Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021

Analyze to demonstrate your critical reading
Reading and writing critically
Academic Reading and Writing

Whereas a summary most often answers the question of what a text says, an analysis looks closely at the parts of a text to examine how the text conveys its main idea. Looking at the parts — an author’s thesis, evidence, arguments, assumptions, biases, etc. — allows you to offer your insights about how the parts and the whole work together.

Start with questions and observations you have about the text:

✵ What puzzles you or doesn’t make sense about the text?

✵ What are the strengths of the text?

✵ What part of the text stands out and needs close examination?

✵ Is there a contradiction or misguided assumption in the text?

✵ Do you have any questions about the author’s thesis or use of evidence?

✵ What insights might you offer your readers to help them see the text from your perspective?

WRITING FOR AN AUDIENCE

A good strategy for academic writing is to keep your audience in mind as you develop an analysis. Remember that readers are eager to hear what you take from a text; they want to hear your observations, questions, and ideas. Some readers won’t necessarily interpret a text as you do or draw the same conclusions. Through your careful reading of a text, you show your audience something that they might not have seen or understood about it.

VIDEO

For more advice on writing analytically, watch "What is an analytical essay?"

Balancing summary with analysis

Summary and analysis need each other in an analytical essay; you can’t have one without the other. Your readers may not be familiar with the text you are analyzing, so you should briefly summarize the text to orient readers and help them understand the basis of your analysis. To balance summary with analysis, try the following strategies:

✵ Pose why and how questions that lead to an interpretation or a judgment of the text rather than to a summary (Why is the author’s argument unconvincing?).

✵ Formulate a strong position (thesis) to answer your questions about the text.

✵ Make sure your summary sentences serve a purpose and provide a context for analysis.

✵ Focus your analysis on the text’s main ideas or some prominent feature of the reading.

✵ Pay attention to your topic sentences to make sure they signal analysis.

Here is an example of how student writer Emilia Sanchez balances summary with analysis in her essay about Betsy Taylor’s article (see 4a). Notice how Sanchez begins her summary sentences by mentioning the title of the text and the name of the author. Before stating her thesis, she summarizes the author’s purpose and central idea for readers who may not be familiar with Taylor’s article.

VIDEO

Watch "How to balance summary and analysis" for more advice on summarizing and analyzing.

Drafting an analytical thesis statement

An effective thesis statement for analytical writing responds to a question about a text or tries to resolve a problem in the text. Remember that your thesis isn’t the same as the author’s thesis or main idea. Your thesis presents your judgment of the author’s argument.

If student writer Emilia Sanchez had started her analysis of “Big Box Stores Are Bad for Main Street” (4a) with the following draft thesis statement, she merely would have repeated the main idea of the article.

INEFFECTIVE THESIS STATEMENT (REPEATS AUTHOR’S ARGUMENT)

Big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot promote consumerism by offering endless goods at low prices, but they do nothing to promote community.

Instead, Sanchez wrote this analytical thesis statement, which offers her judgment of Taylor’s argument.

REVISED THESIS STATEMENT (WRITER’S JUDGMENT OF AUTHOR’S ARGUMENT)

By ignoring the complex economic relationship between large chain stores and their communities, Taylor incorrectly assumes that simply getting rid of big-box stores would have a positive effect on America’s communities.

VIDEO

Watch "How to draft an analytical thesis statement" for more advice on developing analytical thesis statements.

HOW TO

Draft an analytical thesis statement

Analysis begins with asking questions about a text. As you draft your thesis, your questions will help you form a judgment about the text. Let these steps guide you as you develop an analytical thesis statement.

1. Review your notes to remind yourself of the author’s main idea, supporting evidence, and, if possible, the author’s purpose (reason for writing) and audience (intended reader).

2. Ask what, why, or how questions to show readers what in the text needs to be questioned and is open to debate. How do the author’s perspective and thesis clarify or complicate your understanding of the subject? Why might a reasonable person agree or disagree with the author? Look for patterns among your questions and annotations to help you discover what interests you about the text.

3. Write your thesis as an answer to the questions you have posed or as the resolution of a problem you have identified in the text. Remember that your thesis isn’t the same as the author’s thesis. Your thesis is your position and presents your judgment of the text.

4. Test your thesis. An analytical thesis is arguable, one with which readers might disagree, and not a summary of the text. Is your position clear? Is your position debatable? Does your thesis offer a clear judgment of the text? The answer to each question should be yes.

5. Revise your thesis. Examine your thesis to make sure you state your position specifically and clearly. Why does your position matter? Put your working thesis to the “So what?” test (see 1c). Consider adding a because clause to your thesis to answer a reader’s “So what?” question.