Analysis involves what two separately but closely related skills?
1. The ability to break down a text into its constituent parts. You examine how a text i... [Show More] s put together.
2. The ability to interpret how those parts contribute to or determine a text's meaning. You don't pass judgment in a text's quality or worth, you just describe what the text means.
What are the purposes of analysis essays?
1. To understand the text more fully.
2. To understand how the author achieves his or goals in writing the piece.
3. It sharpens your ability to interpret texts.
4. Because analysis requires strong critical reading and interpretation skills, it gives you good practice on the craft of your writing. By examining how other writers craft their texts, you learn new techniques to employ when writing your papers. It makes you stronger writer in this respect.
How do you analyze a text?
1. Read the source text carefully and make sure you understand it. You do not want to try and analyze and interpret a reading until you clearly understand its literal meaning and formed an opinion as to what the author is trying to accomplish. As you read, identify the author's thesis, primary assertions or findings, and primary means of support for those assertions or findings. If it's fiction, identify the main characters, the setting, the theme, the conflict, the imagery, and so forth.
2. Choose which analytical criteria to employ. Figure out in what terms you are going to analyze a source text to. In terms of argument? Structure? Use of language? In some cases your instructor will specify the criteria.
3. Reread the text and carefully focus on those particular criteria of the reading. Carefully annotate and highlight them.
4. Interpret the text. Determine the impact that the criterion has on the text. What patterns emerge? What connections are there? How do the criterion you notice combine to enhance or bring meaning to the text? Develop several possible interpretations and then decide which one more fully explains the text's meaning. Finally, try to articulate your interpretation into one sentence. This will likely serve as your thesis statement if you're writing an analysis essay.
5. Explain and support your interpretation. The support has to come from the text itself; you must be able to cite words or passages in the text that support your interpretations. If you cannot tie your interpretation directly to the text, you will not convince your readers. Cite examples, but also explain how each examples bolsters your interpretation.
Criteria
A set of principles or standards against which something is judged or evaluated.
Exemplify
Be an example of.
Bolster
Support or strengthen; prop up.
What are the qualities of a good analysis essay?
1. Comprehensive. Unless instructed otherwise, your analysis should take into account the entire source text, not just part of it. You should examine how the source text works as a whole before you interpret it. Your interpretation should explain as many instances of the criteria found in the source text as possible.
2. Clear. You must be clear to the reader about the analytical criteria you employ and clear about any connections between examples you cite from the reading and your interpretations.
3. Consistent. Whatever criteria you apply to analyze the text must be consistent. Don't change the criteria. If you use multiple criteria, consistently apply each one separately, don't confuse or conflate the two.
4. Tied to the source text. Examples you cite should come directly from the source text.
5. Informative and relevant. The criteria you use to analyze and your interpretations of the source text should consist of information that is consequential or relevant to the reader, not trivial. This will add to your reader's understanding and appreciation of the text.
Conflate
To combine into one, especially in association with ideas, or words.
Cite
To quote.
Consequential
Important;significant
Trivial
Of little value or importance.
How do you write an analysis essay?
1. Opening Section: Introduce the topic of the reading. Provide some relevant info about the author or publication history, or employ a quotation from the text that will focus your essay. Provide the full title of the piece and the author's full name. Finally, include your thesis statement. Use either open or closed thesis statement. Open thesis just states your interpretation of the piece while closed thesis gives a little more information; your interpretation along with the criteria against which you used to interpret.
2. Body: You will explain and support your interpretations through specific references and explanations of the source text. If you are employing only one analytical criterion, you organize the body into sections, each one focusing on one criterion example at a time. If you are using multiple criteria, then you organize the body by each section as consisting of examples to each criterion respectively.
3. Concluding Section: Bring essay to satisfying close by echoing your thesis again, reiterating its importance or significance of your interpretation, explaining how your interpretation helps readers better understand the text or answer a key critical question...etc.
Analysis assignments vary widely across ________
disciplines
What should you check for as you revise your essay?
1. Accuracy. Be sure you have not misinterpreted the source text.
2. Development. Make sure your interpretations have been fully developed and explained.
3. Clarity. Make sure your word choice and sentence structure is appropriate. Do any terms need to be explained? Should be understandable to readers.
4. Balance. There should be a balance of your interpretations to the examples of any criteria used to support your interpretations? [Show Less]
