How to Write an Analysis Essay
Knowing how to write an analysis essay is critical in the delivery of top notch academic papers. When you know how to write an analytical essay, you will always find it very easy writing other academic papers like dissertations, reports and research papers. With the tips and examples that we have outlined herein, you can quickly find out how to write an analysis essay about just any subject.
An analysis essay is one of the basic types of essays that students are usually asked to write at school. An analytical essay is an academic paper that requires you to carefully study a given text or piece of work and then explain the events detailed therein. Apart from texts, you can also be asked to analyze photos, videos or audios.
In order to effectively master the art of how to write an analysis essay, it is important to note that the paper requires more than just giving a summary of the given piece of work. A good analytical essay should be focused on how the work was done. For instance, an analysis of a book requires you to clearly show the themes portrayed therein and how other various literary elements have been used in the copy.
An analytical essay can also be about a report, data, event or speech.
Tips on how to write an analysis essay
Writing an analysis essay requires you to vividly highlight the smaller bits of the work in order to give the readers the bigger picture which is hidden to many. Follow the guidelines outlined below to find out how to write an analysis essay with ease.
Understand the aim of the essay
An essay analysis implies that you will need to come up with a claim or some form of argument regarding the work that is to be analyzed. In some cases, you will be asked to concentrate on just a particular idea in the piece.
In order to come up with a good and compelling argument, it is important that you study the given work or text. Besides, you may also need to conduct a little research to acquire a better understanding of the piece.
Choose what you want to discuss
In general analytical essays, you will simply be given a text or any other piece of work and told to analyze it. The best way to ensure that you do not encounter problems during writing is to settle on an argument that you can effectively address.
In most instances, you will have to come up with a topic for the essay on your own and all these can only be easier if you choose a specific claim that you can prove according to the work to be analyzed.
However, you have to critically review the whole piece of work, break the points down and come up with a compelling idea.
In choosing what to discuss in the essay, it is also critical that you collect all the evidence that will be used in supporting the claim while studying the given work. Only settle on an idea if it has enough evidence to back it up.
Formulate a thesis statement
The creation of a thesis statement is also another very important aspect on how to write an analysis essay. A thesis statement is the main argument that you will be supporting in the rest of the essay, thus, requires thorough brainstorming.
Look at the topic from different perspectives before settling on a claim. A good claim should be linked to the topic and also one that you can adequately support in the essay. The statement should be able to provide a clear picture of what you intend to discuss in the paper.
After collecting all your points and deciding on an angle to pursue in the analysis, it is important to draft an outline. This will help you to remember the ideas to include in the discussion, in the right order.
Steps on how write an analysis essay
Many students often think writing an analytical essay requires giving the summary of a particular publication. However, that is not true. The following steps should guide you on how to write an analysis essay.
Introduction
The introductory paragraphs of your analysis essay should contain the hook and thesis statement. Besides, it should also clearly show how you intend to prove the thesis.
The introduction should be engaging and also provide a background information on the subject. However, these should be expressed in brief without being too overzealous.
Simply state your argument and give a smooth transition into the rest of the essay.
In some analytical essays, you may be required to include an executive summary and that implies the introduction will come after a short summary of the subject of analysis.
Body paragraphs
Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence supported with evidence from the given piece of work. On this part, you will have to be more detailed with facts in order to give the readers an elaborate picture of the discussion in the essay.
Every evidence that you give should be related to the topic sentence and thesis statement. In order to add weight to your argument, it is advisable to give more than one example or evidence to support every claim.
The CEE approach could be ideal in writing the body paragraphs. This approach requires that you start by making your claim, giving evidence and then a proper explanation of the idea.
It is always important that you give actual statements or quotes from the text as they are presented by the author in order to make your argument more compelling and relevant.
When giving quotations or paraphrasing, you should know the right format that is recommended for your essay. The commonly used styles include MLA, Chicago, APA and Harvard.
Conclusion
In the final stage of the essay, you should remind the reader about your argument in the paper. This means that you should echo the thesis statement without using the same words used in the introduction.
Some analysis essays may also require you to give a broader connection of the outlined ideas at the end of the paper. This implies that you need to give the readers something to relate to or tell them how the argument of the essay can apply in a wider concept. In this way, readers will be left with something to think about.
Giving a broader view of the essay could also mean pointing out how your claim affects other arguments about the piece of work under analysis. Besides, it could also imply that you tell how the analysis could change the mind of readers.
Examples of Analysis Essays
The following analytical essay samples can also assist you in mastering the art of how to write an analysis essay quickly and easily.
Example 1
Sample Analysis Essay on Kellogg Company
‘’Kellogg Company is an industrial organization that manufactures and markets ready to eat cereal and convenience foods. The company specializes in various foodstuffs like veggie foods, crackers, cookies, cereal bars and fruit flavored snacks (Forbes 2013). In February 2012, the Multinational organization manufactured the products outlined above across 17 countries and sold to over 180 countries…’’
Read the entire analytical essay here.
Example 2
Sample Essay on Environmental Analysis Report: An Organization in Australia
‘’This report provides a critical analysis of the internal and external factors affecting the recruitment of Target and the selection process within Australia. Target is among the main retailers in Australia, with about 300 stores across the region. The company has a workforce of about 800 employees. Corporate culture and HRM issues are some of the key internal factors that affect the recruitment and selection process within this organization. These elements have proven to bear positive influence on the processes within the company. Demographics of the job market, economic factors and the organization’s image are among the identified external factors affecting the selection and recruitment processes in the company…’’
Click on this link to view the whole sample essay.
Example 3
Sample Article Analysis about ‘’A Communication Perspective on Cohabitation and Contemporary Dating Relationships’’ by Jennifer S. Priem and Catherine A. Surra
‘’The family is an important part of society and an essential social element that is defined by the way family members relate to each other, starting with the relationships and marriage. There has been significant progress in enhancing communication in the family unit. Studies show that communication patterns influence one another from one generation to the next (Vangelisti, 2004).
This essay will review the article, ‘’A Communication Perspective on Cohabitation and Contemporary Dating Relationships’’ by Jennifer S. Priem and Catherine A. Surra. The review will summarize the article, give a short structure analysis, identify the outstanding sections and offer a general reflection of the article…’’
Read the rest of this analysis essay here.
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References
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Analytical-Essay
https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/analytical-essay-outline/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/725/03/