How to Write an Analytical Essay

The analytical essay reflects author’s critical response or reaction to the body of work. When writing this type of an essay, the author should use thorough analyses to clarify the meaning of the text by pointing reader’s attention to a very specific point of view the writer is talking about. That point is not a fact, but the author’s subjective opinion about the subject of the essay. The arguments used by the author should be supported by some solid reasoning.

 Structure of the Analytical Essay 

The analytical essay consists of the ensuing sections:

• Historical background. A piece of text that contains historical background relevant to the subject of the essay 
• Evidence-based argument. When the writer has collected the evidence, he goes on to making an argument which should be persuasive and based on gathered evidence from the text
• Evaluation of assumptions. Both implicit and explicit assumptions of the author are evaluated to see if they are a good basis for the selected arguments
• Explanation of contradictions inherent in the text. Contradictions may be a result of the author’s incorrect assumptions in regard to his target audience or other important aspects of writing
• Conclusion
  

  Introduction 

This section should provide an abstract, which is also known as the summary of the original text. It can include a brief biography of the author and some relevant information about his or her historical background. The last sentence of the introduction is the argument that writer is determined to prove.

 Thesis

It is a foundation of the essay, because a thesis statement includes the main idea of the analytical essay. In this type of the essay, the author makes a reactionary thesis, which means that it reflects his subjective opinion on the original work.

Within the body of the essay, the writer can highlight an aspect that supports the essay’s theme. The main body should consist of the text that clearly reflects the author’s own reaction and perception of the subject. All components of the essay should relate to one theme which should be continuously mentioned and supported with strong arguments throughout the whole analytical essay. 

It is the closing part of the analytical essay. Usually, conclusion of an analytical essay consists of one or two paragraphs deepening on the length of the essay and the power of the author’s creative spark. In conclusion, the thesis should be restated. After it, the author should briefly lead the reader through the main body of the text and once again point them to a closing statement. That statement shouldn’t be just a clipping from the body of the essay, but a complete creative statement that summarizes and gives a comprehensive outlook on the author’s opinion and ensures the reader in the righteousness of the arguments. The purpose of the conclusion is to convince the reader of the thesis and leave them satisfied with provided evidence. If this goal is achieved – the purpose of an analytical essay is served.