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How to Write Convincing Analytical Essay

There are many types of essays that students are required to write in college. Writing some of them may be easy while working on some essays might be quite challenging.

Such assignment as an analytical essay implies a thorough examination of an object and many students might find the process of completing this task to be quite daunting. Here is a quick guide on how to approach writing an analytical essay and get good grades.

What Is an Analytical Essay?

An analytical essay is a piece of writing, which is aimed at presenting some type of argument concerning the object of the analysis. The examples of things that may be offered for interpretation are the following:

  • Book
  • Movie
  • Event
  • Idea
  • Situation
  • Any work of art or literature
  • Issue or problem

7 steps to Follow

1. Choose your topic carefully

  • The subject needs to be interesting to you and your readers. In order to make your writing engaging, try to come up with a topic that is relevant both to you and your audience.
  • It must be thought-provoking and has a great potential to confirm an argument
  • There is no need to pick a broad topic unless you have an idea on how to narrow it down to fit into such a relatively short piece of writing as an essay
  • If you are given a prompt by your tutor, make sure that you fully understand it. In case you feel that you do not fully grasp what you need to write about, consult your tutor.

2. Do the brainstorming

Possibly, you have already figured out for yourself what you think about the subject of the argument. However, brainstorming will help you gather all your thoughts, ideas and facts in one place so that you could later organize them into the coherent text.

3. Create a thesis statement

After you’ve done the brainstorming, clear and concise formulation of the argument that will be discussed in your essay should be easy. It is possible that you might change your mind slightly in the process of writing. Remember that you can adjust your thesis accordingly after your text gets finished.

4. Compile the list of supporting pieces of evidence

The argument must be based on certain evidence in order to be viable. You can find necessary supporting facts by studying the subject of your discussion but you can also use other sources. As long as the claim from your thesis statement is properly supported, you have all chances to come up with a convincing analytical essay.

5. Create an outline

Even though you might not follow through the initial outline of your essay, creating one will give you a sense of direction. The traditional 5-paragraph structure is preferable but you can fit your argument in as many paragraphs as it is needed for a comprehensive discussion of the topic.

6. Start writing

  • Introduction

In this part, provide the readers with the basic information about the topic. You need to state the argument without actual summarizing of the claim (summary will be placed in the concluding part). Avoid giving away the details of the discussion since they will be included in the body paragraphs. Several sentences should be enough to engage the reader and give him/her an understanding of what you are going to talk about in your essay.

  • Body paragraphs

Each paragraph needs to have a topic sentence followed by the analysis. Examples, explanations and supporting pieces of evidence should lead to the conclusion, which can be easily tied to the main thesis.

  • Conclusion

Here you need to summarize the connection between the analyzed object and the argument. Depending on the topic of your discussion, you may include your personal response in this part of an essay. Make sure that the conclusion is short, clear and concise. Linking the results of your argument to a broader context is desirable and leaving some room for a thought can also make your essay interesting and memorable.

7. Proofread your essay

This step is vitally important so make sure that you do not skip it. The thing is that your brilliant ideas expressed in the essay might get overlooked if your writing is full of errors.

Thoroughly check your text for grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes. Make sure that all names, places and dates are correct.Ideally, get back to your essay after some time and have a fresh look at what you have written. Think whether you managed to get your point across and consider if something needs to be changed.