How to Write an Analytical Essay? 3 Simple Steps to Follow!

Crafting an analytical essay can be a challenging task, especially if you are going to write it for the first time and that too without any professional academic writing help. 

Are you struggling to write an excellent analytical essay for your class?

Panic not!

With the help of this ultimate guide, you can create a top-quality analytical essay that impresses your mentor. So let's dive right in!

What is an analytical essay?

It is a type of essay in which you have to provide a detailed analysis of any historical event or literary work. An analytical essay requires you to present arguments about the work you are analyzing. 

You have to focus on how the work was written, i.e., how the specific themes are presented in the literary work. When it comes to writing an analytical essay, you need to take a stance backed with pieces of evidence.

Examples of analytical essay

• How to tackle bullying in colleges?

• Why coping with peer pressure is necessary?

• What are the pros and cons of online education? 

• What is the impact of social media on our youth?

• Why do most students not complete their Master's degree?

Steps to follow before writing an analytical essay

Do not dive directly into the writing phase. Instead, follow these steps to write an impeccable essay. You can also look for a professional essay writing help

• Understand the paper's objective

An analytical essay demands that you present arguments about the topic you are analyzing. To achieve perfection in this stage, you should break down the topic into smaller manageable chunks and gather shreds of evidence by researching.

• Decide what to write 

Professors assign an essay topic to the students. To write a top-notch essay, you have to read the prompt first. 

What are the analytical essay's requirements?

Sometimes, you are given a free hand to choose your own topic. Whatever the situation is, you need to follow these points religiously:

• If you are writing about a historical event, you should highlight all the driving forces that led to the foundation of that event.

• If your topic belongs to scientific findings, you have to use scientific techniques to analyze your research question.

• If you are assigned to write about fiction, you need to solely focus on arguments that motivate you to love a particular character or characters. 

• Brainstorming

This is another important step to consider in writing an analytical essay. Discover your topic by brainstorming. See every single point from 360°.

Good brainstorming paves the way to writing a great analytical paper. 

• Outline the essay

Outlining your essay is crucial because it makes writing simpler and easier. Before outlining your paper, you should clearly know its word count.

After that, structure your essay as per its length. An outline helps you to write a well-structured essay in which arguments progress effectively. 

Three simple steps to writing a winning analytical essay

1. Write an engaging introduction 

This is the first portion of your essay where readers' eyes fall. So, it needs to be engaging and well-written. After reading your essay's introduction, your readers should have a crystal-clear idea about what they are going to read. 

The introduction of an analytical essay is quite similar to other essays' introductions. A top-notch analytical essay's introduction provides readers with relevant background information that clearly defines your motive.

i. Create a powerful hook statement 

It would be best to hook your readers from the very beginning. Your intro should attract readers and persuade them to keep reading the essay.

You can include some amazing facts, statistics, relevant questions, or any other quotation in the hook statement. 

ii. Give background information 

After writing a strong hook statement, you need to add background information in this section. For example, if you are writing an analytical essay on a novel, you can write its title name, author name, and publication year in the introduction.

Plus, you should also give an overview of the novel here so that your readers get a clear picture of the topic.

iii. Pen down your thesis statement 

Now is the time to write a well-defined thesis statement. This line should state the sole purpose of your essay. 

But writing an excellent thesis statement for an analytical essay is not a piece of cake. It gives nightmares to students. The entire body of your essay relies on a thesis statement.

Therefore, you cannot ignore writing a thesis statement. Keep this statement narrow so you can prove it with logical facts.

Your thesis statement gives your paper a real direction. You have to include the following points in your thesis statement:

• Paper's topic

• What you have analyzed

• Result of that conclusion

2. Write a comprehensive body

You have to structure your essay into five paragraphs in other essay types. But you may exceed this structure in an analytical essay. 

Body paragraphs should cover the center of your analytical essay. Every single paragraph should target a single argument and provide a piece of evidence to support it.

i. Craft an appealing first sentence 

The opening sentence of your paragraph defines what you will reveal in it. It should clearly state what issues you will discuss.

For example, if your analytical essay is "Positive Impacts of Internet on the Education," the first body paragraph can begin with "In times like these, the internet is used for educational purposes in order to meet the needs of students."

A standard topic sentence sticks readers to your paper until the end. 

ii. Include factual information 

You need to provide evidence against your claimed point. Now, the entire body paragraph should contain the factual information in it. Every single paragraph should talk about a single issue supported by a single piece of evidence. 

You should also come up with supporting information in order to strengthen your point. Do not forget to make symmetry so that one paragraph transits to the next. 

3. Conclusion

In this analytical essay section, you have to restate all the crucial points. Avoid adding new information in this area. Instead, summarize the entire paper. 

Follow this format:

• State the thesis statement with different wording

• Briefly explain all the pinpoints

• Highlight the shreds of evidence

• Your own thoughts on further analysis

Remember, if a reader gets an overall idea of your essay after reading the conclusion only, then your conclusion needs to be appreciated. 

Wrapping up

There you have it: a comprehensive guide to writing an excellent analytical essay. I hope this guide will help you write a worth-noticing essay that scores decent grades.

Follow these tips and tricks and write a tailor-made analytical essay. Best of luck! 

FAQs

What actually an analytical essay is?

In an analytical essay, you have to analyze a historical event or a literary work efficiently.

For this, you need to present your arguments with logical evidence and show readers that you hold a solid stance. 

What is the best structure for writing an analytical essay?

An analytical essay, just like other essay types, has a five-paragraph structure.

• An introductory paragraph

• Three body paragraphs

• A conclusion section

This structure may sometimes reach seven paragraphs depending on the topic's nature. 

How to write the best introduction of an analytical essay?

A good introduction attracts readers and encourages them to read the paper. This is the place where you need to grab readers' eyes. 

Writing a top-level analytical introduction requires you to include these points:

• A powerful hook statement

• A clear thesis statement

• An overview of your topic – what you are going to prove

Stick to these points and write an irresistible introduction for your analytical essay.