Essay writing and textual analysis
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The Essay
Tense – writing in the present tense – mostly – as if the author is alive and writing to you
now. However, if the quote is in past tense, don’t change it unnecessarily … unless it is to
fit in with your sentence. In that case, use brackets [ ]. When you quote, do so verbatim,
word for word, even if there is a spelling or grammatical mistake.
Eg, The author writes how ‘she have [sic] not noticed the changes’.
sic is short for sic erat scriptum, Latin for ‘thus was it written’. In other words, you are
saying to the reader, ‘I didn’t write this, including the mistake; it is exactly as the author
has written.’
Introduction – purpose
• A one liner to state what the key point of the text examined is about. Best if that
is the subject you want to dissect.
• Give an outline on what you intend to examine. You may just be straight
forward if you are pressed for time, eg in under examination conditions: ‘I will
be exploring/analysing/examining …’
• Better boring but clear, than poetic but confusing and misleading.
• Use this bit as a way to structure your essay.
• Avoid the ‘logos, pathos, ethos’ structure. First, there are practically in every
text. So, talking about them in such a general manner is meaningless, as well as
using it to structure. You need to zoom in on details. Secondly, I find students
who use that invariably shift away from answering the questions directly.
Thirdly, these terms are loaded with other meanings and philosophical
thinking, which invariably complicates essays at your level.
Body
Do not take a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis. Work on themes or ideas, or
features. Relate the specifics to the whole essay, and the whole essay to its
constituent parts.
This is clearly the key portion of your essay. You MUST read the questions and
instructions carefully. As you can see from some of the exercises, with two given
texts, there may be overall questions that apply to both. Then following each of the
two texts, there are questions specific to them. You MUST answer both the overall
and specific questions.
The elements asked for really serve as your structure. Work through them
systematically. For instance,
Write an analysis on one of the following texts. Include comments on the
significance of context, audience, purpose and formal and stylistic features.
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Then, you forget for one text, these are also the accompanying questions:
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Comment on the multiple intents of the article.
Comment on the relationship between the text’s structure and how tone
is developed.
While for the other text, they are:
Discuss how the press release can appeal to multiple audiences.
Comment on the author’s use of personal pronouns and how this helps
informs the text’s purpose.
Both sets asking for answers particular to each text.
An even more basic approach:
Meaning of the text – not the obvious content
How is the meaning brought forth
Be nuanced, discriminating, sharp, precise when making claims. What is the issue with
this one?
“By using statistics, the writer aims to hit the audience with the unfiltered
truth about the unhealthy habits of people.”
What are statistics? What is meant by ‘unfiltered truth’? Is the latter oxymoronic?
Consider this as well:
“The writer also cites data from different sources, making his claim more
concrete as he is supported by many different professionals in this field,
making it harder for the audience guilty of sitting for long periods of time
everyday to argue against it.”
Comment: Is the writer offering data as a rear-guard action, anticipating a counter
argument against her, or is she simply giving the date to persuade her audience?
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Conclusion
Not merely a regurgitation of one’s argument. Summarise your overall point (if
more than one, keep to no more than three main ones) impression, which could
use words such as ‘the writer is sophisticated in the way s/he persuades, due to …’
Are there any potential flaws in the text? If there are, incorporate into the body, if
need to deal with it only at the end of your essay, then set it as a penultimate
paragraph before the concluding one. You shouldn’t be bringing up new points
that are controversial in the conclusion. You could point to large issues sort of
connected but not the focus of your essay or required by the questions.
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Some writing conventions
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Formalities
1. ALWAYS read the questions and instructions carefully and thoroughly. What are
the specifics in the question (essential, MUST analyse and answer) and what is the
general (secondary, subordinate to the specific). At times, there are questions that
apply to two different texts with more, different one, attached to each text. You are
required to answer both sets of questions but the one after the text is primarily
the question to answer.
Sometimes, extra information is given at the end of the text, eg, biodata of the
author. It is entirely unacceptable when it is clear the author is a woman and you
use the masculine pronoun. It demonstrates carelessness on your part.
2. Clear demarcation of paragraphs. Use indentation and extra line space to show a
new paragraph.
3. New topic, new paragraph.
4. Quotations – use single quotation mark ‘ ’. If quote within quote, then use double
diacritical marks “ ” for the quote within.
5. If you are referring to words, use the quotation marks.
Eg
a. The ‘we’ in the sentence refers to a group of marginalized workers.
b. We are not at all amused by ‘we’ when it really to be a ‘them’.
c. The idea of spirit bleeds from ‘manifestation’ as if to denote a bursting forth
of some ethereal substance into his very being.
6. Typed essays should be double spaced.
7. Paginate your work.
8. Titles. Eg, ‘Walk the talk: sitting is the smoking of our generation.’
a. The main title is ‘Walk the talk.’ Thus, when referring to the title, it is this.
b. The subtitle which usually gives a clearer idea of the subject of the text
(because titles are designed to be catchy), is ‘Sitting is the smoking of our
generation.’
c. When referring to the *full* title, it is ‘Walk the talk: sitting is the smoking of
our generation.’
d. Note, this is how titles of articles and papers are referred to. Titles of books are
in italics when typed. When written, quotation marks are used and each word
of the title has the first letter capitalized (except for articles within such as ‘to’,
‘the’). Eg, ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’, ‘How to Plan Anything Gluten Free’.
9. The Oxford comma, and punctuation in general. Oxford comma. I would use the
oxford comma for three items and above, as in the sentence in point (14). The
following memes are self-explanatory.
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Then, there is needs for just good, clear use of punctuation:
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10. This is a parenthesis ( ), and these are brackets [ ], also known as square brackets.
11. Numbers – One to nine, spell them out. 10 and above, ie, numbers with two digit
or more, write them as numerals.
However, if you are referring to numbered items, use numerals. Eg.
Page 2, row 1, panel 4.
Citations, referring to authors
12. Unless you are a personal friend, do not address author’s by their first name in
essays; always their last name, eg,
a. ‘Coetzee says …’ not ‘John says …’
b. ‘Angelina Jolie spoke …’ not ‘Angelina spoke …’ and most definitely not, ‘Angie
spoke …’
13. When using abbreviations, whether ones you make up or internationally accepted,
always spell them out first. Example,
‘The author of Waiting for the Barbarians (WB) is a South African.’
‘The World Health Organisation (WHO) still has a few tricks up its sleeves.’
Writing
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a) Introductions & conclusions
14. The opening paragraph is very important. It can be exciting, eye-catching,
exuberant. However, if that doesn’t come naturally to you with writing, don’t do it;
it’ll come across as pretentious, a real turn-off for the reader. Then, you take the
straightforward path, as if you are introducing a friend.
A sentence to give the reader an idea of what the article is about. However, in
school assignments, it’d be better if you can incorporate your argument into it. For
instance, an article on prolonged sitting as harmful:
Merchant takes an unconscious human activity and effectively left
readers standing in awe - sitting.
15. Let the reader know what you intend to do, but always address the questions. A
straightforward line could be:
i)
I will examine the effectiveness of structure and tone, the use of
formal features, and stylistic devices.
ii)
Kadare gave life to the kanun through establishing its pervasiveness
in the novel, the various imageries, and access to the inner lives of
the characters.
OR, less direct,
16. If you write in your introduction:
‘I shall be exploring the context, formal, and stylistic features of the
text.’
You are signaling the structure of your essay. That is, you will be expected to begin
analysing context first, followed by formal features, and lastly stylistic.
To upturn the order you made will be annoying.
NOTE how your stated intention also acts as an outline that structures your essay
for both your reader and you. If you forget, return to the introduction to keep you
focused.
17. Your concluding paragraph is the last thing the reader will see of your essay. Don’t
just regurgitate your points; you have already discussed them, why repeat?
Summarise no more than three of your key points (depending on how long your
essay is and what is required). Ensure those key points answer the questions
directly. Then, try to add something ‘newish’ but not a new point that requires
discussion. For instance, potential implications which would have been hinted at
or touched on only in your analysis. This way, your conclusion is not repetitive,
weak, or flaccid.
b) Voice
18. There has been quite a shift in the voice used in formal and academic writing.
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The shift began some 30 years ago, or thereabouts. It used to be expected that one
writes in the passive voice, to convey at the very least, some sort of objective
distance. The convention now is to write in the active voice. I recommend writing
in the active voice as a rule of thumb though that may change in some
circumstances. It is difficult to be prescriptive as to what these situations are.
Depending on subject matter, the use of the first person pronoun is generally
eschewed in formal writing.
c) Textual evidence
19. Back your statements, interpretations, analyses, evaluations with evidence from
the text. Quotations are just one way of proving your point.
20. Quoting for evidence is good but insufficient. You need to analyse the quoted text.
The 'how' is the key part as you need to show the effects of the various features,
from stylistic to literary and linguistic. Eg (student’s, modified)
Biggar opens the essay with a statements, ‘Rhodes will likely fall’
Not only has the first letter of the statement been bolded and
written in a much bigger font size to focus the reader’s attention on
the start of the article, the use of this short sentence also invokes a
sense of mystery and curiosity in the reader.
21. Avoid long quotes:
Far from being racist, he showed consistent sympathy for individual
black Africans throughout his life. Nor did he attempt genocide
against the Ndebele during their 1896 uprising — as activists have
sometimes claimed — which might be suggested by the fact that the
Ndebele tended his grave for decades. And he had nothing
whatsoever to do with General Kitchener’s ‘concentration camps’
during the Boer War of 1899-1902, which themselves had nothing
morally in common with Auschwitz.
In the above, the highlighted portions are eminently usable.
22. Giving line or paragraph numbers by way of textual evidence is NOT acceptable. It
also misses the point of textual analysis.
23. Quote verbatim. Eg
Wilde, always a witty dandy wrote of atonement, ‘The only way to
atone for being occasionally a little overdressed is by being always
absolutely over-educated’.
If there was an error by the author, eg in Wilde’s quote, and ‘absolutely’ came out
as ‘absolotly’, you add a ‘sic’ in brackets, like so:
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Wilde, always a witty dandy wrote of atonement, ‘The only way to
atone for being occasionally a little overdressed is by being always
absolotly [sic] over-educated’.
Sentences & substance
24. Avoid colloquialism in formal writing, eg ‘okay.’ Or casual tone with abbreviations
such as ‘aren’t’, ‘they’re’ instead of ‘are not’ and ‘they are’, unless these are
quotations.
Note the difference between ‘its’ and ‘it’s’.
its is possessive: ‘The dog and its tail.’
it’s is abbreviation for it is: ‘Its raining dogs and cats.’
BUT, the use of the apostrophe is usually possessive. Eg:
The woman’s hat …
James’ umbrella …
25. Phrasing questions into sentences:
Eg.
NOT: She raises the question where are we going?
YES: She raises the question of where we are going.
YES: She raises the question, ‘Where are we going?’.
26. Avoid using same words in same sentence in essays. Eg, ‘Her problem was the
problem of obedience.’ Rephrase: ‘Her problem was the issue (alternative words
– question, matter, difficulty) of obedience.’
This does require you to expand your vocabulary, BUT use your new multisyllabic words carefully.
27. Be clear who or what you are discussing:
This is NOT clear: James said to John that he will bring the mat but he should also
be carrying the picnic basket so that he won’t have to look for food stalls and he
won’t be too hungry thereafter.
Compare with: James said to John that James will bring the mat but John should
also be carrying the picnic basket so that James won’t have to look for food stalls
and John won’t be too hungry thereafter.
Better yet: Break the long sentence up into short ones.
28. Hedge but do it in a smart way. The text is before you. Unless you know it
beforehand, you have no idea if it is the full text or an extract, especially if that
information was not offered. Use vague of ambivalent terms like ‘extract’, ‘text’.
For instance, if you intend to count the number of times an idea or word is used to
make a point, you write, ‘In this extract/ In the given text, the idea was repeated
in 20 out of 37 lines.’
You hedge also with words like ‘seems’, ‘appears’, ‘apparently’, ‘gives the
impression’, etc. When an assertion appears strong, try to avoid generalization, or
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overly strong statements, eg, ‘Jolie is insisting that every citizen is responsible for
the plight of the UN’. Soften a little with:
a. It appears that Jolie is insisting that every citizen is responsible for the plight
of the UN.
b. It seems as if Jolie is insisting that every citizen is responsible for the plight of
the UN.
c. The impression formed from this extract is that Jolie is insisting that every
citizen is responsible for the plight of the UN.
d. One would be inclined to think that Jolie is insisting that every citizen is
responsible for the plight of the UN.
Structure-organisation
29. Avoid working through sections in essay. Organise around concepts, points,
themes, etc.
30. Avoid the logos-ethos-pathos structure. Students end up not answering the
questions when using this, or worse, do not understand these terms and used
them wrongly. Additionally, these terms are loaded a variety of meanings and
implications in philosophy and literary theories; not as simply as they appear.
31. Choosing the elements to put in the essay, clearly and sufficiently.
Here are tw examples of selecting your material according to the questions and
placing the emphases correctly.
Q1) Write an analysis on one of the following texts. Include comments on the
significance of context, audience, purpose and formal and stylistic features.
Consideration: Audience and purpose can be rolled into one. Formal and
stylistic features, work on separately though they are linked.
Do I need to touch on structure and tone? Yes, but here, for instance, if I
am answering the audience portion, then my discussion of structure and
tone are about how the latter two demonstrates the kind of audience
targeted, potentially shape the audience's perspectives, affect the
audience, etc.
Q2) Comment on the relationship between the text’s structure and how tone is
developed.
Consideration: In this question where the relationship between structure
and tone is asked for, do I still need to bring in the audience?
Yes, but only in terms of how writing, speaking, performing for the
targeted audience influence, shape, impact on the relationship between
structure and tone.
That is what I mean by shifting the emphasis to suit your purpose. Your purpose
is to answer the question fully.
That is what I mean by shift the emphasis to suit your purpose, which is to
answer the question(s) fully.
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Last words
32. A strong and wide knowledge base of as many disciplines as you can learn, is
important and most useful, whether you wish to be scientist, a novelist, an
engineer, or a politician. For instance, one cannot quote John Lennon or Tony
Morrison today, and assert they are endorsing your views! First, both are dead.
Secondly, even if you use the words of someone famous, authoritative, and alive,
you quoting them does not mean they endorse whatever you are saying.
A wide knowledge base allows you comprehend the text in more profound ways
and you become less open to manipulation. Literary skills are both readily
transferrable and applicable to any discipline or occupation, and in my experience,
most useful too.
33. One key way to expand your knowledge base is to read AND reflect on what you
have read. Content aside, look at how the authors write, especially the ones you
find persuasive, moving, touching. Analyse how they write that achieved those
effects.
~ end ~
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