Content

• Steps
• Advice

The first times when you write an analytical essay, it can be very frustrating. But don't worry! Take a deep breath to calm down, drink a cup of coffee or something to stay awake, and then follow these steps.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Before Writing

1. 

   Understand the need for an analytical essay. An analysis requires you to argue, or claim, about what you are analyzing. Often you have to analyze a literary work or a movie, you may also be asked to analyze an issue or an idea. To do this, divide the topic into sections and provide your own evidence, either a sentence / video or your own evidence to support the claim.
   • For example “The movie Haunted house by "Stanley Kubrick using repeating motifs of Native American culture and their art to comment on the history of American occupation ”is a form of analytical essay. It goes into every word and creates a debate in the form of criticism.

2. 

   
   
   Think about what to write. If this is a writing exercise, the teacher will come up with the topics for writing. Read the instructions carefully and see what the topic asks you to do? However, there are times when you need to reflect on your topic to be able to understand.
   • If you are writing an analysis of a work of fiction, you can focus on arguing about events around a particular trait or specific group of character traits. Or, you can argue why that statement or action is central to the work. For example: Discover perceptions from remorse stated in the poem "Beowulf".
   • If you are writing about historical events, focus on the factors that drove the event.
   • If writing about scientific research, follow the steps in the scientific method to analyze the results.

3. 

   
   
   Use your mind. You may not immediately know what your main point is on the topic you choose. But nothing! Think for a moment and you will discover what you need.Try to think in as many aspects as possible.
   • Find images, metaphors, phrases or opinions that are repeated over and over again in your work. Such things are often quite important. Think if you can answer why they are so crucial? Do they repeat on purpose, or are they all coincidental?
   • Writing style in the work like? If you are going to write an eloquent analysis, for example analyzing how the author incorporates emotional reasoning to support his argument and try to see if the author's arguments. is effective or not. If you write a creative analysis, consider visual elements, movie scenes ... If you analyze your research, you may crush the methods and analyze whether the experiment is suitable.
   • Mindmaps are really helpful for some people. Start with the central topic, then branch out into smaller ideas, linking ideas together to know how they relate to each other.
   • Good maintenance can sometimes mess up your ideas. But that couldn't be a better start! Don't get rid of the things I think in a hurry. As you research your topic, write down whatever you can think of.

4. 

   
   
   Explore thesis. Your thesis statement can be a sentence or two that summarizes the ideas you will develop in your essay. It tells the reader what you are writing about. Don't: write a vague or overly clear argument like "Revenge is a central topic Beowulf.’
   Do: choose a specific argument like "The revenge in Beowulf shows that punishment was a necessity in the Anglo-Saxon era. In addition, the poem paints a picture of the dragon's integrity in revenge even more prominent than Grendel's mother. "
   • This is a point to analyze because it covers the whole poem and you can make a judgment.
   • This argument is "debatable", which means it is not an indisputable truth. Analytical essays use it to create controversy.
   • Make sure your thesis is “narrow” enough to fit within the scope of an academic exercise. The subject "The Regret in Beowulf" is so broad that it can be used for a doctoral thesis, not suitable for students. However, arguing about one character's revenge over another in a work can fit into a class essay.
   • Unless requested, avoid using the three-legged "tripod" argument that we will explore later. Such arguments will make you struggle to over-analyze and freeze your argument. Just talk about the argument in the thesis is fine.

5. 

   
   
   Find evidence. Depending on the assignment, you will refer to different materials, some just need to read textbooks (or documents related to the topic), some you have to work on external materials such as books. academic reference or newspaper. The exercise will tell you what kind of material you need. Good argument will make your argument more convincing. Write down your arguments, cite the source, and how it helps you to prove your point.
   • An example of an argument: To prove the dragon's integrity in revenge even surpasses Grendel's mother, look at the stanza that led to the attack of each monster, how they attacked, and the outcome of the attack. battle. Don't: ignore or edit arguments to fit your thesis.
     Do: edit your thesis to be more nuanced as you gain a better understanding of the topic during the analysis.

6. 

   
   
   Outline. The outline is the framework of the essay, making it easier to write. Make sure your posts are long enough. Some teachers are satisfied with the “5 paragraphs” criterion (1 Introduction, 3 Body paragraphs and 1 Closing paragraph) but there are also teachers who ask for longer and more detailed requirements. Based on that to plan.
   • If you are wondering because the arguments don't match, don't worry, creating an outline will help you figure out how your argument should be.
   • You can create an informal outline where you group ideas together to decide where you will present them later.
   • Your essay should be of sufficient length to be able to present your ideas adequately. Students often make mistakes when choosing a topic that is too large while developing only 3 paragraphs in the body, which makes the essay feel "swallowed". Develop your ideas in as much detail as possible.
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Part 2 of 3: Conducting Writing

1. 

   
   
   Write the introduction. Tell the reader key information in your topic. Don't be too sketchy, but don't go too deep. Suggestions should also be avoided as to what will be discussed in this article - only when we make an argument. Also, if you write too dramatically, it is not good (should limit the ending of the article with question marks or exclamation points). In general, do not use the first person (me) or the second person (you) in your essay. Should put the problem at the end of the opening paragraph.
   • Open sample post: In Anglo-Saxon culture, revenge is a legal thing and represents justice. There are many revivals in "Beowulf" that show that punishment is the cradle of this culture. However, the causes of the revenge are not the same. The poem paints a picture of the dragon's integrity in revenge even more prominent than Grendel's mother.
   • The preamble gives the reader information they need to know in order to understand your argument in the essay, and then makes his own argument about the complexity of the general topic (regrets) in the poem. This type of reasoning is interesting because it prompts the reader that they should read your article carefully and not just skim at the surface. Don't: start with words like "fill in the blanks" like "In modern society" or "From time to time" ...
     Do: briefly mention the title, author, and publication date of the quote you are analyzing.

2. 

   Write the body of the post. Each body paragraph should have: 1) Topic sentence, 2) Thesis and 3) Arguments to support the analysis and thesis. The topic sentence should tell what the paragraph is about. Arguments must support the argument. Remember that each sentence you present will play a decisive role in the overall problem.
   • Example topic sentence : The key to differentiating the two attacks is the notion of excessive punishment.
   • An example of analysis: Grendel's mother not only wanted revenge on a mere "blood debt", she also wanted King Hrothgar's kingdom to sink into flames.
   • An example of an argument: Instead of just killing Aeschere, she pretended to act, "Quickly grab the nobleman's neck" and "while he was terrified", she pulled him toward the swamp (page 1294). The goal is to lure Beowulf out of the Heorot region so that both of them can be killed.
   • In order not to forget, please memorize the formula "ĐCC": Questioning - Evidence - Proof. Whenever you raise an issue, immediately add arguments and explain why it proves that what you say is plausible.

3. 

   
   
   Know when to quote and when to comment. Quotations mean that you put the sentences and words of your work in your essay and put it in double quotes. Quoting is very effective when you want to use exact words or state something in your work to assist in asserting a problem. Make sure you use the correct citation style, as there are many different types of citation. Annotations, on the other hand, are when you want to summarize in an article. Annotation covers a lot of information in a short sentence, very effective if you need to quote a paragraph that is too long. Don't: include quoting more than two paragraphs in your paragraph, this is rule number one.
   Do: support all complex or controversial arguments with quotes or comments.
   • Citation example: Instead of just killing Aeschere, she pretended to act, "Quickly grab the nobleman's neck" and "while he was terrified", she pulled him toward the swamp (page 1294). The goal is to lure Beowulf out of the Heorot region so that both of them can be killed
   • Annotation example: The warrior woman Grendel infiltrates Heorot, grabs the nobleman by the neck and rushes towards the swamp (p.1294).

4. 

   
   
   Write your conclusion. The conclusion is where you remind the reader how you proved your argument. Some teachers also demand that the argument be linked beyond the world, that is to "make an impact with the surroundings". This can be understood as simply asserting how your arguments affect other people's thinking, or change the reader's opinion. Don't: introduce a brand new argument in conclusion.
   Do: broaden your argument by discussing its significance or putting it into context.
   • Example of conclusion: The concept of "debt for blood is paid by blood" was established very early in the Middle Ages. However, through the comparison of the attacks of Grendel's mother and the dragon, the perceptions of medieval society of just and meaningless revenge have been made clear. The dragon acted with good reason, while Grendel's mother had a dark scheme.
   • Example of a "external impact" conclusion: The concept of "blood debt is paid by blood" has been established since the Middle Ages. However, by comparing the attacks of Grendel's mother and the dragon, the perceptions of medieval society of just and meaningless revenge have been made clear. The dragon acted with the right reasons, and Grendel's mother had a dark scheme. This picture makes us think: In the eyes of contemporary Middle Ages, women are more powerful than men.
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Part 3 of 3: Completion

1. 

   
   
   Read it again to check for grammar and spelling errors. Obviously an article with too many errors will lower the score than the same article but will be corrected. Check for spelling errors, coherence, and punctuation errors.
   • If you do it on your computer, make sure you have the correct format. For example, use a standard 12 font (like Arial or Times New Roman) and use a 2.5 cm margin.

2. 

   Read the article aloud. This will help you find out where in the post is missing, as well as check for any misspellings.

3. 

   Make sure all characters' names, movie titles ... are spelled correctly. Teachers will usually deduct you points if a character's given name is misspelled throughout the essay. Refer to the document to see how these names should be spelled correctly.
   • If you're writing about movies, take a closer look at the character introduction. Also consult a few other sources to make sure the names are spelled correctly.

4. 

   Reread the text as if it were your teacher. Is it easy to see the writer's point of view when reading the article? Is the structure of the article easy to understand? Can the article explain the topic? etc ...

5. 

   
   
   Have someone else read your article. Listen for any ideas that need to be added or removed? Do they understand what you are writing? advertisement

Advice

• Ask the question "What am I trying to prove?". The answer is the main point in your essay, if not, you have lost the subject and need to fix it immediately.
• If your essay is formal, avoid using profanity. Although you still know the closer words to life are, the more realistic your essay will be, you won't want your essay to be underestimated by those words.
• Avoid being too vague. Ambiguity leads to misinterpretation, incoherence, and inconclusive analysis. Ambiguity also makes your argument less effective.