LECTURE:

H O W T O W R I T E A N A LY S I S
PA P E R ?

Housekeeping
Agenda

ACADEMIC WRITING
D R . VA F A Y U N U S O VA
Critical analysis writing means evaluation of author’s work where it can
be a news article analysis, a research journal article, a book, transcript
of a conference or even a movie.
Critical analysis asks the writer to make an argument about one of the
aforementioned writing piece.

The goal is two fold:

1. Identify and explain the argument that the author is making
2. Provide your own argument about that argument.

One of the key directions of these assignments is often to

avoid/minimize summary – you are not writing a book report, but
evaluating the author’s argument.
Critical analysis has an aim to increase reader’s understanding of an
article’s thesis and the contents.
A critical analysis is subjective because it expresses writer’s opinion,
analysis or evaluation of a given text.

You have to remember that analysis means breaking down and studying of
the parts.

You have to understand what type of an article you are going to work with,
so you can come up with a right tone and format of your future essay.

Your main task is to make sure that your audience understands the major
points without much difficulty.

You have to show your critical thinking skills and make judgments about
the subject as you analyze an article, so you can come up with clear
opinion and conclusions.
Potential points of criticism

Sometimes it can seem intimidating to “criticize” a book or article;

after all, they are professors and experienced policymakers.

However, part of this exercise is to expose the fact that even though
these authors are highly qualified, they are still advancing an argument
and providing evidence--their aim is to persuade you that their
argument is true, not to just present facts.

Once you recognize that these authors are making arguments, you can
analyze whether or not you find their argument compelling.
How to Evaluate the Argument critically?
•assess the strengths and weaknesses of the argument
•analyze the components of the argument (e.g. facts, ideas and
claims)
•evaluate how the text has been organized
•examine the credibility of the evidence used to develop the
arguments
- how the author has analyzed the material
- whether conclusions are logical
•consider how the ideas can be applied in practice or
• what the problems may be.
How to Identify Gaps and Bias?

- identify information that is presented with little or no explanation or

evidence.
- look out for:

•generalizations
•assumptions
•opinions (even from experts)
•selective inclusion of evidence that only supports a particular point of
view
•words that may indicate the author is overstating or making
unjustified assumptions (e.g. plainly, obviously, undeniably, naturally,
as you will agree, there is no doubt, it has to be admitted, clearly).
There can be several purposes of writing:

•Inform the reader: look if the article has a clear

structure and whether it provides sufficient evidence
supported by facts and additional research.

•Persuade the reader: look to find if the author has

presented logical reasoning and counter-arguments,
opposite opinions to persuade someone about particular
opinion.

•Entertain the reader: see what emotions are caused by

the article and how does it personally influence and
inspire you.
Make sure to:
•Try to avoid speaking of your ideas by starting with “I think”,
“I believe” and “In my opinion” as the subject of your critical
analysis is a subject, not your personality.
•Always make sure to introduce the subject in your paper, as the
audience may not be aware of what you are writing of.
•Focus on both strengths and weaknesses of the author by trying
to follow the same structure used.
•Always use evidence and the facts to support your claims and
presented ideas.
•Use critical analysis writing to tell of article’s value and
relevance.
•Always remain open-minded and unbiased as you analyze,
read, and write your paper.
When you have to analyze research articles, you should make sure that you:

•Describe the article briefly and explain it to the reader what the article is about.
While you are reading the article, you have to look for details that identify the
topic of the article.
•Identify the purpose of the author or a reason why the author believes that a topic
of research is relevant and important.
•Identify the research methods and try to identify whether they appear to be
suitable or not.
•Check and provide evidence and facts as you speak of a research article and back
it up with your own examples.
•Check (and state, if applicable) whether the author refers to other research articles
and if similar studies have been done. If yes, it should be mentioned and explained
in your work as you speak of research methods and evidence.
•Analyze the sources that were used by the author to get a better idea of how the
author has formed his or her thoughts. It will help you to analyze research articles
with greater professional competence and a higher level of confidence.
- Most critical analysis papers begin with a short summary
of the work and then dive into the argument.

- Since most of these paper assignments are short, it is

important to be concise in all parts of your analysis.

- Writing an outline (and following it) is crucial to remain

focused on your argument and avoid summary or
irrelevant description.
Introduction
- It should offer a clear description of the topic being reviewed
- Introductory statement should be concise, but thorough
enough to allow the reader to determine what your focus will
be.
Tips for writing a strong thesis statement:

- Remember to embed your thesis statement into your

introduction, typically within the first few sentences.
- Be as clear as possible
- Avoid cliché statements.
- Be as specific as you can, and speak to the main purpose of
your paper.
Body
- Every sentence should communicate the point.
- Each paragraph must support your thesis statement either by offering
a claim or presenting an argument.
- Both a claim or presented argument should be followed up with
evidence.
- Most critical essays will have three to six paragraphs, unless the
requirements state otherwise.
Conclusion
- It is no different than the conclusion of any other type of essay.
- Restate your thesis statement and summarize your key argument.
- It is wise to leave the reader with something to consider or a strong
statement that ties into your essay as a whole.
- Your goal is to leave the reader with the desire to want to learn more,
or the urge to research the topic more on their own free time.