Analysis Essay
Rough Draft:
Final Draft:
Before you can write an analysis paper, you have to know how to ask analytic questions. Analytic questions are questions that are open to interpretation. They cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Look at the following examples. Questions Leading to Factual and Yes/No Answers | Questions Open to Interpretation | When did the Iraq War begin? | What caused the Iraq War? | Has NASA’s annual budget kept pace with inflation? | How can NASA pursue its mission on a reduced annual budget? | Who were the villains in the latest Indiana Jones movie? | In what ways do the key themes of the latest Indiana Jones movie reflect changes in American foreign relations? | Who won the last World Series? | What contributed to the success of the last World Series champions? |
Your ability to ask analytical questions is virtually limitless. Your goal is to ask extremely thoughtful questions and to provide the most compelling answers you can as you move toward developing and writing an analytical essay.
The purpose of an analytical essay is to find patterns of meaning, to trace causes and effects, and to determine significance. We will be focusing on the third aspect of the purpose as we learn how to do a textual analysis.
You will be reading an article and asking analytical questions about the content of the article. You will be looking for the significance of the main points as well as their relevance to other meaningful events in the world. You should work on understanding the main ideas of the article before you begin to ask the larger questions that will comprise your analysis essay.
Your work is to ask the questions. Your paper is the answers to your questions. Your paper should be organized and present thoughtful consideration of the material.
The only research for this essay is the article itself.
The word count for this essay is 1200-1400 words.
You should not use any first or second person pronouns in this essay.
Your essay will need a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Without these basic components, your paper will be returned with a grade of zero.
