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A Guide To Essay Analysis
A Guide To Essay Analysis
Purpose: Whyhastheauthorwrittentheessay?Themoreconcretethewriting,themorespecificthe
purpose;themoreabstractthewriting,themoretentativethepurpose.
Descriptiveterms:toinform,explain,persuade,entertain,reflect,communicateapersonal
experience,motivate,move,inspire,revealself,confess,warn,mockorparody,ridiculeor
satirize,criticize
Audience: Forwhomistheessaywritten?Theaudiencecanrangefromaverygeneralonetoavery
specializedgroup.
Descriptiveterms:peers,like-mindedindividuals,educated,academic,professional,
specialized
Tone: Whatisthewriter’sa
ttitudetowardthesubject?towardthereader?towardherself/himself?
Theattitudemayrangefromoneofnoexpressedemotionstoonethatisveryemotional.
Descriptiveterms:serious,objective,scholarly,businesslike,detached,persuasive,assertive,
dogmatic,ironic,mocking,reverential,deferential,friendly,witty,angry,ironic,questioning,
reflective,tentative,impassioned,belligerent
Voice: Isthewriter’sownp ersonalityevident?Thismayrangefromawriter’spersonalitythatisnot
perceivedatalltoapersonalitythatisstronglyfelt.
Descriptiveterms:neutral,silent,minimal,expressive,senseofoccasion
Response: Whatintellectualand/oremotionala udienceresponseisexpected?Theintendedresponsemay
rangefromstrictlyintellectualtohighlyemotional.
Descriptiveterms:intellectualcuriosity,serious,informed,entertained,moved,mentaland
emotionalkinship,senseofintimacyorsharedexperience,anger
Language: Whatisthelevelofthelanguage?Thelevelmayrangefromformaltocolloquial.
Descriptiveterms:concrete,abstract,colloquial,innovative,poetic,sensory
Whatarethec haracteristicsofthelanguage?Characteristicsmayrangefromdenotativeto
connotative.
Descriptiveterms:specific,precise,technical,emotionalundertones,positiveshading
(undertones/overtones)
Whatr hetoricaldevicesareusedtointensifytheimpactoftheideas?Thewritingmaybe
straightforwardorrangerightthroughtodenselyrhetorical.
Descriptiveterms:simile,metaphor,personification,repetition,rhetoricalquestion,allusion,
hyperbole,juxtaposition,alliteration,euphemism,analogy,understatement,oxymoron
Aretherestrongimages?
Theimagescouldappearasobjectivedescriptionsorrangethroughtostrikingandunusual.
Whatkindofs entencestructureisused?
Descriptiveterms:loose,periodic,balanced,parallelstructure,contrastinglength,emphatic,
musical,short,dramatic,varied,simple,complex
Thesis: Whereisthethesisstatement?Whatisthepurposeoftheinformationleadinguptothethesis
statement?(Besuretocheckthatthethesisstatementisthe“umbrella”).
Unitso
f
Organization: Whatlargerunitscantheessaybebrokendowninto?(Lookforclearintroduction,body,
conclusion).Whatcontributiondoeseachoftheseunitsmakeindevelopingthewriter’s
argument?
Whatg eneralpatternoforganizationisthewriterusinginthewholework,orinanyparticular
paragraph?
Descriptiveterms:chronological,comparison,contrast,spatial,cause/effect,orderofascending
importance,fromleastcomplextomostcomplex,analysis(breakingdownacomplexideainto
itsparts),descriptionofaprocess,definition(classificationanddivision)
Details: Whatkindsofp roofdoesthewriteroffertosupporthis/herideas?
Descriptiveterms:historicalreferences,examples,facts,statementofopinionandpersonal
belief,literaryreferences,appealstoauthority,statistics,anecdotes,allusions
Connectors: Whatt ransitionalsignalsindicatethedirectionofthethought?
Descriptiveterms:addorextendthought;addanexampleorexplanation;indicatesimilarityor
difference;arrangeideasinorder,time,orspace;sumupseveralideas;emphasizeanidea;show
causeoreffect.
Methodso
fD
evelopment StylisticT echniques/Devices
Themannerandorganizationalpatterns Literarydevicesandtricksanauthor
throughwhichanauthorpresents canusetokeepthereaderinterested
informationanddevelopsaconvincing andtogivecredencetoanargument.
argument.
-chronologicalordering -humour
-definition -namedropping
-comparison/contrast -foreignphrases
-examples/illustration -repetition
-problem/solution -shock/surprise
-cause/effect -understatement/exaggeration
-spatialorganization -allusions
-statistics -historicalreferences
-ranking>importance -printingtechniques>italics
>complexity >boldprint