Your Basic Guide on how to Write a Critical Analysis Essay
Get to know how to write a critical analysis essay
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you are asked to write a critical analysis essay? Is it the work that goes into research or the need to have an authoritative voice? Whatever it is, it is imperative for you to know how to write a critical analysis essay because at one point, you will be expected to write one.
A critical analysis essay allows students to assess the various information and ideas they read and make a decision on whether to use the same to support the points they make. To write a critical analysis you need to:
- Carefully evaluate an idea and weigh evidence that supports it in order to see whether it is convincing
- Be in a position to explain the reason you find the evidence presented by an author either unconvincing or convincing.
Questions you need to ask yourself before you write a critical analysis essay
In order to know how to write a critical analysis essay, there are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself regarding the material you want to work on. These questions will help you think in a critical manner and include:
- Who is the writer of the work and what their bias or viewpoint is?
- Who the audience is and how that fact influences the manner in which the information is presented
- What main message is the work passing
- What is the evidence provided to support the main message
- Whether the evidence provided is convincing and if it has counter-arguments
- Whether or not you agree with the work
Once you answer these questions, it should be easy for you to write your critical analysis essay. The sample essay on cross cultural management is an ideal example of a critical analysis essay as written by experts. To write high quality papers, you need to explore the guidelines provided by professional writers.
Tips on how to write a critical analysis essay
Introduce the topic
Topic introduction is one of the most crucial steps in knowing how to write a critical analysis essay. Students often make the mistake of assuming that the reader already knows the topic. Whether or not they know the topic, your work is to introduce it so as to ascertain what you are writing about.
Identify controversies that surround the topic
If the author wrote on a matter that is disputable, you should include information regarding the other side in the essay. Also, you should explain how and why the author either succeeded or failed to argue against it.
- This is greatly significant whenever specific issues or points from the arguing side are directly mentioned in the work.
- In instances where the author has not mentioned any specific opposing opinions, it is still possible for you to mention the common oppositions in your analysis.
Explain the relevance of the topic
You should convince the reader that they should care enough to read your critical analysis essay. This means letting them know that by contemporary standards, the topic you have selected is relevant. Any article is viewed as relevant when the subject has implications for modern age and day though it can be relevant when a noteworthy thinker or writer is the article’s author.
Do not turn focus inward
The art of how to write a critical analysis is subjective but though this is the case, it is imperative to maintain an academic tone while writing instead of a personal one. Consequently, this means that at all costs, you should avoid using phrases such as “I think” or “in my opinion”.
As a matter of fact, you ought to completely stay clear of using the first person. This is because from the academic standpoint of view, identification of something as a personal opinion only weakens the essay. By looking at the sample essay on voter reform pro, you will be in a position to understand this concept better.
Avoid laying your focus on summary
You must provide sufficient summary about your work in order to ensure the critique has sensible context. While this is the case, note that a large section of your critical analysis essay must contain your individual thoughts and not those of the author.
Include a thesis
Including a thesis in your work is also part of knowing how to write a critical analysis essay. This should be different from that of the author. The thesis ought to be a short statement summarizing your evaluation of the work you are critiquing.
- For critical essays, the thesis you write can be both negative and positive though it can be strictly negative or positive as well.
- Note the thesis statement is part of the introduction as well.
Summarize your work
Quickly, sum the major points made by the author in their original work in their defense. You can accomplish this by providing a couple of examples but ensure they are brief. Overall, when writing the summary, it should not take more than a third of the essay’s body. Often, less is preferred. Also, you can describe briefly the manner in which the author has organized their text.
Break into the critique
Ideally, the essay itself is supposed to form the largest section of the body and conform to guidelines already mentioned. The analysis and summary should comprise at least 80% of the entire essay. Additionally, every idea should be presented in its own paragraph.
Make your conclusion with a final judgment
In the concluding paragraph of the critical analysis essay, you are supposed to restate your thesis clearly as well as overall opinion of the work analyzed. You are supposed to use the conclusion space as well to present your recommendation briefly on how the work you have analyzed can be improved. Improvements in this case might include appeals, the research approach and appeals. Also, it is important to note the conclusion ought to take only 10% of the overall essay. Another great example of a critical analysis essay can be found at here on “Sir Isaac Newton.
More tips on how to write a critical analysis essay
There are also great pointers on how to write a critical analysis essay by adding more critique into the essays. These are great as they help you impress your readers and they include:
- Avoiding any unwarranted description-While writing your analysis, you should include general history and details only into your argument for instance to show effect and crucial cause. It is important for you as a writer to distinguish the different between analysis (judging the reason something happened) and description (telling what took place).
- Interpreting the evidence-Explain why and how the evidence you present supports the point you are making. While learning how to write a critical analysis essay, interpretation is extremely important. It is crucial that you do not rely on evidence “speaking for itself”.
- Being specific-You should avoid making any sweeping generalizations or making points that are not easy to support with particular evidence. It is far more advisable to be more measured and link your argument to case studies or examples that are precise.
- Using counter arguments-These should always be used to your own advantage. If there are viewpoints that are against the argument you are making, it is advisable not to ignore them. It helps in strengthening your argument such that it includes opposing viewpoint and also explain the reason it is not quite convincing as the line of reason you have used in your critical analysis.
Evaluate your work
Once done writing your critical analysis, it is important to step back and review the work before submitting it. Some of the questions you need to ask yourself include:
- Why the reader should be convinced of what you have written
- Whether the conclusion is sufficiently supported by your preceding argument and analysis
- Whether you have included any statements that are unsubstantiated
Whatever you do, make sure that you review the work first or ask someone else to review it on your behalf. This will make it easy for you to spot some things that you might have missed and will also help you find answers to the questions raised above.
Would you like assistance in writing a critical analysis? If you need any assistance simply get in touch with us. Visit our homepage for more information about our academic writing services. You can also continue reading more academic paper writing guidelines and sample papers on this blog.
References
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis
https://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/StudyResources/Essays/sta-developessay.aspx#critical
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/critical-writing
http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/elejeune/critique.htm