How to Write an Analytical Essay

Write an introduction. Introduce the reader to the key information in your topic. Don’t be too sketchy, but don’t go too deep either. Also avoid hinting at what will be discussed in the text – only when making an argument. In addition, if you write too dramatic, it is not good (should limit the opening with a question mark or exclamation point). In general, do not use first person (I) or second person (you) in writing. The problem should be put at the end of the opening paragraph.

• Sample Introduction : In Anglo-Saxon culture, revenge is legal and represents justice. The many vengeances in “Beowulf” show that punishment is the cradle of this culture. However, the reasons for the revenge are not the same. The poem paints a picture that the dragon’s integrity in revenge is superior to that of Grendel’s mother.
• The opening section gives the reader the information they need to know in order to understand your argument in the text, and then makes a personal argument about the complexity of the overall theme (revenge) in the poem. This type of reasoning is interesting because it suggests to the reader that they should read your writing carefully and not just skim it.
  Don’t: start paragraphs with bookish “fill in the blanks” words like “In modern society” or “From time to time”…
  Do: briefly mention the title, author, and publication date of the citation you are analyzing.

Write the body of the article. Each body paragraph should have: 1) Topic sentence, 2) Argument, and 3) Argument to support the analysis and thesis. The topic sentence should state what the passage is about. The argument must support the argument. Remember that each sentence you present will play a decisive role in the overall problem of the essay. ^[7]

• Topic Sentence Example : The key to distinguishing the two attacks is the notion of excessive punishment.
• Analytical Example : Grendel’s mother not only wants revenge simply “for blood debt” but she also wants King Hrothgar’s kingdom to be engulfed in flames.
• Argument Example : Instead of just killing Aeschere, she pretends to play, “Quickly grab the nobleman by the neck” and “while he’s still terrified”, she drags him towards the swamp ( page 1294). The goal is to lure Beowulf out of the Heorot region so that he can kill both of them.
• In order not to forget, you should memorize the formula “GCC”: Problem – Evidence – Proof. Whenever you raise an issue, immediately add arguments and explain why the argument proves what you’re saying is reasonable.

Know when to quote and when to comment. Quoting means that you put the sentences and words in the work verbatim into the text and put it in double quotation marks. Quotations are very effective when you want to use exact words or point out something in the work to support the point of view. Make sure you use the correct citation style, as there are many different citation styles. On the other hand, footnotes are when you want to summarize in the article. Footnotes cover a lot of information in a short sentence, which is very effective if you need to quote a paragraph that is too long. ^[8]

• Quote example : Instead of just killing Aeschere, she pretends to play, “Quickly grab the nobleman by the neck” and “while he’s still terrified”, she drags him towards the swamp ( page 1294). The purpose is to lure Beowulf out of Heorot so that he can kill both of them
• Caption Example : The female warrior Grendel infiltrates Heorot, grabs the nobleman by the neck, and sprints toward the swamp (page 1294).

Write a conclusion. The conclusion is where you remind the reader how you proved your argument. Some teachers even require the argument to be linked to the outside world, that is, to “make an impact on the surroundings”. This can be understood as simply stating how your argument affects the thinking of others, or changes the reader’s point of view.

• Example of conclusion : The concept of “blood debt paid with blood” was formed very early in the Middle Ages. However, through the comparison of the attacks of the mother Grendel and the dragon, the perception of medieval society about righteous and unjust revenge has been clarified. The dragon acted with good reason, while Grendel’s mother had dark intentions.
• Example of conclusion “outside impact”: The concept of “blood debt paid with blood” was formed very early in the Middle Ages. However, through the comparison of the attacks of the mother Grendel and the dragon, the perception of medieval society about righteous and unjust revenge has been clarified. The dragon acted with good reason, and Grendel’s mother had dark intentions. This picture evokes the idea: In the eyes of contemporary medieval people, women are more evil than men.

Reread to check for grammar and spelling errors. Obviously an article with too many errors will score lower than the same edited post. Check for spelling, coherence, and punctuation errors.

• If doing it on a computer, make sure you’ve formatted it correctly. For example, use a standard font size 12 (like Arial or Times New Roman) and align 2.5 cm.

Read the article aloud. This will help you spot where in the essay is messed up, as well as how you check to see if there are any spelling errors that are still missed.

Make sure all character names, movie titles, etc. are spelled correctly. Teachers will often deduct points if a character’s personal name is misspelled throughout the text. Refer to the documentation for the correct spelling of those names.

• If you’re writing about movies, be sure to check out the character introductions. Also consult a few other sources to make sure the names are spelled correctly.

Reread the text as if your teacher were teaching you. Is it easy to see the writer’s point of view when reading the article? Is the article structure easy to understand? Does the article explain the topic? etc..