How to Write a Critical Analysis Paper

Typing a critical analysis paper can give it an authoritative look.

Teachers assign critical analysis papers in order to evaluate a student's ability to articulate his understanding of a text. Critical analysis is not limited to language, though. According to Lester Faigley, "The tools of analysis have been applied to understanding how meaning is made by other human creations, such as art, buildings, photographs, dance, memorials, websites, music, advertisements-any kind of symbolic communication." This means that a critical analysis can examine almost anything, helping a reader understand what it means.

Instructions

Introduction

1. Begin your paper with a general observation about the subject. Many people use a "hook" to pull their reader in, by asking a rhetorical question, telling a short anecdote or defining an important word.

2. Provide background information to establish context for the subject.

3. State what the main topic of the paper is and what the paper will argue, as well as an explanation of why this claim is important. The explanation of the importance of the claim is often called the "So what" of analysis. After stating the claim, ask yourself, "So what?" and explicitly state the answer you come up with.

Body

1. Write topic sentence--the first sentence of each body paragraph--making sure each one directly relates to one aspect of your main idea. These sentences are sublcaims that can be proved or disproved with evidence.

2. 

   Taking notes before you write will make the writing process smoother.

   Provide evidence for each subclaim, by directly quoting a text, by paraphrasing or by providing a description of the object you are analyzing. This evidence should prove the subclaim previously stated and should be relevant to the paper's overall main idea.

3. Explain what the evidence means and how each part relates to the subclaim. This is where you articulate how you understand the meaning of the evidence used. This is the bulk of the paper, where you specifically state the analysis of the topic.

4. Explain why this analysis is important and how it relates to the main idea, or thesis, in the introduction. Make these connections for your reader.

Conclusion

1. Restate the main idea. Consider doing so in a new way, rather than repeating exactly what you wrote in the introduction.

2. Restate the smaller claims the paper introduced, pulling together all the information covered in the body paragraphs.

3. Discuss how the analysis might impact on a larger scale, how it matters in the "real world" sense or how it might affect the life of your reader.

4. Explain any holes in the analysis or counter-arguments not covered in the body paragraphs.

5. End on a general statement similar to the statement made in the first sentence of the introduction.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a subject that you find personally interesting or invested in.

• Write beyond the five paragraph essay taught in high school. Critical analysis papers are often more than four pages.

• Rely on evidence rather than personal opinion,and write in a third-person, objective tone.

• Use transitions to connect each idea.

• Each body paragraph should follow the subclaim, evidence, analysis pattern and should explicitly state how the information relates to the main idea.

• Analysis should be done before you begin writing, or else you will find it difficult to articulate a main idea to organize the paper around. Take detailed notes during class and complete all necessary activities assigned by the instructor before writing.

References

• "The Brief Penguin Handbook"; Lester Faigley; 2009
• "Scenes of Writing"; Amy Devitt, Mary Jo Reiff, Anis Bawarshi; 2004.

Resources

• Purdue Online Writing Lab