What Are the Basic Elements of the Analytical Essay Structure

When instructors assign essays, especially analytical ones, their students often panic about how the essay should be structured and organized. Writing an analytical essay is not much different than writing any other type of persuasive essay. The goal is to prove to a thesis with useful knowledge about a subject. But, instead of simply proving a point, a student writing an analytical essay needs to show how small parts of the topic help to make up the whole.

Write the Introduction with the Necessary Elements

The basic elements of an analytical essay are the same as any other essay. The essay requires paragraphs, like the introduction, body paragraphs, and the conclusion. An introduction to an analytical essay is structured with a hook, background information, and a conclusion. The background information should be information about the topic so the readers can see the whole of the topic before it is broken down into smaller parts. The thesis should include what the writer will prove in the analysis. The hook is the tool that the writer uses to grab the reader’s attention.

Body Paragraphs Need Evidence and Explanations

The next part of the essay includes the body paragraphs. Each body paragraph will focus on a smaller part of the whole. For example, a movie analysis will have paragraphs that talk about the acting, the scenery, the costumes, and other aspects. The body paragraphs will look deeply at those smaller parts and explain how they work together to make the movie what it was. Each body paragraph needs to have a topic sentence that refers back to the thesis. The sentences that follow the topic sentence need to include evidence and explanations so the reader can see exactly what you saw when you watched the movie or read the book.

Remember to Write a High Quality Conclusion

Lastly, the analytical essay needs to have a conclusion. This is not necessarily as important as the rest of the essay, but it is vital. The conclusion is the opposite of the introductory paragraph. It begins with a restatement of the thesis, then a reminder of the main points of the essay. Once those parts of completed, you should include close the analysis with your final thoughts on the subject you were analyzing. With all of the necessary parts, your analytical essay will be thoughtful and complete.

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