Are you someone who simply loves to prove a point? If so, crafting a perfect analytical essay might be right up your alley. As a matter of fact, it’s an excellent opportunity to use your argumentative skills.
The objective of an analytical essay is to make a reasoned argument describing the how or why of a given subject. You can also be asked to evaluate a spectacular piece of art, a historical event, literary work or any topic. However, the essay should never incorporate a summary or description of the work you’re analysing. Instead, it must be a reasoned explanation of what the work means or how it contributes to society.
Now, crafting an impeccable analytical essay can be a hard nut to crack, especially if this is your first time. But don’t panic yet! Calm down and go through this post. Here, we aim to walk you through certain remarkable tips and techniques that will enable you to nail your analytical essays like a pro.
Let’s get started!
Tips and Techniques to Craft an Exceptional Analytical Essay
Choose Intriguing Analytical Essay Ideas
According to the best minds associated with essay writing services, choosing the right analytical essay topic can create the difference between an easily researchable analytical essay and one that takes countless hours to find a couple of remarkable points to analyse. Before you choose an analytical essay topic, make sure to conduct in-depth research to get your hands on enough examples to back up the analysis.
Let’s say your professor asked you to write an analytical essay on John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ theme of uncovering injustices against migrants. So, you must choose a topic that enables you to analyse the theme effectively. One of the unique ways to explore a theme is to write about ways Steinbeck used different literary devices throughout the book to portray what life was like for migrants during the Dust Bowl.
Craft a Compelling Thesis Statement
Remember, thesis statements are perhaps the most significant sentences of your essay. A reader must be able to go through your thesis and understand easily what the entire essay is about and the ways you will be analysing it.
For the above-mentioned example, the thesis statement should be something like “In the intercalary chapters of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, Steinbeck uses different literary devices and stylistic choices to unravel the injustices committed against migrants in the 1930s.”
Find Concrete Arguments To Back Up Your Analysis
It is crucial to back up your key points and arguments while writing your analytical essays. If you are asked to craft an analytical essay about a movie or a text, you can use passages or clips as your main source of evidence.
For the above-mentioned example, you can use the quote from countless passages from ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ in every paragraph to support the arguments.
Keep Your Opinions Out of the Essay
This can seem counterintuitive to essays in general, but it is wise not to pressurise yourself considerably to develop an argument or present an opinion. Undeniably, you should express your ideas and thoughts freely in your essays but avoid taking a side.
Know the most significant part of an analytical essay is the ‘analysis’. Do not fret about using evidence or supportive texts. Rather, try using the space to truly get into the guts of what you’re analysing. Further, make use of context and quotes from the work to develop your assessments and interpretations.
Begin From a Place of Curiosity
Conducting an in-depth analysis of any type is challenging, so developing an entire essay around analysis can prove even more difficult. If you’re struggling to analyse a work or a movie, try beginning from a place of curiosity. Try to determine the questions that arise when you read, watch, listen to, look at or otherwise while experiencing the work. You can also give answers to below-mentioned questions –
- What is the key idea that the work is trying to express?
- What are the reasons the author used one word over another?
- What impact did the word choice have on the piece as a whole?
- In what ways the characters interacted with one another?
- Does the work comprise any symbol, metaphor, or other literary devices?
Offer Space for Contrasting Opinions
It becomes incredibly easy to make an argument stronger by acknowledging another perspective. Even if you do not see eye to eye with a critical perspective, you can still draft body paragraphs to articulate that perspective. Then, you can effectively refute that agreement with additional reasoning and evidence, thereby strengthening your thesis statement.
Include Clear Topic Sentences
Every main body paragraph of an analytical essay must start with a topic sentence. It should introduce the topic of a specific paragraph and tie it to your main thesis statement.
Populate Your Writing with Evidence
The main body paragraphs of your analytical essay must be filled with a mix of analysis and substance. You won’t be able to persuade your readers by making arguments without concrete evidence to back them up. Thus, it is wise to support the key points of your analysis with textual evidence acquired both from primary and secondary sources. Try to use endnotes and footnotes as and when necessary.
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Conclude the Analysis Effectively
When it comes to the final point, it is crucial to know how to conclude the analytical essay effectively. Remember the goal of your analytical essay is to summarise your prior analysis. Do not introduce any new ideas in the closing paragraph of the paper. Instead, you may want to remind your readers about the methods you’ve used to prove the claim.
Final Words
Begin writing the conclusion with a summary of the key points described in the main body paragraphs. Remember to paraphrase the thesis statement you’ve incorporated in the introduction. The closing sentence must also end with your final thoughts on the subject matter. You can also use a recommendation, explanation or a hook sentence to end the analysis essay.
Well, that’s all for today, peeps! Take the help of this comprehensive guide, take note of the essential aspects, and implement the tips and techniques to sail through the strenuous and time-consuming analytical essay writing process like never before.
