Analytical essay example

Features of analytical essay

Newcomers often do not know about the various essay sub-genres and, therefore, write texts that have nothing to do with an assignment prescribed by a teacher. It is necessary to draw a line between analytical, descriptive, comparative and other types of essays.

It is clear from the name that you have to carry out an analysis of a certain object or phenomenon. But this information is definitely not enough to write a quality paper that meets all the academic requirements.

To begin with, it is worth noting that it is not about a summary. An analytical essay is something more than a simple description or report. How to distinguish a summary from an analysis? You may notice that the authors of examples of an analytical essay provide only those details that are directly related to the thesis. At the same time, the summary may be limited to a mere enumeration of facts, without pursuing any other goal than their presentation.

Analytical papers are focused on a specific aim. For example, if you write about some literary work, you do not need to provide a brief retelling (annotation). Rather, the task will sound like this: "The role of female characters in the Hamlet tragedy". That is, you should not only list all the ladies in the poem but also tell why Shakespeare created these images, what functions they perform in the plot.

You also may be asked to write about a disclosure of some topic, using specific literary techniques. That is, it is necessary to consider a phenomenon or a work of art through their individual elements.

Structure of analytical essay

If you want your text to be consistent and easily readable, it's worth adhering to the classical structure. Each good analytical essay outline example contains the following blocks:

1. Introduction.
2. Main part.
3. Conclusion.

Introduction

The central task of an introduction is to attract the attention of the reader, to make him a direct participant in the analysis. You should compose a hook, a thesis and some information about how you are going to prove the main idea of ​​the work.

Let's consider an analytical essay introduction example. Suppose you are working on the theme of the pursuit of wealth in the novel "The Great Gatsby".

Rhetorical questions, statistical data or bold phrases intriguing an audience are often used as a hook: "Do you think money can make a human happy?" or "Statistics says that a large percentage of millionaires commit suicide".

The thesis should sound like this: "Gatsby was disappointed in the American Dream. The pursuit of wealth led him to a dead end". Further, you can write "In my essay, I'm going to describe the metamorphoses taking place in the hero's worldview, the main events that provoked these changes."

Main part

The main part often consists of three paragraphs (there may be more, it's up to you) which have their own sub-theses. In most examples of analytical essay writing, each sub-thesis is proved by three arguments and has a mini-conclusion linking the evidence to the main statement outlined in the introduction.

Arguments should be really convincing. Avoid allegations that do not have a reliable basis. You will have to spend a lot of time studying information on the topic, but the work will not be in vain, because your paper will have a strong argumentation. Use books, media, websites, videos - all sources where you can find fresh and interesting ideas.

If you are analyzing some historical event, it is enough to indicate the facts from the textbooks. But when it comes to a literary work, you need to provide your own interpretation of the plot and explain why the reader should agree with it. Reinforce your statements with quotes from the text.

Conclusion

When all statements are substantiated with reliable arguments, you can sum up the results of the whole work. It is necessary to briefly retell the achievements obtained in the main part without copying of the mini-conclusions verbatim. A good analytical essay conclusion example consists of just a few sentences and does not leave a slightest doubt about the author's correctness in a reader's mind.

Proofreading and editing

Believe, an impeccable example of an analytical essay that you found on the Internet had a completely different content when it was first written as a draft. To achieve perfection, the author had to reread and rewrite it several times. You also need to be patient and hardworking if you want to achieve good results.

After the text is ready, take a break and consider it again with a fresh look. Surely you will find nonsensical phrases, errors and other omissions that must be eliminated. You will immediately want to add a few important sentences and to get rid of the meaningless material. Before submitting the paper to a teacher, make sure that it does not have any flaws in style, grammar, and structure.

Even after that, it may turn out that the paper is not as ideal as you think. There may be omissions which you simply do not notice. To identify them, give the text to a friend for an additional check. Benevolent criticism has not harmed anyone yet.

Practice as much as possible: read the papers of other authors and write your own essays. The gained experience will greatly simplify the work, allow you to create texts that will content the most demanding teachers. Over time, you will even enjoy the opportunity to be creative and express your own point of view. Good luck!