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Appreciating a writer’s intention, understanding what they did to achieve it (which includes their writing techniques – the kind of language they use), and the ways their work fits into a wider context, is called analysis.
Analytical writing is about something that’s been said or written by someone else. You have to give your views about it. It’s not enough to give an opinion, the reader /marker needs to know why you think this. Your opinion needs to be explained and justified, and your answer must be clearly based on the text of the work you are studying.
Think about some of the things you’ve read recently. If it’s a sport report, or a fashion mag, or a movie review it might be pretty easy to grasp the author’s purpose, as well as the audience it’s written for, and the context – the situation surrounding it.
But what about more literary writing? What is a poet on about? Have you ever considered an author’s purpose in writing fiction?
There are many possible answers, but a poem might intend to stir emotions, and provoke thought. It might make us stop and contemplate something. It may written be in praise or sorrow, or it might just be to entertain us, to make us laugh.
If you’ve read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, or Animal Farm by George Orwell you might see their intention quite easily. But why would JK Rowling came up with Harry Potter? Or what about The Huger Games, or Maze Runner? And what was Lewis Carroll getting at when he wrote Alice in Wonderland?
These are complicated questions. You will be thinking about similar ones in your studies.
Fun fact: Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins was channel surfing one night she found herself seeing the Iraq war mixed up with reality TV. She got the idea of exploring the shockingly small difference between the two. She wants us to think about some big issues in our society.
In English you might answer a question about a novel you’ve studied, or a poem, a film or a TV show. Is Hamlet a coward? Is Lady Macbeth the ‘real’ murderer? Are Romeo and Juliet’s parents to blame for the whole schmozzle?
In other subjects you might have to talk about something you’re studying , a current issue that’s in the news, or something that’s of interest in society. Your topic could be something to do with history, or religion, economics, or sport. The range of possibilities is enormous, but in all cases, your job is to explore and respond personally to whatever-it-is.
Four things to do
The four key elements for the analytical format are:
The main idea (known as the thesis)
What leads you to have this idea (why your thesis is believable).
Explaining and justifying – leading the reader through your idea in detail, why your idea is strong.
Providing evidence
specific quotes
naming the writer’s technique
explaining the effect of the technique
why the quote is significant.
Analytical writing is a complex skill and you can expect to take a long time to develop it. You start work on it in early high school. By the time you’re a school leaver you need to be accomplished at it, and as a University student this skill is absolutely essential. It is quite likely to be the only type of writing you’ll do at University.
👿 Things not to do
There are some big ‘no no’s’ when it comes to analytical writing. Never retell the story you are writing about. Do not describe, always explain.
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