal enough.

Even though it seems acceptable to use we in some circles, it seems that it is a point of debate. What guidelines should I be using in order to make my decision about whether to use we or not?* Should I continue to use we as I see fit, except for economics essays? Or, should I apply this rule to all my academic essays (I also study public policy & administration)?

It would ostensibly be silly to have different writing styles emanating from the same person. The problem has not been brought up before, and I have used the word in a number of sociology essays in first year, and one public policy & administration essay in second year. In those essays, I used the word in the following ways.

In this section, we discuss motivations for why provincial government should be restructured.

Applying this model to provincial government, we can graph a U-shaped function of long-run average cost.

Approaching the question from the side of the teacher, we find that inequality can be caused via culturally insensitive teaching methods.

As a final clarification, I do prefer to use the word.

* Edit: Although it was not initially made clear, I have not been provided with style guides. However, I doubt that I would ask this question if I were provided with style guides. Saying that I should "follow the style guide" makes perfect sense, but doesn't really help me in my situation. I asked this question on academia.SE so that I could ask others to brainstorm ideas about how I could make the decision without a style guide (e.g. how were those rules formed in the first place?).

• writing-style

• 6 "It would ostensibly be silly to have different writing styles emanating from the same person." - why? You adapt your writing style according to the community you write for, the kind of document (general announcement, grant application, paper on finished results, ...), and the format of the publication (formal document, newsfeed announcement, press release, ...), anyway, do you not? –  O. R. Mapper Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 12:09
• " discourages the use of personal pronouns in an essay " I'm confused: did you mean the first person plural personal pronoun or any personal pronoun? If you can't use a personal pronoun, which pronoun would you use instead? Are you expected not to write any sentences that use the active voice? –  Dan Romik Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 19:45
• Please provide a couple of example sentences from your essay that have "we" in them. –  aparente001 Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 3:48
• @aparente001 I found that I actually only used the word once in my economics essay. It is now quoted in the question. –  ahorn Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 10:53
• @DanRomik they do not have a style guide, so I am just saying what I remember being told. I don't think they were that specific, but I think they don't want me to use any personal pronouns at all. That means that I should use words such as one and the author instead of personal pronouns as a way to make the tone more abstract. –  ahorn Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 11:00

4 Answers 4

As already noted, there is usually little you can do against a styleguide, unless it’s blantantly against every convention. Be prepared to encounter styleguides with much weirder rules, in which, e.g., the punctuation at the end of this sentence is “correct.”

That being said, you can impose some guidelines. I am aware of the following occasions on which we (or I) can be used in an academic paper:

To describe experiments or simulations you performed, e.g.:

We transmogrified 500 apples and determined their contrafibularity.

To refer to the results and other work from the same paper:

In comparison to Smith’s transmogrificator, our method has the advantage that […]

In derivations (most common in mathematics):

Combining equations 23 and 42, we obtain: […]

To summarize the paper in an abstract or introduction:

We here present a new method to transmogrify bananas.

In this review, we summarise recent advances in the transmogrification of fruit.

In phrases such as:

We note that […]

In the acknowledgements :

We thank Jane Doe for constructive comments.

Now, if you are writing an economics essay, you are probably not performing experiments or deriving new theories, which excludes reasons 1–3. In fact, most review papers use we only for reasons 4–6. Moreover, you likely do not have a summary in the style needed for reason 4. Using we only due to reason 5 would be so rare that it can be considered inconsistent style, in particular since it can usually be avoided easily.

Thus, I expect that the reason for which you were marked down was that you used we in a way that is not considered appropriate in academic writing at all, or because you used it only due to reason 5 only.

If you want a general guideline (if none is obviously imposed): If you describe experiments, derivations and similar of your own, use we. In the abstract or introduction of a review paper or something similar, you can use we. If you are doing neither, avoid using we except in the acknowledgements.

• 2 I think economics papers can easily have (social scientific) experiments, and there are plenty of theories and derivations (economics can be very mathematical). So I think all the points apply. –  ahorn Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 18:28
• @ahorn: Sure, but does this apply to essays too? –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 18:45
• True. There is less likely to be primary research in an undergraduate essay. –  ahorn Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 11:03

You're doing a postgraduate degree, so you should have been taught / be about to be taught the basics of academic writing.

Here is one of the basic rules.

• Follow the style guide.

You've been told what the style guide for your coursework says about personal pronouns: it says don't use them. Follow it. Don't use personal pronouns in your coursework.

When you write for something with a different style guide, follow that style guide instead.

Different style guides have different rules. That's what makes them different.

No, it is not ostensibly silly to have different writing styles from the same person, assuming that person can comprehend and follow Rule 1, above.

• Thanks for the advice. I have requested the style guide from the department, although I don't think they have one yet. I am an undergraduate. –  ahorn Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 18:31

Styles differ by (sub-(sub-))discipline, so if you work in different disciplines you'll do a lot better if you adapt your style to that discipline. Its unfortunate, but I don't think there is a real solution to that.

As can be seen in the comments, it is also discipline specific whether you should use "we" or "I" if you are the only author, and opinions are quite strong on that. So here the same rule applies: you will be most successful in communicating what you want to communicate if you just follow the conventions of the discipline you are aiming at.

• 10 However, I think it is a real mistake to use the word "we" if there is only a single author. — The I/we distinction is also field-dependent. This is an issue of culture, not logic. The standard fiction in mathematics is that "we" means the author(s) and the readers , who after all are not merely letting the symbols wash over their eyes, but are actively working through the results with the paper as a guide. –  JeffE Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 21:16
• @JeffE I see what you mean, and edited the answer. In my discipline, this is interpreted as the author trying to delegate part of her or his responsibility to the reader. It is the task of the author, and only the author, to make her or his case. –  Maarten Buis Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 8:05

style guide avoid personal pronoun -gender

(could someone edit that to center it or at least move the margin over a little bit, please?)

and found plenty of people recommending avoidance of I and we . Apparently, whoever graded your essay is one of those people.

Here's your we sentence again (thanks very much for posting it):

I'm a big believer in "rules are made to be broken," but in this case, even without your department's stuffy rule, I don't see a need to include the "we note that". I could sort of see it in an outline of the content of your article -- as a tour guide might describe the different places your article goes.

Look how much stronger a statement this is:

In conclusion, the European sovereign debt crisis created uncertainty in the global financial market, and South Africa was one of many countries that dealt with this.

By the way, there are a few other things you could do to increase the impact of your final sentence. By its location, it is already clear that it is the conclusion. So let's give "In conclusion" the axe.

"Dealt with this" is such a vague expression -- perhaps you could be more specific here about how South Africa dealt with the crisis? If your article doesn't get into that, but only shows how South Africa was affected by the crisis, then perhaps you could put in something about the particular way, or the particular degree to which, the country in your magnifying glass, South Africa, was affected.

What a shame, that you've got nasty people in your department penalizing you (in a vague, non-written form, yet) instead of giving you friendly edits.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged writing-style coursework .

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5 Steps to Write a Great Analytical Essay

General Education

Do you need to write an analytical essay for school? What sets this kind of essay apart from other types, and what must you include when you write your own analytical essay? In this guide, we break down the process of writing an analytical essay by explaining the key factors your essay needs to have, providing you with an outline to help you structure your essay, and analyzing a complete analytical essay example so you can see what a finished essay looks like.

What Is an Analytical Essay?

Before you begin writing an analytical essay, you must know what this type of essay is and what it includes. Analytical essays analyze something, often (but not always) a piece of writing or a film.

An analytical essay is more than just a synopsis of the issue though; in this type of essay you need to go beyond surface-level analysis and look at what the key arguments/points of this issue are and why. If you’re writing an analytical essay about a piece of writing, you’ll look into how the text was written and why the author chose to write it that way. Instead of summarizing, an analytical essay typically takes a narrower focus and looks at areas such as major themes in the work, how the author constructed and supported their argument, how the essay used literary devices to enhance its messages, etc.

While you certainly want people to agree with what you’ve written, unlike with persuasive and argumentative essays, your main purpose when writing an analytical essay isn’t to try to convert readers to your side of the issue. Therefore, you won’t be using strong persuasive language like you would in those essay types. Rather, your goal is to have enough analysis and examples that the strength of your argument is clear to readers.

Besides typical essay components like an introduction and conclusion, a good analytical essay will include:

• A thesis that states your main argument
• Analysis that relates back to your thesis and supports it
• Examples to support your analysis and allow a more in-depth look at the issue

In the rest of this article, we’ll explain how to include each of these in your analytical essay.

How to Structure Your Analytical Essay

Analytical essays are structured similarly to many other essays you’ve written, with an introduction (including a thesis), several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Below is an outline you can follow when structuring your essay, and in the next section we go into more detail on how to write an analytical essay.

Introduction

Your introduction will begin with some sort of attention-grabbing sentence to get your audience interested, then you’ll give a few sentences setting up the topic so that readers have some context, and you’ll end with your thesis statement. Your introduction will include:

• Brief background information explaining the issue/text
• Your thesis

Body Paragraphs

Your analytical essay will typically have three or four body paragraphs, each covering a different point of analysis. Begin each body paragraph with a sentence that sets up the main point you’ll be discussing. Then you’ll give some analysis on that point, backing it up with evidence to support your claim. Continue analyzing and giving evidence for your analysis until you’re out of strong points for the topic. At the end of each body paragraph, you may choose to have a transition sentence that sets up what the next paragraph will be about, but this isn’t required. Body paragraphs will include:

• Introductory sentence explaining what you’ll cover in the paragraph (sort of like a mini-thesis)
• Analysis point
• Evidence (either passages from the text or data/facts) that supports the analysis
• (Repeat analysis and evidence until you run out of examples)

You won’t be making any new points in your conclusion; at this point you’re just reiterating key points you’ve already made and wrapping things up. Begin by rephrasing your thesis and summarizing the main points you made in the essay. Someone who reads just your conclusion should be able to come away with a basic idea of what your essay was about and how it was structured. After this, you may choose to make some final concluding thoughts, potentially by connecting your essay topic to larger issues to show why it’s important. A conclusion will include:

• Paraphrase of thesis
• Summary of key points of analysis
• Final concluding thought(s)

5 Steps for Writing an Analytical Essay

Follow these five tips to break down writing an analytical essay into manageable steps. By the end, you’ll have a fully-crafted analytical essay with both in-depth analysis and enough evidence to support your argument. All of these steps use the completed analytical essay in the next section as an example.

#1: Pick a Topic

You may have already had a topic assigned to you, and if that’s the case, you can skip this step. However, if you haven’t, or if the topic you’ve been assigned is broad enough that you still need to narrow it down, then you’ll need to decide on a topic for yourself. Choosing the right topic can mean the difference between an analytical essay that’s easy to research (and gets you a good grade) and one that takes hours just to find a few decent points to analyze

Before you decide on an analytical essay topic, do a bit of research to make sure you have enough examples to support your analysis. If you choose a topic that’s too narrow, you’ll struggle to find enough to write about.

For example, say your teacher assigns you to write an analytical essay about the theme in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath of exposing injustices against migrants. For it to be an analytical essay, you can’t just recount the injustices characters in the book faced; that’s only a summary and doesn’t include analysis. You need to choose a topic that allows you to analyze the theme. One of the best ways to explore a theme is to analyze how the author made his/her argument. One example here is that Steinbeck used literary devices in the intercalary chapters (short chapters that didn’t relate to the plot or contain the main characters of the book) to show what life was like for migrants as a whole during the Dust Bowl.

You could write about how Steinbeck used literary devices throughout the whole book, but, in the essay below, I chose to just focus on the intercalary chapters since they gave me enough examples. Having a narrower focus will nearly always result in a tighter and more convincing essay (and can make compiling examples less overwhelming).

#2: Write a Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement is the most important sentence of your essay; a reader should be able to read just your thesis and understand what the entire essay is about and what you’ll be analyzing. When you begin writing, remember that each sentence in your analytical essay should relate back to your thesis

In the analytical essay example below, the thesis is the final sentence of the first paragraph (the traditional spot for it). The thesis is: “In The Grapes of Wrath’s intercalary chapters, John Steinbeck employs a variety of literary devices and stylistic choices to better expose the injustices committed against migrants in the 1930s.” So what will this essay analyze? How Steinbeck used literary devices in the intercalary chapters to show how rough migrants could have it. Crystal clear.

#3: Do Research to Find Your Main Points

This is where you determine the bulk of your analysis--the information that makes your essay an analytical essay. My preferred method is to list every idea that I can think of, then research each of those and use the three or four strongest ones for your essay. Weaker points may be those that don’t relate back to the thesis, that you don’t have much analysis to discuss, or that you can’t find good examples for. A good rule of thumb is to have one body paragraph per main point

This essay has four main points, each of which analyzes a different literary device Steinbeck uses to better illustrate how difficult life was for migrants during the Dust Bowl. The four literary devices and their impact on the book are:

• Lack of individual names in intercalary chapters to illustrate the scope of the problem
• Parallels to the Bible to induce sympathy for the migrants
• Non-showy, often grammatically-incorrect language so the migrants are more realistic and relatable to readers
• Nature-related metaphors to affect the mood of the writing and reflect the plight of the migrants

#4: Find Excerpts or Evidence to Support Your Analysis

Now that you have your main points, you need to back them up. If you’re writing a paper about a text or film, use passages/clips from it as your main source of evidence. If you’re writing about something else, your evidence can come from a variety of sources, such as surveys, experiments, quotes from knowledgeable sources etc. Any evidence that would work for a regular research paper works here.

In this example, I quoted multiple passages from The Grapes of Wrath  in each paragraph to support my argument. You should be able to back up every claim you make with evidence in order to have a strong essay.

#5: Put It All Together

Now it's time to begin writing your essay, if you haven’t already. Create an introductory paragraph that ends with the thesis, make a body paragraph for each of your main points, including both analysis and evidence to back up your claims, and wrap it all up with a conclusion that recaps your thesis and main points and potentially explains the big picture importance of the topic.

Analytical Essay Example + Analysis

So that you can see for yourself what a completed analytical essay looks like, here’s an essay I wrote back in my high school days. It’s followed by analysis of how I structured my essay, what its strengths are, and how it could be improved.

One way Steinbeck illustrates the connections all migrant people possessed and the struggles they faced is by refraining from using specific titles and names in his intercalary chapters. While The Grapes of Wrath focuses on the Joad family, the intercalary chapters show that all migrants share the same struggles and triumphs as the Joads. No individual names are used in these chapters; instead the people are referred to as part of a group. Steinbeck writes, “Frantic men pounded on the doors of the doctors; and the doctors were busy.  And sad men left word at country stores for the coroner to send a car,” (555). By using generic terms, Steinbeck shows how the migrants are all linked because they have gone through the same experiences. The grievances committed against one family were committed against thousands of other families; the abuse extends far beyond what the Joads experienced. The Grapes of Wrath frequently refers to the importance of coming together; how, when people connect with others their power and influence multiplies immensely. Throughout the novel, the goal of the migrants, the key to their triumph, has been to unite. While their plans are repeatedly frustrated by the government and police, Steinbeck’s intercalary chapters provide a way for the migrants to relate to one another because they have encountered the same experiences. Hundreds of thousands of migrants fled to the promised land of California, but Steinbeck was aware that numbers alone were impersonal and lacked the passion he desired to spread. Steinbeck created the intercalary chapters to show the massive numbers of people suffering, and he created the Joad family to evoke compassion from readers.  Because readers come to sympathize with the Joads, they become more sensitive to the struggles of migrants in general. However, John Steinbeck frequently made clear that the Joads were not an isolated incident; they were not unique. Their struggles and triumphs were part of something greater. Refraining from specific names in his intercalary chapters allows Steinbeck to show the vastness of the atrocities committed against migrants.

Steinbeck also creates significant parallels to the Bible in his intercalary chapters in order to enhance his writing and characters. By using simple sentences and stylized writing, Steinbeck evokes Biblical passages. The migrants despair, “No work till spring. No work,” (556).  Short, direct sentences help to better convey the desperateness of the migrants’ situation. Throughout his novel, John Steinbeck makes connections to the Bible through his characters and storyline. Jim Casy’s allusions to Christ and the cycle of drought and flooding are clear biblical references.  By choosing to relate The Grapes of Wrath to the Bible, Steinbeck’s characters become greater than themselves. Starving migrants become more than destitute vagrants; they are now the chosen people escaping to the promised land. When a forgotten man dies alone and unnoticed, it becomes a tragedy. Steinbeck writes, “If [the migrants] were shot at, they did not run, but splashed sullenly away; and if they were hit, they sank tiredly in the mud,” (556). Injustices committed against the migrants become greater because they are seen as children of God through Steinbeck’s choice of language. Referencing the Bible strengthens Steinbeck’s novel and purpose: to create understanding for the dispossessed.  It is easy for people to feel disdain for shabby vagabonds, but connecting them to such a fundamental aspect of Christianity induces sympathy from readers who might have otherwise disregarded the migrants as so many other people did.

The simple, uneducated dialogue Steinbeck employs also helps to create a more honest and meaningful representation of the migrants, and it makes the migrants more relatable to readers. Steinbeck chooses to accurately represent the language of the migrants in order to more clearly illustrate their lives and make them seem more like real paper than just characters in a book. The migrants lament, “They ain’t gonna be no kinda work for three months,” (555). There are multiple grammatical errors in that single sentence, but it vividly conveys the despair the migrants felt better than a technically perfect sentence would. The Grapes of Wrath is intended to show the severe difficulties facing the migrants so Steinbeck employs a clear, pragmatic style of writing.  Steinbeck shows the harsh, truthful realities of the migrants’ lives and he would be hypocritical if he chose to give the migrants a more refined voice and not portray them with all their shortcomings. The depiction of the migrants as imperfect through their language also makes them easier to relate to. Steinbeck’s primary audience was the middle class, the less affluent of society. Repeatedly in The Grapes of Wrath , the wealthy make it obvious that they scorn the plight of the migrants. The wealthy, not bad luck or natural disasters, were the prominent cause of the suffering of migrant families such as the Joads. Thus, Steinbeck turns to the less prosperous for support in his novel. When referring to the superior living conditions barnyard animals have, the migrants remark, “Them’s horses-we’re men,” (556).  The perfect simplicity of this quote expresses the absurdness of the migrants’ situation better than any flowery expression could.

In The Grapes of Wrath , John Steinbeck uses metaphors, particularly about nature, in order to illustrate the mood and the overall plight of migrants. Throughout most of the book, the land is described as dusty, barren, and dead. Towards the end, however; floods come and the landscape begins to change. At the end of chapter twenty-nine, Steinbeck describes a hill after the floods saying, “Tiny points of grass came through the earth, and in a few days the hills were pale green with the beginning year,” (556). This description offers a stark contrast from the earlier passages which were filled with despair and destruction. Steinbeck’s tone from the beginning of the chapter changes drastically. Early in the chapter, Steinbeck had used heavy imagery in order to convey the destruction caused by the rain, “The streams and the little rivers edged up to the bank sides and worked at willows and tree roots, bent the willows deep in the current, cut out the roots of cottonwoods and brought down the trees,” (553). However, at the end of the chapter the rain has caused new life to grow in California. The new grass becomes a metaphor representing hope. When the migrants are at a loss over how they will survive the winter, the grass offers reassurance. The story of the migrants in the intercalary chapters parallels that of the Joads. At the end of the novel, the family is breaking apart and has been forced to flee their home. However, both the book and final intercalary chapter end on a hopeful note after so much suffering has occurred. The grass metaphor strengthens Steinbeck’s message because it offers a tangible example of hope. Through his language Steinbeck’s themes become apparent at the end of the novel. Steinbeck affirms that persistence, even when problems appear insurmountable, leads to success. These metaphors help to strengthen Steinbeck’s themes in The Grapes of Wrath because they provide a more memorable way to recall important messages.

John Steinbeck’s language choices help to intensify his writing in his intercalary chapters and allow him to more clearly show how difficult life for migrants could be. Refraining from using specific names and terms allows Steinbeck to show that many thousands of migrants suffered through the same wrongs. Imitating the style of the Bible strengthens Steinbeck’s characters and connects them to the Bible, perhaps the most famous book in history. When Steinbeck writes in the imperfect dialogue of the migrants, he creates a more accurate portrayal and makes the migrants easier to relate to for a less affluent audience. Metaphors, particularly relating to nature, strengthen the themes in The Grapes of Wrath by enhancing the mood Steinbeck wants readers to feel at different points in the book. Overall, the intercalary chapters that Steinbeck includes improve his novel by making it more memorable and reinforcing the themes Steinbeck embraces throughout the novel. Exemplary stylistic devices further persuade readers of John Steinbeck’s personal beliefs. Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath to bring to light cruelties against migrants, and by using literary devices effectively, he continuously reminds readers of his purpose. Steinbeck’s impressive language choices in his intercalary chapters advance the entire novel and help to create a classic work of literature that people still are able to relate to today. 

This essay sticks pretty closely to the standard analytical essay outline. It starts with an introduction, where I chose to use a quote to start off the essay. (This became my favorite way to start essays in high school because, if I wasn’t sure what to say, I could outsource the work and find a quote that related to what I’d be writing about.) The quote in this essay doesn’t relate to the themes I’m discussing quite as much as it could, but it’s still a slightly different way to start an essay and can intrigue readers. I then give a bit of background on The Grapes of Wrath and its themes before ending the intro paragraph with my thesis: that Steinbeck used literary devices in intercalary chapters to show how rough migrants had it.

Each of my four body paragraphs is formatted in roughly the same way: an intro sentence that explains what I’ll be discussing, analysis of that main point, and at least two quotes from the book as evidence.

My conclusion restates my thesis, summarizes each of four points I discussed in my body paragraphs, and ends the essay by briefly discussing how Steinbeck’s writing helped introduce a world of readers to the injustices migrants experienced during the dust bowl.

What does this analytical essay example do well? For starters, it contains everything that a strong analytical essay should, and it makes that easy to find. The thesis clearly lays out what the essay will be about, the first sentence of each of the body paragraph introduces the topic it’ll cover, and the conclusion neatly recaps all the main points. Within each of the body paragraphs, there’s analysis along with multiple excerpts from the book in order to add legitimacy to my points.

Additionally, the essay does a good job of taking an in-depth look at the issue introduced in the thesis. Four ways Steinbeck used literary devices are discussed, and for each of the examples are given and analysis is provided so readers can understand why Steinbeck included those devices and how they helped shaped how readers viewed migrants and their plight.

Where could this essay be improved? I believe the weakest body paragraph is the third one, the one that discusses how Steinbeck used plain, grammatically incorrect language to both accurately depict the migrants and make them more relatable to readers. The paragraph tries to touch on both of those reasons and ends up being somewhat unfocused as a result. It would have been better for it to focus on just one of those reasons (likely how it made the migrants more relatable) in order to be clearer and more effective. It’s a good example of how adding more ideas to an essay often doesn’t make it better if they don’t work with the rest of what you’re writing. This essay also could explain the excerpts that are included more and how they relate to the points being made. Sometimes they’re just dropped in the essay with the expectation that the readers will make the connection between the example and the analysis. This is perhaps especially true in the second body paragraph, the one that discusses similarities to Biblical passages. Additional analysis of the quotes would have strengthened it.

Summary: How to Write an Analytical Essay

What is an analytical essay? A critical analytical essay analyzes a topic, often a text or film. The analysis paper uses evidence to support the argument, such as excerpts from the piece of writing. All analytical papers include a thesis, analysis of the topic, and evidence to support that analysis.

When developing an analytical essay outline and writing your essay, follow these five steps:

Reading analytical essay examples can also give you a better sense of how to structure your essay and what to include in it.

What's Next?

Learning about different writing styles in school? There are four main writing styles, and it's important to understand each of them. Learn about them in our guide to writing styles , complete with examples.

Writing a research paper for school but not sure what to write about? Our guide to research paper topics has over 100 topics in ten categories so you can be sure to find the perfect topic for you.

Literary devices can both be used to enhance your writing and communication. Check out this list of 31 literary devices to learn more !

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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The Power of Analysis: Tips and Tricks for Writing Analysis Essays: Home

Crystal sosa.

Helpful Links

• Super Search Webpage Where to start your research.
• Scribbr Textual analysis guide.
• Analyzing Texts Prezi Presentation A prezi presentation on analyzing texts.
• Writing Essays Guide A guide to writing essays/
• Why is it important?
• Explanation & Example
• Different Types of Analysis Essays

Text analysis and writing analysis texts are important skills to develop as they allow individuals to critically engage with written material, understand underlying themes and arguments, and communicate their own ideas in a clear and effective manner. These skills are essential in academic and professional settings, as well as in everyday life, as they enable individuals to evaluate information and make informed decisions.

What is Text Analysis?

Text analysis is the process of examining and interpreting a written or spoken text to understand its meaning, structure, and context. It involves breaking down the text into its constituent parts, such as words, phrases, and sentences, and analyzing how they work together to convey a particular message or idea.

Text analysis can be used to explore a wide range of textual material, including literature, poetry, speeches, and news articles, and it is often employed in academic research, literary criticism, and media analysis. By analyzing texts, we can gain deeper insights into their meanings, uncover hidden messages and themes, and better understand the social and cultural contexts in which they were produced.

What is an Analysis Essay?

An analysis essay is a type of essay that requires the writer to analyze and interpret a particular text or topic. The goal of an analysis essay is to break down the text or topic into smaller parts and examine each part carefully. This allows the writer to make connections between different parts of the text or topic and develop a more comprehensive understanding of it.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses the first-person point of view and vivid descriptions of the protagonist’s surroundings to convey the protagonist’s psychological deterioration. By limiting the reader’s understanding of the story’s events to the protagonist’s perspective, Gilman creates a sense of claustrophobia and paranoia, mirroring the protagonist’s own feelings. Additionally, the use of sensory language, such as the “smooch of rain,” and descriptions of the “yellow wallpaper” and its “sprawling flamboyant patterns,” further emphasize the protagonist’s sensory and emotional experience. Through these techniques, Gilman effectively communicates the protagonist’s descent into madness and the effects of societal oppression on women’s mental health.

There are several different types of analysis essays, including:

Literary Analysis Essays: These essays examine a work of literature and analyze various literary devices such as character development, plot, theme, and symbolism.

Rhetorical Analysis Essays: These essays examine how authors use language and rhetoric to persuade their audience, focusing on the author's tone, word choice, and use of rhetorical devices.

Film Analysis Essays: These essays analyze a film's themes, characters, and visual elements, such as cinematography and sound.

Visual Analysis Essays: These essays analyze visual art, such as paintings or sculptures, and explore how the artwork's elements work together to create meaning.

Historical Analysis Essays: These essays analyze historical events or documents and examine their causes, effects, and implications.

Comparative Analysis Essays: These essays compare and contrast two or more works, focusing on similarities and differences between them.

Process Analysis Essays: These essays explain how to do something or how something works, providing a step-by-step analysis of a process.

Analyzing Texts

• General Tips
• How to Analyze
• What to Analyze

When writing an essay, it's essential to analyze your topic thoroughly. Here are some suggestions for analyzing your topic:

Read carefully: Start by reading your text or prompt carefully. Make sure you understand the key points and what the text or prompt is asking you to do.

Analyze the text or topic thoroughly: Analyze the text or topic thoroughly by breaking it down into smaller parts and examining each part carefully. This will help you make connections between different parts of the text or topic and develop a more comprehensive understanding of it.

Identify key concepts: Identify the key concepts, themes, and ideas in the text or prompt. This will help you focus your analysis.

Take notes: Take notes on important details and concepts as you read. This will help you remember what you've read and organize your thoughts.

Consider different perspectives: Consider different perspectives and interpretations of the text or prompt. This can help you create a more well-rounded analysis.

Use evidence: Use evidence from the text or outside sources to support your analysis. This can help you make your argument stronger and more convincing.

Formulate your thesis statement: Based on your analysis of the essay, formulate your thesis statement. This should be a clear and concise statement that summarizes your main argument.

Use clear and concise language: Use clear and concise language to communicate your ideas effectively. Avoid using overly complicated language that may confuse your reader.

Revise and edit: Revise and edit your essay carefully to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors.

• Understanding the assignment: Make sure you fully understand the assignment and the purpose of the analysis. This will help you focus your analysis and ensure that you are meeting the requirements of the assignment.

Read the essay multiple times: Reading the essay multiple times will help you to identify the author's main argument, key points, and supporting evidence.

Take notes: As you read the essay, take notes on key points, quotes, and examples. This will help you to organize your thoughts and identify patterns in the author's argument.

Take breaks: It's important to take breaks while reading academic essays to avoid burnout. Take a break every 20-30 minutes and do something completely different, like going for a walk or listening to music. This can help you to stay refreshed and engaged.

Highlight or underline key points: As you read, highlight or underline key points, arguments, and evidence that stand out to you. This will help you to remember and analyze important information later.

Ask questions: Ask yourself questions as you read to help you engage critically with the text. What is the author's argument? What evidence do they use to support their claims? What are the strengths and weaknesses of their argument?

Engage in active reading: Instead of passively reading, engage in active reading by asking questions, making connections to other readings or personal experiences, and reflecting on what you've read.

Find a discussion partner: Find someone to discuss the essay with, whether it's a classmate, a friend, or a teacher. Discussing the essay can help you to process and analyze the information more deeply, and can also help you to stay engaged.

• Identify the author's purpose and audience: Consider why the author wrote the essay and who their intended audience is. This will help you to better understand the author's perspective and the purpose of their argument.

Analyze the structure of the essay: Consider how the essay is structured and how this supports the author's argument. Look for patterns in the organization of ideas and the use of transitions.

Evaluate the author's use of evidence: Evaluate the author's use of evidence and how it supports their argument. Consider whether the evidence is credible, relevant, and sufficient to support the author's claims.

Consider the author's tone and style: Consider the author's tone and style and how it contributes to their argument. Look for patterns in the use of language, imagery, and rhetorical devices.

Consider the context : Consider the context in which the essay was written, such as the author's background, the time period, and any societal or cultural factors that may have influenced their perspective.

Evaluate the evidence: Evaluate the evidence presented in the essay and consider whether it is sufficient to support the author's argument. Look for any biases or assumptions that may be present in the evidence.

Consider alternative viewpoints: Consider alternative viewpoints and arguments that may challenge the author's perspective. This can help you to engage critically with the text and develop a more well-rounded understanding of the topic.

• Last Updated: Jun 21, 2023 1:01 PM
• URL: https://odessa.libguides.com/analysis

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Can I use "our" and "we" in a formal essay? [closed]

I am writing a formal essay, based on the following prompt

Differing points of view make life interesting.

I am finding it hard to avoid using "our" and "we" in the essay. For example, in the following context:

Humans have a wide range of interests and hobbies; we read different books, play different sports, engage in different conversations, and ultimately posses different convictions.

Diversity is the catalyst for invention and innovation; it is absolutely necessary, and a vital part of the world we live in.

How can I avoid this in my essay? Or, is it fine to leave it that way?

Is it incorrect to use "we" and/or "our" in a formal essay?

• personal-pronouns

• 5 Yes, "we" is fine here. (Unless perhaps you personally are not a human; then you can say "they".) –  GEdgar Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 14:16

2 Answers 2

It depends on how formal you wish to take the essay

could become

Humans have a wide range of interests and hobbies, such as reading different books, participation in sports, engagement in different conversations, and ultimately posses different convictions.

• '... reading taste in books, ...' Is making me wonder what reading tastes like and where can I experience this in books! –  David Barker Commented Feb 19, 2015 at 7:42

You can include yourself or stand to the side.

Humans have a wide range of interests and hobbies; they read different books, play different sports, engage in different conversations, and ultimately posses different convictions.

Diversity is the catalyst for invention and innovation; it is absolutely necessary, and a vital part of the world humans [or they , if there is a prior reference] live in.

Correctness is dependent on the attitude of your audience.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged personal-pronouns or ask your own question .

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How to Write an Analysis Essay: The Ultimate Study Guide

Have an analytical essay to write? We get it. We’ve been there. Fortunately, we are here for you, with some insights into writing a successful analytical paper. Keep reading this article.

Analytical Essay Definition

How to write an analytical essay: step by step, analysis essay outline, analytical essay topic.

An analytical essay is a writing assignment. Your goal here is to introduce and discuss a claim as well as to deliver a detailed review of a given topic.

You can write analysis essays on topics from different fields. These include such topics as politics, economics, art, philosophy, music, literature, etc. Analytical assignments are a substantial part of any academic work. That is why university and college students often have to compose such papers. An outstanding analytical essay intends to explain and contextualize any topic—both the author and the reader benefit from it. In order to get a clearer picture of what this type of work should look like, check out some examples in our free essays collection.

Types of Analytical Essay

There are different types of analytical essays. It is important to find out what kind of essay you will write to use the correct structure.

📌 Cause and effect analytical essay. Also known as reason and result essay, this type of work discusses the purpose of something, which then enables us to analyze it while studying its effect on other things. 📌 Comparison and contrast analysis. This essay type examines two subjects to highlight their subtle similarities or differences through contrasting, comparison, or both processes at once. 📌 Classification. This type provides classification of things with common similarities into groups or categories to better learn their nature and carry out the analysis. 📌 Process essay. Such works talk about the way of doing something in order to give some sort of guidance or directions to readers. 📌 Definition. These essays comprise research to define an idea, concept, or term and provide evidence to support it. They also contain explanation through examples.

We use all these types of analytical essays while writing different kinds of analyses. The most common variants of analysis are literary analysis, painting analysis, and analysis of speech.

Find their detailed descriptions down below!

What is a Literary Analysis

While writing a literary analysis essay, you don’t always have to study a work of literature in its entirety. Sometimes you need to describe only a particular character or one aspect of the work. When studying various literary work elements, you are likely to understand the whole piece better. This process makes literary analysis one of the most exciting types of papers.

There are two main ways of composing the work – from the style perspective and from the literature piece elements perspective.

If you want to concentrate on the style , you can consider following criteria:

• Structure and organization
• Point of view
• Word choice
• Figurative language

In case of choosing to look into the elements of the work, you need to describe these aspects:

It is also possible to analyze all these elements considering different analytical essays: cause and effect, comparison and contrast, classification, process, and definition papers.

It would be a mistake to think that an analysis of literary work is just a summary of a piece of writing. On the contrary, it is rather a debate about the work that conveys a writer’s interpretation of the work.

How to Write Painting Analysis

Analyzing a painting is never easy. If you aren’t sure where to start, remember that you don’t need to be a painter or an expert in the field. Start your writing by answering some of these questions:

🤔 When was the painting made? 🤔 How big/small is it? 🤔 What kind of painting is it? It could be a portrait, a landscape, or still life. 🤔 How does the artist use colors and shapes? 🤔 What is your idea of the mood of the picture? 🤔 Is there a story behind the image? 🤔 Do you know who the artist is? 🤔 Did the artist use any symbols in the painting? 🤔 How would you describe the brushwork? Is the paint thick or thin?

Some more tips on how to analyze a work of art :

• “Description of a painting” does not mean “analysis of a painting,” so do not dive into too much detail. Going beyond stating the obvious, a student can demonstrate a more profound understanding of the piece of art.
• Try to avoid such judgmental expressions as “I like this” or “I don’t like this.” Remember to support your opinion with evidence or justification.
• Talk about several visual elements. Make sure you discuss different visual aspects of the artwork. Do not limit your analysis to talking only about colors or patterns. Try to show the painting from different perspectives.

Speech Analysis: Overview

While writing a speech analysis, you need to answer two questions. The first question you need to discuss here is WHAT the speaker says. Analyze their speech according to the standard procedure of text analysis, conversation analysis, and dialogue analysis.

The second important question is HOW the speaker expresses the ideas. Sometimes you need to analyze it to read between the lines and get the speaker’s view better. Important messages in speeches are often sent through appearance and behavior.

When analyzing a speech, try to consider the following questions :

🔎 Who is giving a speech? 🔎 What does the speaker look like? 🔎 How are they dressed? 🔎 What is the speaker’s behavior? 🔎 Does the speaker use gestures? 🔎 What is their voice like?

Some more tips on how to analyze a speech:

• A good piece of advice is to analyze the speaker and the audience they are talking to. You can describe their background and education, the atmosphere of the meeting, the general mood of the audience.
• It is also possible to talk about the meeting itself. Maybe it is a conference or a TV show, a workshop or a big plenary. All these details are crucial because they influence the speaker directly.

Writing an analytical essay can be tricky. You need to consider many aspects if you want your work to sound competent. We’ve prepared a list of 5 key steps that will help you create the best analytical essay possible.

5 Key Steps to a Perfect Analytical Essay

1. pick a good topic.

Before talking about any topic, it is helpful to study it from the ground up. When you become a real expert on the subject, you realize that analysis is relatively simple.

Check websites of trustworthy institutions to see if they have works on similar issues, or just google published papers on related topics. They can help you structure your work better.

They can also give you inspiration about the ideas you might discuss in your work.

2. Produce an analytical thesis statement

A thesis statement is the foundation of your work. It can be expressed in one sentence and supported by the most important arguments.

A working thesis statement gives the readers a general idea of the structure of your paper. It also provides them with the central point of your work and the main arguments supporting the idea. Aside from that, it declares a position about the subject that needs discussing and proving.

Here is an example of a good thesis statement:

“Worldwide nature preserving measures should concentrate on saving endangered species. It would allow many rare kinds of animals to live and breed in a safe environment.”

3. Do your research

Before writing an essay, it is vital to study the topic thoroughly. Do not skip this step, as it is essential to demonstrate that you have learned the topic and are ready to present your results, supported by arguments. So, get ready! Read relevant studies, do experiments, collect statistics – everything counts!

4. Set a realistic goal

When choosing a goal for your research, stay realistic. Try to make your goal as precise as possible. In this case, it will be easy for you to achieve your aim and to demonstrate your results at their best. It is also easier to find arguments for and against your thesis statement if your goal is precise and narrow.

5. Create an analysis essay outline

Any written assignment needs thorough planning, and analytical essays need it too. Before you write, make a well-structured outline of your work, including every paragraph’s essential points.

An analysis essay consists of an introduction, several main body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Let’s investigate this part in more detail.

There are many ways to structure an analytical assignment. Which format is best depending on the type of essay and the main goals of the writing task? We have prepared three different kinds of outlines for you.

The first type of structure is perfect when you need to state the central position in the text and defend it. Concentrate on the position you take, but don’t forget to mention alternative perspectives as well. In this type of work, you do not need to explain why the alternative ways are wrong. Show the readers that they exist.

The second type is good for when you not only want to defend your position. You also aim to explain why the other perspectives are wrong. In this case, you need to think carefully about arguments for your position. You will also need arguments against the different opinions.

And the third type is a perfect fit if you aim to demonstrate a wide range of several issues.For each of them, you have the central position and defending arguments. This type of essay tends to be the longest, as it covers several issues. It also includes alternative positions on all the problems. The thing is – there is no need to prove the alternative ideas wrong. You should only defend your main statement.

Analytical Essay Introduction: Examples

The purpose of the introduction of your essay is to make the readers focus. To keep the attention, you need to include a hook in the introduction . The hook can look like a rhetorical or provocative question, a quotation, or a bold statement.

A good intro also mentions the issue you will talk about. Besides, it states the position you are taking and background information on the topic. It is usually situated at the end of the introductory paragraph.

Some examples of good introductions:

✅ “The symbolism in JD Salinger’s Franny and Zooey” keeps the feeling of melancholia and uncertainty throughout the entire novel.” ✅ “Although there are many reasons for the 2nd World War, it is nationalism that formed hatred and provoked the War’s start.” ✅ “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal.” Animal Farm is full of ironic and provocative phrases, which invite the reader to continue exploring the story. ✅ In Animal Farm, the author uses irony types to show totalitarianism and to manifest its inability to make every member of society equal.

Analysis Essay Body: Paragraph Format + Examples

The main body is a part of an essay with the aim to show readers the main idea development. Here, you need to add some evidence to support your thesis. Usually, there are three paragraphs. It depends on how broad the thesis statement is. Writers typically look for the evidence in different resources. It can be in the form of a summary, a quotation, or a paraphrase.

Here is an example of how to start a body paragraph:

“In the article, the author describes a particular scenario of doing house chores with her husband. She is paving the way for the following discussion of…”

Remember to include topic sentences in each paragraph! The main idea of the paragraph should be there. It also should be connected to your work’s central position. It is crucially important to support every claim in the thesis statement with proof. Try to include arguments supported by research and strong evidence. That is the reason to have a narrow thesis statement. The broader your thesis is – the more paragraphs the main body will contain.

For example:

“At first look, the plot of the story seems direct. It tells a story of… The central question of the story is looking for meaning in life. For instance: “Never have I had such a strong fish nor one who acted so strangely. Perhaps he is too wise to jump…”. This passage shows the readers the simple structure of …”

❓ How to Write an Analysis Essay?

To write an analysis essay, you need to study your topic thoroughly and conduct a research. After that, it is a good idea to think about the structure of your essay. Decide on the position, that you are going to defend. Besides, think about the opposite arguments and the evidence for the support of your central point.

❓ How to Write an Analytical Thesis?

The Thesis Statement is the root of your assignment. It needs to be further discussed and supported by evidence while writing. Before writing the main body and discussing quotes, make sure that your statement is clear and debatable. Do not forget to make your thesis statement persuasive. In this case, the audience will see your perspective and believe what you are saying.

❓ What Are the Characteristics of an Effective Introduction?

The goal of the introduction of your essay is to keep the readers’ focus. To bring this attention to your topic, you need to start with a hook. The hook can be in the form of a rhetorical or provocative question, a quotation, or a bold statement. A good introduction also includes the question you will discuss. Apart from that, it states the position you are taking and background information on the topic. It is usually placed at the end of the introductory paragraph.

❓ Can I Use a Quote in My Conclusion?

It is better to use a quotation in the introduction or the essay body. But if the quote can logically finish your analysis, then use it! Just make sure that your quotation does not include any new ideas or information. The reason is that the aim of the conclusion is to restate your thesis statement and your topic.

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 How to Write a Perfect Analytical Paragraph

8-minute read

• 30th January 2023

If you are looking up how to write an analytical paragraph, you are most likely writing an argumentative or analytical essay. Analytical essays are similar to other essays, such as descriptive essays, in that you have a central idea, organize supporting ideas into body paragraphs, and make conclusions.

However, analytical essays differ from other essays because the writer must go further. They require the writer to interpret and analyze a given text or information using evidence to support their central idea or thesis statement. This analysis takes place in analytical paragraphs, or body paragraphs, if you are writing an analytical essay .

In this article, you’ll learn the components of a perfect analytical paragraph: the topic sentence, evidence, analysis, and conclusion. Keep reading to learn more.

What Is an Analytical Paragraph?

An analytical paragraph is a paragraph that breaks down a piece of literature, an idea, or a concept into smaller parts and analyzes each part to understand the whole. Being able to write an effective and successful analytical paragraph reflects a writer’s critical thinking and organizational writing skills. All in all, like any other type of writing, writing an analytical paragraph requires skill and practice.

Write the Topic Sentence

A topic sentence is usually the first, or sometimes second, sentence at the beginning of anybody paragraph. Your topic sentence should contain one main idea related to the thesis statement . If it is not related to your thesis statement, then you are likely off topic.

Pro Tip: If your topic sentence is the second sentence of your paragraph, then your first sentence should be a transitional sentence .

Let’s look at a thesis statement and some topic sentences to get a better idea.

Topic: Examine and analyze the marriages in George Eliot’s Middlemarch .

Thesis Statement: Eliot uses three different marriages to give depth to everyday people and show the reader the struggles of marriage within the nineteenth century’s societal standards of submissive roles, class range, and financial status.

Topic Sentence 1: Lydgate and Rosamond had a terrible marriage in Middlemarch , like all other marriages during this time.

This topic sentence is not effective because it is not specific enough and does not directly relate to the thesis statement. It does not mention how their “terrible” marriage is related to submissive roles, class range, or financial status. Additionally, the overly generalized language of “all” marriages being terrible marriages during this time is a weak argument.

Topic Sentence 2: Financial matters play a huge role in the Lydgate and Rosamond marriage, as Lydgate has no money and Rosamond is a big spender.

This topic sentence is effective because it directly supports the thesis statement. It is focused on the financial status of this marriage.

Provide Evidence

The type of evidence you use to support your topic sentence will largely depend on the topic of your analytical essay. For example, if you are writing an essay related to a work of literature, you will need to provide direct quotes, paraphrasing, specific details, or a summary from the work to support your main idea. If your topic is related to analyzing data, then you may use figures, statistics, or charts and graph evidence to support your topic sentence.

Regardless of what type of evidence you provide, it must be appropriate and directly relate to and support your topic sentence.

For example, if we take the above thesis and topic sentence, we might select direct quotes, paraphrases, or summaries from the novel Middlemarch that depict the marriage’s financial stress.

Pro Tip: When using direct quotes, make sure you always provide an in-text citation and use correct punctuation to ensure your essay is neat and clean.

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Once you have provided evidence, you should analyze it to illustrate its significance and how it relates to the topic sentence. In your analysis, you can discuss how an author uses certain literary devices to emphasize character traits, themes, patterns, and connections in a literary work.

Be sure that your analysis always connects to the topic sentence/main idea of the paragraph. Avoid introducing new ideas in this section. Save those for later paragraphs or consider creating a new one to explore and analyze the new point.

Conclude Your Paragraph

When closing an analytical paragraph, you can consider doing two things:

●  Briefly emphasize the main point your reader should take away after having read the paragraph.

●  Begin a transition if the analysis continues into the next paragraph. (This strategy may be more suitable for longer, more in-depth analytical essays).

Using the above example topic sentence, we might conclude the paragraph as follows:

Notice how this concluding statement not only emphasizes the main points from the paragraph but also ties back into the thesis statement.

Writing Tips For Analytical Paragraphs

Leave out first person language.

Avoid using language such as “in my opinion,” “from my perspective,” or “I think.” While the analysis is your interpretation of a text or information, you should rely on and focus on using evidence to support your ideas. Overall, you should aim to maintain an objective tone .

Instead of saying “I think Rosamond is manipulative,” you should use evidence from the text to show that she was manipulative. For example, “Rosamond shows a pattern of manipulation throughout Middlemarch , specifically toward her husband. For instance, she says, ‘…’”

Do Writing Exercises

When writing, especially in the early drafts of an essay, it is typical to find the main idea of a paragraph at the end. This is a natural course for our thinking process. However, the main idea should be presented as your topic sentence at the beginning of this paragraph. Additionally, most students leave this main idea at the end because they do not identify it as the main idea.

To overcome this dilemma, try a looping prewriting exercise . In this exercise, you write continuously for a designated time (maybe 10 minutes, your choice). At the end of that time, read over what you’ve written and circle the main idea of the text (this is usually at the end). In the next cycle, you start with this main idea at the beginning and further examine and analyze it.

This is a wonderful exercise to help you pick out main ideas and delve deeper into your analysis.

Get Feedback

If you are a student, there are several options to get feedback for free. Ask a friend to read your essay. Go to your writing center to get feedback and help with your writing. Go to your professor’s office hours with your writing or questions to get detailed advice. More often than not, they are happy to see you take advantage of their expertise.

As a working professional, writer, or author, you can look to fellow authors or bookish friends to read your work. You can find free beta readers online from sites such as Goodreads to get feedback from your target audience. You can also find writing groups on social media platforms.

Proofread Your Work

It can be easy to finish writing an essay and think “Finally, I’m done!” Unfortunately, that is only half the process. Be sure to always read and reread your writing before hitting submit. Check for stray commas, spelling errors, or awkward sentences to make your main ideas and hard work shine. Learn about 6 Quick and Easy Tips for Proofreading you can do at home.

Writing an analytical paragraph doesn’t have to be stressful. Be sure to include a topic sentence at the beginning of your paragraph that connects to the thesis statement. Provide a variety of evidence to support your main idea, analyze the text by highlighting literary devices used, themes, and patterns, and end with a brief concluding statement.

If you need more help with writing analysis, descriptive essays, or any other type of essay, then Proofed is here to help. Try our free trial today!

What Is a Topic Sentence?

A topic sentence goes at the beginning of a body paragraph and clearly states the main idea of the paragraph.

How Do I Organize an Analytical Paragraph?

An analytical paragraph has four components: topic sentence, evidence, analysis, and conclusion. The topic sentence is the most important part of any body paragraph because it establishes the main idea of the paragraph and relates to the thesis statement.

What Makes a Good Analytical Paragraph?

A good analytical paragraph has a clear topic sentence, strong evidence, and a thorough analysis that reflects the writer’s critical thinking and writing skills. It should conclude by emphasizing the main idea of the paragraph and how it supports the essay overall.

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The Ultimate Guide to Analytical Essay Writing: How to Craft an A-Grade Paper?

25 January, 2021

17 minutes read

Author:  Kate Smith

An analytical essay is often considered the most challenging piece of writing. However, those who have dealt with it at least once are a step closer to calling themselves masters of essay writing. This type of paper requires plenty of analytical skills to carry out an in-depth analysis of the assigned topic. Yet, the main goal of an analytical essay is not only to demonstrate your ability to learn the basics of the theme.

You also need to think critically, analyze facts, express your standpoint, and clearly show a deep understanding of key concepts. In short, your main task as an author is to prove the validity of your views by coming up with strong arguments that do not beg any questions.

The given guide provides a full analytical essay definition, as well as specifies its features and structural aspects. The following information will help you properly start your paper, choose a relevant topic, and come up with compelling conclusions. 

What is an Analytical Essay?

An analytical essay is a piece of writing aimed to provide a thorough analysis of a definite phenomenon using persuasive arguments and supporting assertions. Analysis in the analytical essay writing process stands for a method of research that allows one to study specific features of an object. Analytical papers also have to do with analysis of a specific problem; that is consideration of the problem itself and identification of its key patterns. The subject matter of analysis can be a well-known or little-studied scientific phenomenon, artistic work, historical event, social problem, etc.

The content of an analytical essay will totally depend on the object that has been chosen for analysis. Thus, when shedding light on any kind of scientific work, an analytical essay can be devoted to the analysis of research credibility, its relevance, or the adequacy of conclusions. When considering a work of art, an essay writer can focus on the analysis of the author’s artistic techniques or issues raised in the book. For this reason, it is essential to accurately determine the topic and subject matter of your future analytical essay.

Steps to Take Before Writing

The preparational stage of analytical essay writing cannot be omitted. It lays the basis for the A-grade paper and should be carefully completed. If you don’t know how to start an analytical essay, read a few handy tips that will ensure a solid foundation for your paper.  

Define a subject matter

You first need to clearly understand the issue you will base your essay on. Since analytical essays imply an in-depth analysis of a specific problem, you need to define its core. Try to split the analysis into several components and provide arguments taken either from a book, a research, a scientific work, or a movie (depending on the subject matter of your analysis), and support your views comprehensively.

Decide on the content of your analytical essay

If you are a student who was given an analytical essay topic, read the task several times before you are 100% sure that you clearly understand the requirements as to the analytical essay format. In case you were lucky to choose the topic of the analytical paper by yourself, make sure the theme you will be dealing with is familiar or at least seems interesting to you. 

Remember that different subject matters require a different approach to their analysis. If you examine some literature work, you can prove your opinion based on the deeds of a certain or several characters. But if you have been assigned the task to elaborate on some historic events, analyze their main causes, driving forces that have affected their course, and their global consequences.  

Take care of the proper start

Don’t forget to start your analytical essay with a thesis statement. It is a sentence or a couple of sentences that aim to summarize the key statements of your paper. A thesis statement should provide readers with a preliminary idea of what your essay is all about.  

Find extra reasoning

Make sure your thesis is supported by compelling arguments. To find enough evidence, you should carry out a thorough analysis of the assigned topic. List the crucial points of your research and ponder over the ways they can be used to prove your final opinion. 

Elaborate the outline

A sound outline elaborated at the preparation stage will help you ensure a proper analytical essay structure and make the overall writing process easier. As a rule, an analytical essay consists of an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your outline plan should include the key arguments you want to discuss in each paragraph. 

Analytical Essay Thesis

A thesis statement represents the central idea of your paper and must serve as strong proof of your standpoint. While elaborating your thesis statement, it is crucial to include it at the end of the first paragraph and thus set a direction for the overall paper. 

Analytical Essay Outline

An outline is not a required element of analytical essays writing and should not be included in the text, but it can greatly facilitate the whole process of paper writing.

The analytical essay structure looks as follows:

Introduction

In the introduction of an analytical essay, you will need to identify your paper’s subject matter. Mention the purpose of your work and specify its scope of research. Don’t forget to include a thesis to let readers know what your work is about.

Body Section

As has already been mentioned, the body section covers three or more main paragraphs, each being supported with arguments and details. Besides, you need to provide a small conclusion to each statement to make your essay sound professional and persuasive. 

At this stage, you need to summarize the points elucidated in your paper and make sure there is a smooth and logical transition from the body section to the concluding part of the text. If you don’t know how to conclude an analytical essay, try to restate the thesis statement without copying it word for word.  

Analytical Essay Examples

Writing an analytical essay may seem to be a thorny way. If you are still not sure how to properly craft one, try to find some examples that will help you go in the right direction. Below, there are some great examples of analytical essays. Take a look at their structure and try to write something similar based on your views and ideas:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JeR4i4RIZIj448W3KVFyHP-eS3QPN7gW/view

https://stlcc.edu/docs/student-support/academic-support/college-writing-center/rhetorical-analysis-sample-essay.pdf

https://www.germanna.eduhttp://handmadewriting.com/wp-content/uploads/tutoring/handouts/Literary-Analysis-Sample-Paper.pdf

30 Analytical Essay Topics

If you were allowed to choose the theme for your paper by yourself, check on the following analytical essay topics. Each of them can bring you the highest score:

General topics

• The influence of social networks on the life of teens
• Are salaries of football players too high?
• Wearing uniforms in schools should be banned
• A person in society: the problems of loneliness and privacy
• Sociology of corporate relationships
• Does the observation of space need more investments?
• Should the voting age in the UK be decreased?
• Reasons why capital punishment should be brought back in the UK
• A world with no rules: a new human era or a road to the global collapse?
• Life without technologies: will modern people survive?
• Should scientists test drugs on animals to fight cancer?
• The problem of keeping the balance between career and family life
• The importance of listening to your body 
• Problems caused by the lack of communication
• Food addiction and the problems it causes
• Problems of vaccination in the XXI century
• Does evil really rule the world?
• How does body size affect life quality?
• Pros and cons of video games 
• The role of a family model in the life and career of a person

Analytical Essay Topics on Literature

• “Robinson Crusoe”: fantasy vs reality
• Observation of the artistic uniqueness in the comedy by W. Shakespeare “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” 
• Observe the social problems in the novel by John Steinbeck “The Grapes of Wrath”
• Convulsions and death of the “little man” in the networks of impersonal, alienated forces in the novel “The Metamorphosis”
• Observation of the problems of a man on a plagued land in the novel “The Plague”
• Revolt of the protagonist in the novel by J. Salinger “The Catcher in the Rye”
• Observation of friendship and love in the fate of humanity in the XX century
• The triumph of immorality in the novel by F. Sagan “Hello Sadness”
• Observation of the personality of an American student in the novel by J. Salinger “The Catcher in the Rye”
• Eternal tragedies of humanity in the tragedy by W. Shakespeare “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”

How to Write a Well-Structured Analytical Essay With a Solid Argument

Writing an analytical essay with a clear structure might be challenging unless you are thoroughly prepared. We decided to help you out and create a detailed guide listing the main things to consider when creating an analytical essay outline. You need to explain your main idea in a concise way to bring your point across. As analytical writing has high requirements, it pays off to find an analytical essay example and analyze how this text was written. It will allow you to understand the analytical essay format better and learn how to provide substantive analysis on various topics. Read on to learn how to write a top-level analytical paper and submit it on time.

Main Tips for Writing an Analytical Essay

An analytical essay should provide a comprehensive analysis of a chosen topic. What makes an analysis essay different from other assignments is that it includes a personal opinion of an author. This is why analytical writing should be persuasive.

Below, we have rounded up the key tips you need to follow when producing an analytical essay outline and the main body of your text. Read on to learn more about the analytical essay format and create a text that will fully meet the requirements.

Select an Analytical Essay Topic

Before creating an analytical essay outline, make sure to pick a topic that you are interested in. It should be provocative enough to engage your readers. A widely-debated topic will help you write an analytical essay that grabs the attention of a wide audience.

Consider your goals and conduct thorough research to see if you have enough sources to support the main thesis of your analysis essay.

Come Up With a Strong Analytical Thesis Statement

When writing an analytical essay, start by formulating a thesis statement that includes the topic and the main goal of your text. It will help you create an analytical essay outline and show your readers what you will discuss in your analysis essay.

Add it to the last paragraph of your analytical essay introduction. Due to this, your analytical essay outline will look better structured. Look at any analytical essay example to see how you can introduce your subject. In most cases, one sentence will suffice to state your analysis essay’s goal. However, a complex analytical essay outline might require you to use two sentences for a thesis statement.

Write an Analytical Essay Body with a Clear Structure

Your analytical essay outline should include 3-4 paragraphs. However, a literary analysis essay usually consists of 5 paragraphs. When it comes to analytical writing, it is important to cover a different point in each section of the main body of an analysis paper.

After writing an analytical essay, check whether each paragraph contains an introduction and the main point. Besides, it should contain evidence. An expertly written analytical essay outline will help you reach out to your target audience more effectively.

Conduct Research Before Writing an Analytical Essay Outline

While this step is preparatory, it is a must for those who want to write a well-grounded analytical paper.

• First, select the best ideas for your essay
• Then, emphasize the problems with works written by other researchers
• Finally, write your analytical essay outline to demonstrate what approach you want to take

Examine the context and find examples to illustrate the scope of the issue. You may draw parallels to emphasize your point and make your topic more relatable.

Analyze the Implications of the Evidence

After listing your pieces of evidence and demonstrating how it is related to your thesis, show why it is important. You need to explore it deeply and use it to support your argument. It will make your analytical essay outline well-grounded facts.

Write an Analytical Essay Conclusion

Whether you write a literary analysis essay or other types of assignments, there is no need to add any new data at the end of your analysis paper. Instead, summarize the arguments you mentioned in your analytical essay outline. The conclusion of your analysis essay should be short and clear. Here, you need to demonstrate that you have achieved your goals.

Analytical Essay Writing Tips

If you want to get the highest grade for your analytical essay, you need to know a little bit more than just the basics of paper writing. Read these handy tips to write a perfect essay you will be proud of:

• Double-check your paper for spelling and grammar mistakes. In case your essay contains too many errors, neither an in-depth analysis nor the elaborate writing style will make it look any better. Situations when essays of great value in terms of research and a message they convey are poorly assessed because of the abundance of mistakes are not rare. Make sure you have enough time to proofread your paper before submission. Also, you may consider asking somebody to take a fresh look at your essay and check it for you.
• Reading your analytical essay out loud helps you discover all types of errors or weak phrases. This method might seem a bit uncomfortable, but it has proved to be very effective for many students. Note that silent reading of your paper isn’t even half as helpful as reading it aloud. 
• Another great idea to check on the rhythm and flow of your paper is to ask someone to read it for you. While listening to the text, you could perceive it from another perspective and discover even more inconsistencies and mistakes.  
• Double-check the facts you use in your analytical essay. The names of people, books, research, publications, as well as dates of historical events are too important to be misspelled. Things like these show your professionalism and the way you treat your readers.

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Developing Deeper Analysis & Insights

Analysis is a central writing skill in academic writing. Essentially, analysis is what writers do with evidence to make meaning of it. While there are specific disciplinary types of analysis (e.g., rhetorical, discourse, close reading, etc.), most analysis involves zooming into evidence to understand how the specific parts work and how their specific function might relate to a larger whole. That is, we usually need to zoom into the details and then reflect on the larger picture. In this writing guide, we cover analysis basics briefly and then offer some strategies for deepening your analysis. Deepening your analysis means pushing your thinking further, developing a more insightful and interesting answer to the “so what?” question, and elevating your writing.

Analysis Basics

Questions to Ask of the Text:

• Is the evidence fully explained and contextualized? Where in the text/story does this evidence come from (briefly)? What do you think the literal meaning of the quote/evidence is and why? Why did you select this particular evidence?
• Are you selecting a long enough quote to work with and analyze? While over-quoting can be a problem, so too can under-quoting.
• Do you connect each piece of evidence explicitly to the claim or focus of the paper?

Strategies & Explanation

• Sometimes turning the focus of the paper into a question can really help someone to figure out how to work with evidence. All evidence should answer the question--the work of analysis is explaining how it answers the question.
• The goal of evidence in analytical writing is not just to prove that X exists or is true, but rather to show something interesting about it--to push ideas forward, to offer insights about a quote. To do this, sometimes having a full sentence for a quote helps--if a writer is only using single-word quotes, for example, they may struggle to make meaning out of it.

Deepening Analysis

Not all of these strategies work every time, but usually employing one of them is enough to really help elevate the ideas and intellectual work of a paper:

• Bring the very best point in each paragraph into the topic sentence. Often these sentences are at the very end of a paragraph in a solid draft. When you bring it to the front of the paragraph, you then need to read the paragraph with the new topic sentence and reflect on: what else can we say about this evidence? What else can it show us about your claim?
• Complicate the point by adding contrasting information, a different perspective, or by naming something that doesn’t fit. Often we’re taught that evidence needs to prove our thesis. But, richer ideas emerge from conflict, from difference, from complications. In a compare and contrast essay, this point is very easy to see--we get somewhere further when we consider how two things are different. In an analysis of a single text, we might look at a single piece of evidence and consider: how could this choice the writer made here be different? What other choices could the writer have made and why didn’t they? Sometimes naming what isn’t in the text can help emphasize the importance of a particular choice.
• Shift the focus question of the essay and ask the new question of each piece of evidence. For example, a student is looking at examples of language discrimination (their evidence) in order to make an argument that answers the question: what is language discrimination? Questions that are definitional (what is X? How does Y work? What is the problem here?) can make deeper analysis challenging. It’s tempting to simply say the equivalent of “Here is another example of language discrimination.” However, a strategy to help with this is to shift the question a little bit. So perhaps the paragraphs start by naming different instances of language discrimination, but the analysis then tackles questions like: what are the effects of language discrimination? Why is language discrimination so problematic in these cases? Who perpetuates language discrimination and how? In a paper like this, it’s unlikely you can answer all of those questions--but, selecting ONE shifted version of a question that each paragraph can answer, too, helps deepen the analysis and keeps the essay focused.
• Examine perspective--both the writer’s and those of others involved with the issue. You might reflect on your own perspectives as a unique audience/reader. For example, what is illuminated when you read this essay as an engineer? As a person of color? As a first-generation student at Cornell? As an economically privileged person? As a deeply religious Christian? In order to add perspective into the analysis, the writer has to name these perspectives with phrases like: As a religious undergraduate student, I understand X to mean… And then, try to explain how the specificity of your perspective illuminates a different reading or understanding of a term, point, or evidence. You can do this same move by reflecting on who the intended audience of a text is versus who else might be reading it--how does it affect different audiences differently? Might that be relevant to the analysis?
• Qualify claims and/or acknowledge limitations. Before college level writing and often in the media, there is a belief that qualifications and/or acknowledging the limitations of a point adds weakness to an argument. However, this actually adds depth, honesty, and nuance to ideas. It allows you to develop more thoughtful and more accurate ideas. The questions to ask to help foster this include: Is this always true? When is it not true? What else might complicate what you’ve said? Can we add nuance to this idea to make it more accurate? Qualifications involve words like: sometimes, may effect, often, in some cases, etc. These terms are not weak or to be avoided, they actually add accuracy and nuance.

A Link to a  PDF Handout of this Writing Guide 

How To Write an Analytical Essay

If you enjoy exploring topics deeply and thinking creatively, analytical essays could be perfect for you. They involve thorough analysis and clever writing techniques to gain fresh perspectives and deepen your understanding of the subject. In this article, our expert research paper writer will explain what an analytical essay is, how to structure it effectively and provide practical examples. This guide covers all the essentials for your writing success!

What Is an Analytical Essay

An analytical essay involves analyzing something, such as a book, movie, or idea. It relies on evidence from the text to logically support arguments, avoiding emotional appeals or personal stories. Unlike persuasive essays, which argue for a specific viewpoint, a good analytical essay explores all aspects of the topic, considering different perspectives, dissecting arguments, and evaluating evidence carefully. Ultimately, you'll need to present your own stance based on your analysis, synthesize findings, and decide whether you agree with the conclusions or have your own interpretation.

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How to Structure an Analytical Essay

Crafting an excellent paper starts with clear organization and structuring of arguments. An analytical essay structure follows a simple outline: introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction: Begin by grabbing the reader's attention and stating the topic clearly. Provide background information, state the purpose of the paper, and hint at the arguments you'll make. The opening sentence should be engaging, such as a surprising fact or a thought-provoking question. Then, present your thesis, summarizing your stance in the essay.

Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph starts with a clear topic sentence guiding the reader and presents evidence supporting the thesis. Focus on one issue per paragraph and briefly restate the main point at the end to transition smoothly to the next one. This ensures clarity and coherence in your argument.

Conclusion: Restate the thesis, summarize key points from the body paragraphs, and offer insights on the significance of the analysis. Provide your thoughts on the topic's importance and how your analysis contributes to it, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

Meanwhile, you might also be interested in how to write a reflection paper , so check out the article for more information!

How to Write an Analytical Essay in 6 Simple Steps

Once you've got a handle on the structure, you can make writing easier by following some steps. Preparing ahead of time can make the process smoother and improve your essay's flow. Here are some helpful tips from our experts. And if you need it, you can always request our experts to write my essay for me , and we'll handle it promptly.

Step 1: Decide on Your Stance

Before diving into writing, it's crucial to establish your stance on the topic. Let's say you're going to write an analytical essay example about the benefits and drawbacks of remote work. Before you start writing, you need to decide what your opinion or viewpoint is on this topic.

• Do you think remote work offers flexibility and improved work-life balance for employees?
• Or maybe you believe it can lead to feelings of isolation and decreased productivity?

Once you've determined your stance on remote work, it's essential to consider the evidence and arguments supporting your position. Are there statistics or studies that back up your viewpoint? For example, if you believe remote work improves productivity, you might cite research showing increased output among remote workers. On the other hand, if you think it leads to isolation, you could reference surveys or testimonials highlighting the challenges of remote collaboration. Your opinion will shape how you write your essay, so take some time to think about what you believe about remote work before you start writing.

Step 2: Write Your Thesis Statement

Once you've figured out what you think about the topic, it's time to write your thesis statement. This statement is like the main idea or argument of your essay.

If you believe that remote work offers significant benefits, your thesis statement might be: 'Remote work presents an opportunity for increased flexibility and work-life balance, benefiting employees and employers alike in today's interconnected world.'

Alternatively, if you believe that remote work has notable drawbacks, your thesis statement might be: 'While remote work offers flexibility, it can also lead to feelings of isolation and challenges in collaboration, necessitating a balanced approach to its implementation.'

Your thesis statement guides the rest of your analytical essay, so make sure it clearly expresses your viewpoint on the benefits and drawbacks of remote work.

Step 3: Write Topic Sentences

After you have your thesis statement about the benefits and drawbacks of remote work, you need to come up with topic sentences for each paragraph while writing an analytical essay. These sentences introduce the main point of each paragraph and help to structure your essay.

Let's say your first paragraph is about the benefits of remote work. Your topic sentence might be: 'Remote work offers employees increased flexibility and autonomy, enabling them to better manage their work-life balance.'

For the next paragraph discussing the drawbacks of remote work, your topic sentence could be: 'However, remote work can also lead to feelings of isolation and difficulties in communication and collaboration with colleagues.'

And for the paragraph about potential solutions to the challenges of remote work, your topic sentence might be: 'To mitigate the drawbacks of remote work, companies can implement strategies such as regular check-ins, virtual team-building activities, and flexible work arrangements.'

Each topic sentence should relate back to your thesis statement about the benefits and drawbacks of remote work and provide a clear focus for the paragraph that follows.

Step 4: Create an Outline

Now that you have your thesis statement and topic sentences, it's time to create an analytical essay outline to ensure your essay flows logically. Here's an outline prepared by our analytical essay writer based on the example of discussing the benefits and drawbacks of remote work:

Step 5: Write Your First Draft

Now that you have your outline, it's time to start writing your first draft. Begin by expanding upon each point in your outline, making sure to connect your ideas smoothly and logically. Don't worry too much about perfection at this stage; the goal is to get your ideas down on paper. You can always revise and polish your draft later.

As you write, keep referring back to your thesis statement to ensure that your arguments align with your main argument. Additionally, make sure each paragraph flows naturally into the next, maintaining coherence throughout your essay.

Once you've completed your first draft, take a break and then come back to review and revise it. Look for areas where you can strengthen your arguments, clarify your points, and improve the overall structure and flow of your essay.

Remember, writing is a process, and it's okay to go through multiple drafts before you're satisfied with the final result. Take your time and be patient with yourself as you work towards creating a well-crafted essay on the benefits and drawbacks of remote work.

Step 6: Revise and Proofread

Once you've completed your first draft, it's essential to revise and proofread your essay to ensure clarity, coherence, and correctness. Here's how to approach this step:

• Check if your ideas make sense and if they support your main point.
• Make sure your writing style stays the same and your format follows the rules.
• Double-check your facts and make sure you've covered everything important.
• Cut out any extra words and make your sentences clear and short.
• Look for mistakes in spelling and grammar.
• Ask someone to read your essay and give you feedback.

What is the Purpose of an Analytical Essay?

Analytical essays aim to analyze texts or topics, presenting a clear argument. They deepen understanding by evaluating evidence and uncovering underlying meanings. These essays promote critical thinking, challenging readers to consider different viewpoints.

They're also great for improving critical thinking skills. By breaking down complex ideas and presenting them clearly, they encourage readers to think for themselves and reach their own conclusions.

This type of essay also adds to academic discussions by offering fresh insights. By analyzing existing research and literature, they bring new perspectives or shine a light on overlooked parts of a topic. This keeps academic conversations lively and encourages more exploration in the field.

Analytical Essay Examples

Check out our essay samples to see theory in action. Crafted by our dissertation services , they show how analytical thinking applies to real situations, helping you understand concepts better.

With our tips on how to write an analytical essay, you're ready to boost your writing skills and craft essays that captivate your audience. With practice, you'll become a pro at analytical writing, ready to tackle any topic with confidence. And, if you need help to buy essay online , just drop us a line saying ' do my homework for me ' and we'll jump right in!

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Using Evidence: Analysis

Beyond introducing and integrating your paraphrases and quotations, you also need to analyze the evidence in your paragraphs. Analysis is your opportunity to contextualize and explain the evidence for your reader. Your analysis might tell the reader why the evidence is important, what it means, or how it connects to other ideas in your writing.

Note that analysis often leads to synthesis , an extension and more complicated form of analysis. See our synthesis page for more information.

Example 1 of Analysis

Without analysis.

Embryonic stem cell research uses the stem cells from an embryo, causing much ethical debate in the scientific and political communities (Robinson, 2011). "Politicians don't know science" (James, 2010, p. 24). Academic discussion of both should continue (Robinson, 2011).

With Analysis (Added in Bold)

Embryonic stem cell research uses the stem cells from an embryo, causing much ethical debate in the scientific and political communities (Robinson, 2011). However, many politicians use the issue to stir up unnecessary emotion on both sides of the issues. James (2010) explained that "politicians don't know science," (p. 24) so scientists should not be listening to politics. Instead, Robinson (2011) suggested that academic discussion of both embryonic and adult stem cell research should continue in order for scientists to best utilize their resources while being mindful of ethical challenges.

Note that in the first example, the reader cannot know how the quotation fits into the paragraph. Also, note that the word both was unclear. In the revision, however, that the writer clearly (a) explained the quotations as well as the source material, (b) introduced the information sufficiently, and (c) integrated the ideas into the paragraph.

Example 2 of Analysis

Trow (1939) measured the effects of emotional responses on learning and found that student memorization dropped greatly with the introduction of a clock. Errors increased even more when intellectual inferiority regarding grades became a factor (Trow, 1939). The group that was allowed to learn free of restrictions from grades and time limits performed better on all tasks (Trow, 1939).

In this example, the author has successfully paraphrased the key findings from a study. However, there is no conclusion being drawn about those findings. Readers have a difficult time processing the evidence without some sort of ending explanation, an answer to the question so what? So what about this study? Why does it even matter?

Trow (1939) measured the effects of emotional responses on learning and found that student memorization dropped greatly with the introduction of a clock. Errors increased even more when intellectual inferiority regarding grades became a factor (Trow, 1939). The group that was allowed to learn free of restrictions from grades and time limits performed better on all tasks (Trow, 1939). Therefore, negative learning environments and students' emotional reactions can indeed hinder achievement.

Here the meaning becomes clear. The study’s findings support the claim the reader is making: that school environment affects achievement.

Analysis Video Playlist

Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

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• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

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Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

• What is the author’s purpose?
• Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
• What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
• Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
• What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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Tips and techniques for writing effective and powerful analytical essays.

Are you struggling to craft an effective analytical essay? Do you find yourself getting lost in a sea of information or unsure of how to present your analysis in a clear and concise manner? Look no further – this step-by-step guide will provide you with valuable tips and strategies to elevate your analytical essay writing skills to the next level.

Writing an analytical essay involves carefully examining a subject or topic and providing a thorough analysis and interpretation of the information gathered. It requires critical thinking, attention to detail, and the ability to express ideas and arguments coherently. In this guide, we will explore various techniques and approaches to help you develop and refine your analytical writing skills, allowing you to tackle any analytical essay with confidence and precision.

One crucial aspect of writing an analytical essay is conducting thorough research. To ensure your essay is well-informed and robust, it’s important to delve into reputable sources, such as academic journals, books, and reliable websites. By gathering a wide range of sources related to your topic, you will acquire a solid understanding of the subject matter, which will enable you to provide a comprehensive analysis in your essay.

Another essential element of analytical essay writing is the development of a strong thesis statement. Your thesis should present a clear and concise argument or claim that you will support throughout your essay. It should be specific, debatable, and relevant to the topic at hand. By crafting a well-defined thesis statement, you provide the backbone for your entire essay, guiding your analysis and helping you maintain a focused approach.

Furthermore, an effective analytical essay requires careful organization and structure. Divide your essay into logical paragraphs, each addressing a specific point or aspect of your analysis. Use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph, guiding your reader and providing a clear roadmap of your essay’s progression. Additionally, utilize transitional phrases and words to create smooth transitions between paragraphs, ensuring a cohesive and coherent flow.

Finding a Strong Topic for Your Essay

Choosing the right topic is a crucial first step in writing an analytical essay. The topic sets the tone for the entire essay and determines its scope and focus. It is important to select a topic that is engaging, relevant, and allows for in-depth analysis. This section will provide you with helpful strategies for finding a strong topic that will captivate your readers.

Gathering and Evaluating Reliable Sources

One of the key aspects of writing an analytical essay is gathering and evaluating reliable sources. The quality of your sources can greatly impact the strength and credibility of your arguments. In this section, we will explore the importance of finding trustworthy sources and discuss strategies for evaluating their reliability.

When conducting research for your essay, it is crucial to seek out sources that are authoritative and trustworthy. Reliable sources are those that have been written by experts in the field or have been published in reputable academic journals. These sources are often backed by extensive research and provide accurate and unbiased information.

When evaluating the reliability of a source, there are several factors to consider. Firstly, check the author’s credentials and expertise in the subject matter. Look for individuals who have relevant qualifications or experience in the field. This will help establish their credibility and ensure that they are knowledgeable on the topic.

In addition to the author’s credentials, consider the publication or website where the source is found. Reputable academic journals, books from respected publishers, and reputable websites such as government or educational institutions are generally more reliable sources of information. Be cautious of sources from unknown or biased sources, as they may not provide accurate or unbiased information.

Furthermore, it is important to analyze the content of the source itself. Look for evidence-based arguments, logical reasoning, and a balanced presentation of different perspectives. A reliable source should provide well-supported claims and back them up with relevant evidence and examples.

Finally, consider the date of publication. While older sources can still provide valuable insights, it is important to have up-to-date information, especially in fields that are rapidly evolving or undergoing significant changes. Check for recent studies and publications to ensure that your information is current.

In conclusion, gathering and evaluating reliable sources is a critical step in writing an analytical essay. By seeking out trustworthy sources and analyzing their credibility, you can strengthen your arguments and provide a solid foundation for your essay. Keep in mind the importance of author expertise, publication credibility, content analysis, and the recency of the information. Through careful evaluation, you can ensure that your essay is well-informed and persuasive.

Creating an Outline for Your Essay

One of the most important steps in the essay writing process is creating an outline. An outline serves as a roadmap for your essay, helping you to organize your thoughts and ideas in a logical and coherent manner.

When creating an outline for your essay, it’s important to start by identifying the main points or arguments that you want to make. These main points will serve as the foundation of your essay and should be presented in a clear and concise manner. You can think of these main points as the “backbone” of your essay.

Once you have identified the main points, you can then begin to develop subpoints that support and expand upon each main point. These subpoints should provide specific examples, evidence, or analysis to strengthen your main arguments. In essence, they help to fill in the details and provide a deeper understanding of your main points.

Organizing your main points and subpoints can be done in various ways. One common method is to use a hierarchical structure, such as an outline with Roman numerals, capital letters, and Arabic numerals. Another method is to use bullet points or a numbered list. You can choose the method that works best for you, based on the complexity of your essay and the level of detail you want to include in your outline.

As you create your outline, it’s important to keep in mind the overall structure of your essay. Your introduction should provide a brief overview of the topic and present your thesis statement. The body paragraphs should present and develop your main points and subpoints, providing evidence and analysis to support your arguments. Finally, your conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis in a concise and compelling manner.

Remember that your outline is a flexible tool that can be revised and adjusted as you work on your essay. It’s not set in stone and can be modified as needed to better reflect your evolving ideas and arguments. Don’t be afraid to make changes and reorganize your outline as you go along.

In conclusion, creating an outline for your essay is an essential step in the writing process. It helps you to organize your thoughts, develop your arguments, and maintain a logical flow throughout your essay. By investing time and effort into creating a strong outline, you’ll set yourself up for success and make the writing process much smoother.

Developing a Clear and Coherent Argument

When it comes to writing analytical essays, one of the most important aspects is developing a clear and coherent argument. It is essential to have a well-structured and logical argument in order to effectively convey your ideas and convince your readers.

First and foremost, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of the topic you are writing about. Take the time to thoroughly research and gather relevant information, as this will provide you with the necessary knowledge to build a strong argument. Additionally, make sure to identify any key terms or concepts that are essential to your argument, as this will help you stay focused and ensure coherence throughout your essay.

Once you have a solid foundation of knowledge, it is important to organize your argument in a logical manner. Start by outlining the main points or claims you want to make, and then provide supporting evidence or examples for each of these points. Be sure to clearly state your thesis statement, which should summarize the main argument you are making in your essay.

In order to maintain coherence in your argument, it is important to use logical transitions between your ideas. This can be done through the use of transitional words and phrases, such as “however,” “in addition,” or “on the other hand.” These transitions will help guide your reader through your argument and ensure that your ideas flow smoothly from one point to the next.

Lastly, it is crucial to anticipate and address counterarguments in your essay. By acknowledging opposing viewpoints and effectively refuting them, you can further strengthen your overall argument. This demonstrates that you have considered multiple perspectives and have arrived at your own well-supported conclusion.

In conclusion, developing a clear and coherent argument is essential when writing analytical essays. By thoroughly researching your topic, organizing your ideas in a logical manner, using transitions effectively, and addressing counterarguments, you can effectively convey your ideas and make a convincing argument to your readers.

Strengthening Your Essay with Relevant Evidence

In order to create a compelling and persuasive analytical essay, it is essential to back up your arguments with relevant evidence. This evidence serves to support your claims and gives your essay credibility and authority.

When selecting evidence for your essay, it is important to choose examples and facts that are directly related to your topic. This will help to establish a strong connection between your argument and the evidence you present. Additionally, using relevant evidence allows you to make a more convincing case and gives your readers confidence in the validity of your assertions.

Relevant evidence can come in various forms, such as statistics, research studies, expert opinions, and real-life examples. By incorporating a mix of different types of evidence, you can strengthen the overall impact of your essay and appeal to a wider range of readers.

To ensure that the evidence you include in your essay is relevant, it is necessary to thoroughly research your topic and gather information from reliable sources. This will help you to find the most up-to-date and accurate evidence to support your arguments.

In addition to choosing relevant evidence, it is also crucial to properly integrate it into your essay. Make sure to clearly introduce each piece of evidence and explain how it supports your main points. Use strong and persuasive language to highlight the significance of the evidence and its connection to your argument.

Remember that the purpose of using relevant evidence is not only to support your argument but also to engage your readers and help them understand your perspective. By presenting well-chosen and compelling evidence, you can make your essay more persuasive and leave a lasting impression on your audience.

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How to Write an Analysis Essay With AI

Writing an analysis essay calls for objective thinking. The first rule is to understand that this kind of essay, although expository, is not an opinion piece.

Fredrick Eghosa

Aug 16, 2024

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

How to write an analysis essay, what is an analytical essay, key features of an analytical essay, objective analysis, analytical essays are thesis-driven, what is a thesis, every analytical essay follows a specific structure, example introduction for an analytical essay on hamlet, let’s break down this introduction:, the body of the analytical essay, how to write the body of an analytical essay, how to conduct thorough research for an analytical essay, common mistakes to avoid when writing an analytical essay, pdf examples of analysis essays across various fields of study, conclusion: reinforcing the analysis.

• An analytical essay requires an objective examination of a subject rather than personal opinions.
• The essay revolves around a clear and concise thesis statement that presents the main argument or point of analysis. Every part of the essay should support this thesis.
• Like other essays, an analytical essay follows a standard structure—introduction, body, and conclusion—each serving to prove and elaborate on the thesis.
• Support your analysis with evidence drawn from the subject matter, ensuring that every point made directly ties back to the thesis.
• Maintain a neutral and objective tone, avoiding personal judgments or subjective phrases. Use phrases like "The evidence suggests" or "The text demonstrates."
• The introduction should provide context, introduce the main characters or themes, and present the thesis. It sets the stage for the analysis to follow.
• Each body paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of the analysis, offering evidence and connecting it back to the thesis. The essay should explore different angles of the subject, such as contrasting characters or themes.
• The conclusion should tie together the analysis and reinforce how the evidence supports the thesis, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the topic.
• Engages the Reader
• Establishes Relevance
• Clear Direction

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