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An analytical essay is one of the most difficult pieces of writing due to the necessity to have an analytical mind. However, it doesn’t mean that you will not manage to write it successfully. The only difference is that you will have to spend a bit more time and efforts working on this type of an academic assignment, where the main purpose is to provide a well-grounded observation of a certain point of the chosen topic.
The name of an analytical essay supposes that the writer should analyze some specific idea. You can watch a movie, read a book, or just consider a certain situation from the life experience. Your task is to concentrate on one idea and provide all necessary information for its observation. In order to write a great analytical essay, you should narrow the topic choosing one section, which you could analyze deeply.
To develop an impressive piece of writing you will have to use critical thinking, learn more about the structure of an essay, and discover whether there are any secret tricks, which will help you to make the process of writing faster and more effective. Let’s start from the very beginning and have a closer look at the analytical essay structure.
What Should You Know about the Structure of an Analytical Essay?
The analytical essay is similar to other academic papers in terms of its structure. As any other type of an essay, it should have three main parts: an introduction, the main body, and the text summary or the conclusion. However, besides the general rules of structuring an essay, you shouldn’t forget about the distinctive features each essay type has.
Depending on the topic, which you are going to analyze, you may need to adjust the structure of the content. For example, the most frequently assigned topic for an analytical essay is the analysis of some literary work. In this case, you will have to write according to the following plan:
- The facts about the creation of the book.
- Problematics (topic) and idea.
- Composition. A brief plot.
- Characters and their significance in the literary work.
- Genre. Features of the language used by the author (at the level of vocabulary, syntax, phonetics and morphology).
- Means of expressiveness and their meaning.
- Rhythmics, trophy, the size of the verse (if you have chosen a poem for an analytical essay).
- The influence of the work on the world literary community.
- Personal evaluation or subjective opinion.
Have a Closer Look at the Introduction
If you have already written essays, you must know that it is very important to think hard of the first sentences of your work to make them eye-catching and original. An analytical essay isn’t an exception, and here you also need to write a hook thesis statement. There is one thing that makes this type of an essay a bit different from others. Your introduction should include not only sentences able to grasp the reader’s attention but also the background information. This information should be connected with the thesis and be relevant to it. You can start with the broader topic and narrow it gradually. Make sure you have used the logic transition.
Things to Keep in Mind Working on the Main Body
The main body of an essay is the major focus of your work, which contains the proof of the thesis written in the introductory part. Usually, the main body consists of either two or three paragraphs, each of which should be focused on one point. As you are going to write an analysis, you should remember that your main aim is to support the thesis statement providing an evidence in the main essay part.
You should write so that the reader has no doubts that you know what you are talking about. Select the words carefully making the content both attractive for the reader and informative at the same time. Make sure that each paragraph finishes with some persuasive idea, which helps to understand your point of view.
What Should You Write in the Conclusion?
The conclusion is a short paragraph, which plays a crucial role in the overall impression made by your work. Don’t hurry writing the essay summary as your goal is not just to paraphrase the introduction but to find the most appropriate method to link the achieved results in the final part and the goals set in the very beginning. You should think of one sentence that will be able to summarize the ideas presented in your paper so that the reader doesn’t have a feeling that it is not the end. Look through the text once again and highlight the key points that have been analyzed.
2 Hook Examples of the Analytical Essay
Here you are offered to look at the analysis of the lyrics of Emily Dickinson, which consists of an introduction, two paragraphs of the main body, and the conclusion.
Sample 1: “The lyrics of Emily Dickinson can be by right considered the phenomenon as it contains the elements of the contradiction while being the whole entity. It is significant that, despite the breadth of spiritual interests, the nature of the problems that worried the poetess practically does not change. In her case, there is no need to talk about the evolution of creativity: this is an increasing deepening of the motives that appeared in her very first texts, a testimony of the ever-deepening life of the spirit.
The innovative and original verse of Emily Dickinson seemed to her contemporaries something “too elusive”, then generally “shapeless”. The publisher of the eight poems written during the lifetime of the poetess, Higginson, wrote that they “resemble vegetables, this minute dug from the garden, the rain drops and dew can be seen on them, as well as the sticking pieces of soil.” This definition seems to be quite correct, especially if the word “soil” does not mean dirt, but soil as the foundation of everything that exists and is significant. Lyrics of E. Dickinson is really devoid of euphony and smoothness, so appreciated by the readers of her time. This poetry of dissonance, the author of which has not experienced the grinding and standardizing influence of any “circle” or “school” and therefore has preserved the uniqueness of style, clarity, and sharpness of thought.
Her poetic technique is just the technique of Emily Dickinson. What is its specificity? First of all, in the laconism, which dictates the omission of unions, truncated rhymes, truncated sentences. The peculiarity is also reflected in the punctuation system invented by the poet – in the wide use of a dash emphasizing the rhythm, and capital letters that highlight key words and emphasize the meaning. This form is generated not by the inability to write smoothly (Dickinson also has quite traditional verses) and not by the desire to stand out (she wrote exclusively for herself and for God), but her desire to isolate the very grain of thought – without a husk, without a shiny shell. This is also a kind of rebellion against the fashionable “curlicues.”
The form of Dickinson’s poems is natural to her and is determined by thought. Moreover, its incomplete rhymes, irregularities in style, convulsive changes in rhythm, the very unevenness of the poetry is now perceived as a metaphor for the surrounding life and is becoming more and more relevant. Actually, the time of Emily Dickinson came only in the 50-70s of the XX century, when one of the most important directions in American poetry was the philosophical lyrics filled with complex spiritual and moral collisions, and when the author’s innovative and free style ceased to shock the rumor already accustomed to dissonance compatriots.”
Sample 2: “Little Prince” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
“Little Prince is a deeply philosophical fairy tale, which is read by children from 3 years old but understood to the full extent only by adults. The story of the Little Prince reveals to the reader simple but eternal truths.
This fairy tale is about how a little boy discovers such a big world. He meets various interesting characters who teach him a lot, make him understand the world order better. As in all other works of the author, the tale “The Little Prince” is filled with imagery and deep symbolism. The work was written during World War II when the whole Europe was suffering from the sight of destruction and loss. Therefore, in the “Little Prince” images of war, loss, destruction often veiled. Thus, the desert becomes a symbol of spiritual thirst for a person living in a world devastated by war.
One of the main images of the tale is Rosa. She is capricious and defenseless. The little prince did not immediately understand her true nature, her inner harmony, and beauty. The conversation with Lisa opened the boy’s eyes. And one of the main philosophical ideas of the work is that beauty is only true when it is full of meaning and unique content. The little prince teaches the reader to love. It is the love, according to Exupery, which is able to heal all the wounds inflicted by a merciless war.
One of the key phrases of the fairy tale is what Lisa said: “To love is not to look at each other, it means to look in one direction.” These piercing words describe the feeling of love best. These words are the author’s personal experience. With the lips of Lisa, Exupéry shared his own inmost knowledge with the reader. In his seemingly childish tale, the author, with an irony characteristic of the genre, touches such deep matters as good and evil, love and beauty, friendship and loyalty, loneliness and death.
Simple and at the same time complex truths of the fairy tale “The Little Prince” make us kinder, more humane and more beautiful spiritually. A fairy tale teaches us to listen to the voice of our own heart, to see the true beauty and cherish love.”
If you were careful reading both examples of the analytical essay, you could notice that they contain the in-depth analysis of the topic, where the author concentrates on the central idea.
Top-35 Best Analytical Essay Ideas for You to Pick Up
There are so many things you can analyze that it is not easy to choose the best topic for your essay. If you have been brainstorming ideas but still don’t know what the subject of your analysis is going to be, don’t pass by the longest list of the best analytical essay topics you have ever found.
- Analyze the reasons for corruption.
- Why do many women leave their kids?
- Is there any negative influence on the kid if he lives with one parent?
- Why is smoking still considered fashionable among teenagers?
- Are there any differences between the boss-woman and a boss-man?
- Analyze your favorite movie character.
- Provide an in-depth analysis of the book you liked most in your life.
- Who has influenced your personal development and how this happened?
- Why do many couples divorce?
- Is it possible to be a perfect mom and a career-oriented woman at the same time?
- Analyze how Romeo and Juliet could live together if they families wouldn’t be against their relations.
- Is it harmful to play computer games for several hours every day?
- Does friendship between a man and a woman exist? Do you have any proof?
- Is love nothing more than simple biology?
- Why do young people never listen to their parent’s pieces of advice?
- Why do many young girls dream about the profession of a model?
- Is it possible to avoid natural disasters?
- How can pets influence the child’s psycho?
- Why is it possible to teach the parrot how to talk while it is impossible to do this with other animals and birds?
- Is there a possibility that trees and flowers have a certain level of conciousness?
- Why do females of some spiders eat the male?
- Why do some people need to listen to music doing any chores?
- Analyze the key problem of the famous literary work.
- Make an analysis of an English poem.
- Is the author the main character of all his works?
- Why is there one step from love to hatred?
- Is it possible to avoid conflicts with close people?
- Analyze the behavior of your parents towards your personal life and studies.
- Provide an analysis of the policy of the famous brand.
- Choose a song you like most and analyze the text.
- Which 5 things do you need to live normally?
- Analyze why people have such a great dependency on their gadgets.
- Analyze any dialogue from the “Little Prince”.
- Choose the greatest invention and analyze its significance nowadays.
- Analyze the current political situation in the world.
Hope you will pick up the most interesting topic, which seems more fascinating to you. Look at the helpful tips on how to structure an analytical essay, and you will definitely develop an incredible piece of writing. Use the whole potential of your analytical mind and brainstorm original ideas as this type of an essay allows to demonstrate your personal attitude to many things. However, you should remember that any point of view should be supported by the persuasive proof. Reread your paper before submitting it and the get the guaranteed A-grade.
Thanks for explaining how to structure an analytical essay. Now I have a clear picture of how it must look like.
Thanks for sharing good topics and helpful essay samples. Which topics should better be avoided as their preparation may take more time and efforts?
You can choose any topic you are interested in. The main idea is to be passionate about what you are writing. In case you have some topics ideas, which you are good at, give preference to those spheres you are familiar with. If you are free to choose any topic, then don’t choose vague themes, which you know nothing about as you will spend much time hitting books.
It was very useful! Thanks a lot! Now I have understood how the analytical essay differs from other essay types and which skills I need to have to succeed in its writing.
How do you think it is very important to include the background about the writer if I am going to analyze his literary work?
It is not obligatory to tell about the author if you are writing about one of his works. However, if you have found some logical connection, why not? You can show that certain situations