The Basic Analytical Paper

What it is and How to Construct One

Typically, an analytical paper presents an examination of an issue or problem or presents an opinion based on fact. The writer analyzes an issue, another piece of writing, an idea or a question by breaking the topic down into parts or areas that can be supported with various facts and that go together to convince the reader of the validity of the writer's opinion. Generally, three support areas are enough, although this will vary.

The simplest analytical paper consists of approximately five paragraphs,
as follows:

I. Introduction, including a thesis statement that identifies both the point to be made and the general areas that support it.

II. Details of first support area.

III. Details of second support area.

IV. Details of third support area.

V. Conclusion, often including a summation of the main point or argument.

It is essential for an analysis to have a point; that is, it must say something about which people can reasonably be expected to have differing opinions. A topic such as battery acid should not be consumedis not an appropriate one for analysis because, although you may be able to assemble three strong support areas to convince your reader that battery acid should indeed not be consumed, no reasonable reader would maintain that it should be. If, on the other hand, your point is that batteries should be made of non-toxic materials because battery acid enters the water table through landfills, an explanation of the harmful effects of battery acid is entirely justified, since some readers would no doubt maintain that there is not much risk or that such a change would result in a loss of jobs, or some other point of view.

Some General Considerations

Avoid the use of the second person (the pronoun you) in making your point. Although we do this all the time when speaking, it makes for a sloppy sounding argument in writing-except in cases such as this handout, in which the analysis is of a process which is being taught to the reader. The first person (the pronoun I) is also taboo unless you are supporting your argument with personal experience: Do not say, "I will present the reasons why. . ."; or "I feel*" that there needs to be . . ."

Also stay away from writing that focuses on the writing process ("This paper will explain why batteries should be made of non-toxic materials. . .") instead of the topic at hand ("Batteries should be made of non-toxic materials because. . ."). Talking about your paper weakens your argument and is considered lazy writing.

It is practically cheating to use such contrivances as "In conclusion" and "Secondly†." A proper conclusion is an unambiguous closing and should sound like one even without a label. Similarly, the order of your argument should make sense and follow some kind of pattern, such as least to most important; it should be clear why a particular support area is second or third, not merely that it is second or third.

The connection and relationship between support areas in your paper should be signalled by transition sentences that guide the reader from one point to the next. There are innumerable ways to do this. Don't limit yourself to old standbys such as Furthermore, Moreover, Next and In addition.

* A special note on feel. Feel should be reserved for feeling or emotions, and cannot adequately express beliefs or even strong convictions. It is a conversational device we have developed to avoid disagreement in our culture. One cannot, after all, argue against a feeling. If you are expressing an opinion, "I think" or "I believe" is appropriate, but often you"ll find that even these can be eliminated. "I feel"; goes with sad, confident, sorry, rotten, pretty, good pretty good and other abstractions, not with ". . . that a tax increase is unnecessary."

†The "adverb" secondly, though we hear it all the time, should, of course, be the ordinal second. The incorrectness of the adverbial ly becomes obvious when we imagine such transitions as fifthly and eighthly.

See an example of a an analytical paper

1996, 2004 Bellevue Community College. Content by Scott Bessho.