How to Write an Analytical Essay
Prewriting for your essay
1.
2.
Understand the objective of an analytical essay. Generally, an analytical essay explores an issue, or
presents an opinion based on fact. Most often you will have to analyze another piece of writing or a film,
but you could also be asked to analyze an issue, or an idea. To do this, you must break the topic down into
parts and provide evidence, either from the text/film or from your own research, that supports your claim.
Decide what to write about. If you are writing this for a class, your teacher will generally assign you a
topic (or topics) to write about. Read the prompt carefully. What is the prompt asking you to do? However,
sometimes you will have to come up with your own topic.
 If you're writing an analytical essay about a work of fiction, you could focus your argument on
what motivates a specific character or group of characters. Or, you could argue why a certain line
or paragraph is central to the work as a whole. Example of a literary analysis topic: Explore the
concept of vengeance in the epic poem Beowulf.
3.
Come up with a thesis statement. The thesis statement is a sentence or two that summarizes the claim you
will make in your paper. It tells the reader what your essay will be about.
 Example of a thesis statement: A comparison of the female Grendel’s vengeance versus the
vengeful acts of the dragon shows both the belief in retribution that was an essential part of the
early Medieval age and that the dragon was more honorable in his act of revenge.
4.
Find supporting evidence. Look through the material you are working with, be it a book, film, or other
scholarly articles that support the claim you make in your thesis statement. List out the supporting
evidence, noting where you found it, and how it supports your claim.
 Example of supporting evidence: To support a claim that the dragon’s vengeance was more
righteous than the female Grendel’s, look at the passages in the poem that discuss the events
leading up to each monster’s attack, the attacks themselves, as well as the reactions to those
attacks.
5.
Make an outline. An outline will help structure your essay and make writing it easier. Generally analytical
essays contain an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In your outline, decide which three
key points of evidence you would like to discuss in each body paragraph. List the actual evidence from the
text, film, or article under each body paragraph header.
 Example outline:
 Intro
 BP1: Reasons for attack
 BP2: The actual attacks
 BP3: Beowulf’s reactions to the attacks
 Conclusion
Writing Your Essay
6.
Write your introduction. Your introduction should give your reader background information about your
topic. You should also state your thesis somewhere within the paragraph. Try to make your introduction
engaging but not too overzealous. Avoid summarizing the prompt--it’s best to simply state your argument.
Also avoid dramatic introductions (beginning an essay with a question or exclamation is generally best to
avoid). Do not use the first (I) or second (you) person in your essay.
 Example introduction: During the early middle ages, the Northern world was governed by the
notion that if someone was wronged, it was his or her right to seek vengeance. In the epic poem,
Beowulf, the hero Beowulf must fight two different opponents because they seek vengeance on
mankind. A comparison of the female Grendel’s vengeance versus the vengeful acts of the dragon
shows both the belief in retribution than was an essential part of the early Medieval age. By
looking at the reasons for the attacks, the attacks themselves, and Beowulf’s reactions to the
attacks, we can see that the dragon was more honorable in his act of revenge.
7.
Write your body paragraphs. Each body paragraph should have 1) a topic sentence, 2) an analysis of
some part of the text and 3) evidence from the text that supports your analysis and your thesis statement. A
topic sentence tells the reader what the body paragraph will be about. The analysis of the text is where you
make your argument. The evidence you provide supports your argument. Remember that each claim you
make should support your thesis.
 Example topic sentence: The key to differentiating between the two attacks is the notion of
excessive retribution.
 Example analysis: The female Grendel does not simply want vengeance, as per the Medieval
concept of ‘an eye for an eye.’ Instead, she wants to take a life for a life while also throwing
Hrothgar’s kingdom into chaos.
 Example evidence: Instead of simply killing Aeschere, and thus enacting just revenge, she
“quickly [snatches] up” that noble man and, with him “tight in her clutches,” she leaves for the fen
(1294). She does this to lure Beowulf away from Heorot so she can kill him as well.
8.
Know when to quote or paraphrase. Quoting means that you take the exact text and, placing it in
quotation marks, insert it into your essay. Quoting is good when you are making a point and supporting
your argument. Make sure that you use the correct form of quotation depending on if you are using MLA,
APA or Chicago style. Paraphrasing, on the other hand, is when you summarize the text. Generally,
paraphrasing is used when you are giving background about the text so that your argument has some
context.
 Example of a quote: Instead of simply killing Aeschere, and thus enacting just revenge, she
“quickly [snatches] up” that noble man and, with him “tight in her clutches,” she leaves for the fen
(1294).
 Example of a paraphrased sentence: The female Grendel enters Heorot, snatches up one of the
men sleeping inside it, and runs away to the fen (1294).
9.
Write your conclusion. Your conclusion is where you remind your reader of how you proved your
argument. You can also restate your thesis but reword it so that it is not just a repetition of the thesis
statement in your introduction. Some teachers also want you to make a broader connection in your
conclusion. This means that they want you to make a ‘bigger world connection’. This could mean stating
how your argument affects other claims about the text, or how your claim could change the view of
someone reading the text you analyzed.
 Example conclusion: The concept of an ‘eye for an eye’ was very present in the early Medieval
world. However, by comparing the attacks of both the female Grendel and the dragon, the
medieval world’s perception of righteous vengeance versus unjust revenge is made clear. While
the dragon acts out in the only way he knows how, the female Grendel attacks with evil intent.
 Example conclusion with a ‘bigger world connection’: The concept of an ‘eye for an eye’ was
very present in the early Medieval world. However, by comparing the attacks of both the female
Grendel and the dragon, the medieval world’s perception of righteous vengeance versus unjust
revenge is made clear. While the dragon acts out in the only way he knows how, the female
Grendel attacks with evil intent. This analysis should make any reader more sympathetic to the
dragon’s plight, while portraying the female Grendel as the immoral, evil creature she is.