You will be expected to analyze many texts during your studies.Analyzing a text on your own can be difficult, but it gets easier once you know how to do it.You need to thoroughly study the text before analyzing it.Tailor your analysis to fit fiction or nonfiction.If you have to, you can write an analysis passage.
Step 1: Key questions or learning objectives for the text should be written.
In many cases, your instructor will provide these.Consider how you will use the text, what you hope to take from it, and why you are reading it.The objectives should be addressed as you read.You can include your answers in your notes about the text.
Step 2: The text should be read.
It is difficult to analyze a text you have not read.Slow, close reading of the text is what you should do.When reading, look for content that addresses your objectives.To fully understand the text, you will need to read it multiple times.It is best to read the text at least twice.You can re-read difficult passages if this is the case.
Step 3: Affirmative.
Marking up a text is annotating.To mark important passages in the text, use different colored highlighters.You could highlight passages.In the margins, put your notes, ideas, and short summaries.To mark the supporting details, use an orange highlighter and a yellow one.A different colored highlighter is used for passages related to each main character.
Step 4: Take notes as you read.
Important information from within the text, as well as answers to your essential questions, should be included.Writing down the main ideas and supporting details is important.Write down the names and basic information of the characters.Make note of any symbolism and use of literary devices.Important facts, figures, methods, and dates should be written down in a nonfiction text.
Step 5: Define each section of the text.
Writing short summaries will help you understand what the author is saying.The existing sections can be used to create summaries.You could summarize every paragraph.It is a good idea to summarize each chapter of a novel.It's a good idea to summarize each paragraph of a small article.
Step 6: Write a response to the text.
How you feel about the text can be used to analyze it.Don't base your entire analysis on your own thoughts.Take your response into account along with the rest of your analysis.What do I take away from the piece?What do you think about the topic?Did the text inform me or entertain me?I don't know what to do with this information.What does this text mean in real life?
Step 7: Make a reverse outline.
The framework of the text can be developed using a reverse outline.You can examine the structure of the text with this.The plot of the story, as well as any important details and literary devices, are important for a work of fiction.The main points, evidence, and supporting details should be the focus of a nonfiction text.
Step 8: There are other analyses of the text.
You can use other analyses of the text to better understand your initial thoughts and feelings.You don't need to agree with everything you read or rely on the analyses of others for your own work.You can get a better sense of the text from reports, essays, and reviews from other scholars.The analyses are easy to find on the internet.You can type "analysis" in the name of your text.
Step 9: When it was written, review the context of the text.
Knowing the author's background can help you understand the influences on the text.When was the text written?What is the history of the work?What is the author's background?What kind of work does the author do?Who are the author's friends?How does the author's work fit in with this text?Is the writer's inspiration for the text?What type of society is the author from?The text has a time period.
Step 10: The text has a theme.
The writer's thoughts on the subject are included in the theme.The theme is the message of the book.The author is trying to say something.A novel might have several themes, while a short story might only have one or two.The text may have several themes.The themes of a sci-fi novel might be technology is dangerous and cooperation can overcome tyranny.
Step 11: The main ideas of the text should be determined.
The main ideas are related to the text.To identify the main ideas, examine the characters, their relationships, and actions, as well as the issues that arise in the text.The character has words, actions, and thoughts.Consider what they say about the character.Look for symbolism, metaphor, and the use of other literary devices.
Step 12: The main ideas are supported by pieces of text.
There are direct quotes where the author illustrates their points.You will find many for a longer text.If you have been assigned an essay or will be tested over the material, it is a good idea to note as many as you can.If you write an analysis essay, you can use these quotes to support your claims.
Step 13: Look at the author's writing style.
The writer's style can include the arrangement of the words in a sentence.Style can contribute to the meaning of the text.The effect of his poems and stories was enhanced by his style of writing.If you were analyzing one of his texts, you would want to consider his individual style.Mark Twain uses dialect in his novel to show the differences between slave owners and slaves in the deep south.To show how language can be used to create a divide in society, as well as control a subsection of the population, Twain uses word choice and syntax.
Step 14: Consider the author's tone.
The author's tone is their attitude towards the subject.Through their language choices, sentence structure, and use of literary devices, the author can create different tones that lead you as a reader to feel a certain way about the subject.Common tones include sad, solemn, suspenseful, humorous, or sarcastic.Tone can be indicative of what's happening in the piece.The tone of the film changes when someone leaves Kansas for Oz.In the film there is a change in color, but in the novel this is established through a shift in tone.
Step 15: Determine the purpose of the author.
Why is the author writing?It is possible to better understand the meaning of the text by knowing this purpose.The purpose can be determined by asking the following questions: What is the topic and discipline?What does the text do?What does the author make you think about?Is the text new or borrowed?
Step 16: The writer uses language.
When it comes to jargon, the writer's word choice can give you more perspective on the text.The intended audience and tone of the text can be determined.The author is writing for people in their field.They may be trying to teach or give a presentation.Technical terms and jargon can be indicators of a writer's intended audience.The mood of a text is determined by the tone.A researcher might use a formal, professional tone to present their findings, while a writer may use an informal, casual tone.
Step 17: Pick out the author's argument.
Consider the author's thesis and any claims made in the text.In a shorter piece, the entire argument may be presented clearly in the thesis, but a longer text may include multiple claims.Review the evidence provided in the text to find the author's argument.What ideas are supported by the evidence?You can use this to find the argument."Based on data and case studies, voters are more likely to choose a candidate they know, supporting the ideas of rational choice theory."There is an argument in favor of rational choice theory.
Step 18: The author uses evidence to support his argument.
Evaluate the type of evidence used.Determine if the evidence supports the argument or if it is weak.Evidence that includes research and statistical data may provide a lot of support for an argument, but anecdotal evidence might result in a weak argument.It's possible that you don't need to write out the evidence in your own words.
Step 19: Facts and opinions are separated in a nonfiction text.
The author's own viewpoints will likely be included in the text.You need to know the difference between the factual information and the author's ideas if you want to make a good analysis.The author uses rhetorical or persuasive techniques.You can highlight facts and opinions with different colors.You could make a chart with facts on one side and opinions on the other.The writer might say, " According to the survey, 79% of people skim a ballot to find the names they know."Ballots aren't designed to engage voter interest.The first sentence is a fact and the second is an opinion.
Step 20: The text needs to be determined if it accomplishes its purpose.
Does the writer achieve what they set out to do?Decide if the text is effective based on your analysis.The paper on rational choice theory has few statistics but a lot of anecdotal evidence.The writer likely didn't achieve their purpose, which might lead you to doubt the writer's argument.
Step 21: Explain your views on the text in a topic sentence.
What did you think about the text?What ideas will you support?This information can be used to create a topic sentence.The author uses quicksand as a metaphor for living with chronic illness in a short story.
Step 22: Explain the context of your text.
To back up your views, you will need a direct quote from the text.If you want to introduce this quote, you should explain how it's presented in the text and what it means.At the beginning of the story, the main character wakes up and hates the day.She knows she needs to get out of bed, but she can't because of her illness.
Step 23: Use a lead-in to provide your supporting text.
This quote will show your views on the text.It shows you are correct about what the text means.The author wrote that he sank back into the bed, feeling as though the mattress was sucking him further and further down.Victor says the calm and heavenly scene restored him after two days in nature.
Step 24: Explain how the text supports your ideas.
Explain what is happening in the text and what it means in its context.Discuss any literary devices that are used, such as symbolism or a metaphor.You can explain how the author's style affects the meaning of the text.The author builds on the metaphor of an illness acting like quicksand by showing the main character struggling to get out of bed.The main character feels as though they are sinking into the bed despite fighting to get up.The author uses first-person point-of-view to help the reader understand the main character's thoughts and feelings on their illness.