12 Analytical Writing
In this chapter, we will practice:
- describing the components of which texts are made and how they work to make claims and appeals in specific rhetorical situations
- recognizing and explaining specific rhetorical devices, strategies, and/or logical fallacies we see speakers using
- making analytical claims and thesis statements
- supporting analytical claims with discussion of specific textual elements and research
What is analysis?
Analysis is “the process of methodically breaking something down to gain a better understanding of it. Analysis also includes the ability to connect pieces of information as the basis for generalization or explanation” (“What is Analysis?” par. 1). As a skill, analysis involves “breaking something down and taking a close look at each of its parts while looking for themes, patterns, and assumptions” (“What is Analysis” Figure 1). Developing and practicing a skill such as this is foundational to creating complex arguments and communicating critically with others and in our communities.
We perform analysis just about every day in our interactions with people, places, and materials. Let’s say you’re walking down the street with your friend and you spot this neat little coffee shop with tables and comfy sofas outside. You think, “Hmm. That looks like a cool place; let’s check it out!” But as soon as you walk in it looks rundown and there’s an odd smell of old food and burnt coffee. What do you do? Well, you might have a look around, think about it for a minute, but then walk right out. Guess what you just did there? You analyzed! You broke down the components of the place, the situation, and your tolerance level to determine whether it was worth your while to stay. You probably also analyzed the shop’s appeal to customers after you left and continued walking down the street, talking with your friend. You may have even discussed the occurrence with your friend. Either way, you analyzed the situation and made a determination based on your analysis.
Analysis can be applied to content but may also cover form, function, and context. For example, an analysis assignment in an art appreciation class might ask you to analyze the subject and iconography of a painting, but also expect you to analyze the use of shape, space, color, and texture, form, as well as the artist’s intended purpose (function) and the culture or time period in which the work was created (context).
While each academic discipline approaches the analytic process a bit differently, the essential skills of analysis are the following:
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- Breaking down information or artifacts into parts
- Uncovering relationships among those parts
- Determining motives, causes, and underlying assumptions
- Making inferences and finding evidence to support generalizations
These all work in conjunction with one another to present critically sound insight on an idea, movement, argument, film, painting, place, or other object of analysis.
What is written analysis?
As much as analysis is a skill, it is also a genre that comes with certain expectations identifying it as analysis. Recall our discussion regarding genre expectations and how they relate to the audience. When a text or, as we like to say, an artifact, is classified as a certain genre, the audience expects it to follow a certain pattern. So, in composing an analysis and using this skill to do so you will:
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- Identify and describe the content’s components (Describe)
- Examine closely how or why these components are put together (Analyze)
- Explain how effective or ineffective the content’s structure and purpose is, and why (Evaluate)
Following these three steps, your audience will recognize it as analysis and be able to understand your purpose better.
Why does analysis matter so much both as a genre and skill, though? Well, analysis helps us understand what we’re seeing, reading, and expressing. The process of breaking an artifact down and looking closely at its parts helps us understand what makes effective writing; and this process provides us with a blueprint for making our writing more effective. So, regardless of the genre we’re working with, if our analysis is sound, then our message is clearer and our communication is more successful.
Analysis prompts you to take a deeper look at what’s in front of you by breaking a text down into smaller components in order to better understand how various elements interact to send a particular message to an audience. Below are five questions to help you get started writing your analysis essay.
Analysis prompts you to take a deeper look at what’s in front of you by breaking a text down into smaller components in order to better understand how various elements interact to send a particular message to an audience. Below are five questions to help you get started writing your analysis essay.
- A question that prompts a closer look: what is an important question you have about this text and its presentation?
- A description of the subject you are analyzing: what is the context for this text? What various elements catch your attention first, second, and third?
- Evidence drawn from close examination: what textual evidence might support your analysis of various elements that stand out to you?
- Insight gained from your analysis: how do you understand the subject of the text differently after having paid close attention to particular elements and components? How specifically can this text be criticized or praised?
- Clear, precise language: what are the key terms that need to be defined for any reader to understand this text and your analysis of it?
Additional Resources
Aimee Shattock has a series of videos on analytical writing. While they are all quite helpful, her second video “How To Write An Analytical Essay: Planning” offers instruction on focusing on analysis and brainstorming techniques to begin the essay.
Her third video “Analytical Essay: How To Structure Your Ideas” offers several ideas on how to create body paragraphs in the essay.
Genre Example: Rhetorical Analysis Essay
What is a rhetorical analysis? A rhetorical analysis essay evaluates the efficacy of a text’s message by examining how well rhetorical elements work together to reach the intended audience. Rhetorical elements include a range of items, such as diction, tone, sources, structure, and even modes of persuasion, ethos, logos, and pathos. The purpose of a rhetorical analysis essay is to discuss how these individual elements function within the text and how they work together to convey the message successfully to a specific audience.
A rhetorical analysis will need to:
- focus on a specific text
- examine individual rhetorical elements
- discuss the purpose and effect of those elements
- evaluate the efficacy of the message
One key to writing a rhetorical analysis is to focus on individual elements rather than the overall topic of the text. Getting off track and arguing the issue is very easy to do with this type of essay since most people want to join the conversation rather than analyzing specific elements. However, try to stay focused on each rhetorical element individually; evaluate how that element functions within the text and evaluate how well it functions in regard to the target audience. Refer to the chapter What is Rhetoric? for further explanations and examples of what rhetoric is and, just as importantly, what rhetoric is not. This chapter also provides heuristics for analyzing author, audience, setting and context, purpose, medium, positionality and identification, and rhetorical fallacies, which are a good place to begin for writing a rhetorical analysis essay.
What are other approaches to writing a rhetorical analysis? Writers can choose from many approaches to analyze a text, such as the Toulmin Method (See “Analyzing Claims (i.e., Toulmin Method)” for Argumentation, Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation (See “Another Approach to Argument” under Alternative or Cultural Methods and Approaches for Argumentation, or even the modes of persuasion of logos, ethos, or pathos (See “Writing with the Appeals” for Argumentation).
What are some examples of this genre?
- “Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in Grose’s ‘Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier’” by Harriet Clark
- Sample Rhetorical Analysis: Rhetorical Analysis of Addison’s “Two Years are Better Than Four”
Need more? The University of Life has posted this helpful video “Writing Center: Rhetorical Analysis.