How to Write Analytical Essay Outline

What is an analytical essay? Before we take a plunge into the nitty-gritty of creating a good analytical essay outline, we are going to take a thorough look at what an analytical essay is into the first place. The reason is if you don’t have a proper understanding of what an analytical essay is, it will be difficult for you to draft an outline for it. Put in simple terms, an analytical essay analyzes a given piece of writing without necessarily summarizing it. This assignment looks into the finer details of what the author was up to when they wrote the work (the theme or themes) and how those themes are evident throughout their entire work. It also analyzes and examines the type of writing styles the author uses to bring out the meaning of the work. Creating a thorough outline Just as it is with the outline of all the other types of essays, an outline for analytical essay should also be thorough. The reason here is that if your outline is sketchy and without a comprehensive focus on where to place the different components of your essay, you will be setting yourself up for frustration. That is why you need to ensure it is complete because it is the skeleton that your essay will follow from the beginning to the conclusion. Your outline should create a clear roadmap that will include the following key components whose details we shall discuss in the successive sections: The introduction Your thesis The body paragraphs The conclusion The introduction of your outline The introduction of your analytical paper is critical not just in the flow of the essay, but also in how the reader will receive it. The introduction should generally open the essay by offering your readers background details they need to know about what you are going to talk about. Additionally, the introduction gives you a wider leeway because you are free to choose which opening technique is most appropriate for you and your target readers. For example, you can choose to open your first paragraph by offering your readers a definition of a critical term in the essay in case you are drafting a definitive essay. You can also choose to open the essay by mentioning an interesting fact about the topic you are writing about so as to keep your readers interested. Likewise, you can introduce the essay by asking a very intriguing question that will goad your audience to read more. Whatever the approach you use, just ensure it is suitable the type of assignment you are tackling and also the people who are going to read it after your lecturers have marked it. You should also remember to include your thesis in the body or at the end of your opening paragraph. In this matter, you are also at liberty to choose where to strategically place your thesis. You should also ensure that the introduction gives your reader a clear picture of how you are going to defend your thesis as the paper progresses from the body down to the conclusion. Lastly, always keep in mind that your introductory paragraph is the only section that will give you a once-for-all opportunity to make a positive impression on your readers. If you fail to maximize it here, you will have no other opportunity to redeem your image hence be ready to face the â€Å"wrath† of your readers through switching off and giving you low grades. So, pay special attention here. The body of your format Keep your promise This section of your format gives you the platform to fulfill your promise to your readers. When you introduced your essay, you only tantalized them to get ready for the â€Å"main course.† In the body, you now have the bigger burden of proof. You need to be very careful with this part so that you don’t promise the stars just for the sake of arousing and capturing the appetite of your readers only to land on the clouds. This section is the litmus test of your professional integrity and your readers will know whether what you promised them was true or a fad. I also need you to remember that writing a powerful and captivating introduction is not a guarantee that your readers will remain glued to your paper with gusto just because they began well. If you don’t deliver on your promise, your readers can still switch off at this level. That is why what your audience interact with in the body of your essay should be even better than what they began with. Maintain a suitable body paragraph number Another thing you need to pay attention to is the number of paragraphs you will need to include in this section. The truth is that there is no fixed rule regarding the number of paragraphs you should include in your paper’s body. The reason here is that you need to format your paragraphs according to the length of your essay. If you are writing a 500-word analytical essay, you can work with three paragraphs. If, on the other hand, you are handling 3,000 words, obviously three body paragraphs won’t be enough. So, in this case, use your discretion. Structuring your body paragraphs You also need to pay attention so that structure your paragraphs in a manner that gives the reader a clear claim-and-evidence pattern. You need to open every paragraph with a lead sentence that will inform your readers regarding the content and discussion of your paragraph. After making the introduction that shows your readers where you are taking them in that paragraph, you have to follow up your opening sentences with claims that will delve into the details of your lead sentences. After making your claims, you have to go back into the book or poem and furnish proof for your claims. This way, you will give your work weight and credibility by either citing some texts or paraphrasing some of its parts. If you don’t do this, you will end up with an essay that resembles a plagiarized summation of the work you are analyzing. After making your claims and furnishing evidence to prove them, you need to have a closing sentence that concludes the paragraph before you proceed to the next paragraph. This sentence needs to show the reader how significant your analysis in this paragraph is. After you have done all the above, you have to remember that the primary purpose of your body paragraphs is to give reasons for and evidence to your thesis. So, make sure that every one of these paragraphs is as objective and supportive as possible. The conclusion of your analytical essay The concluding section of your paper is critical in how to write analytical essay outline. The reason here is that it is the final rope with which you are going to tie up your analytical essay into one unit that is coherent and logical. First, the conclusion is an opportunity to restate your thesis. But the significance is not just in the restating of the thesis but in your ability to prove to your reader that you have successfully defended it. If you can’t prove to your audience that your thesis is valid, then you have not done your homework well, and hence the reader has not reason to believe the things you have been writing about. Additionally, your essay’s conclusion presents you with an opportunity to offer your readers the direction they should take after reading your essay. Here, you can present them with a call to action since they already and clearly see what you have been arguing to defend. As you wrap up, you should not introduce new material that was not in your analysis. On the contrary, you should use the conclusion to introduce a fresh angle of looking at the thesis and the evidence you have furnished to concretize it. Remember, your conclusion will give your readers a reason to remember your essay the same way your introduction gave them a reason to keep reading it. Let your essay’s conclusion also provide a summarization of all the main points you made in the body. But you need to refrain from making a copy-and-paste type of restatement of your key arguments. Lastly, you need to make a general closing statement to put the last full stop to your essay. Final thoughts This article has provided you with excellent analytical essay outline writing tips that are meant to bolster your ability to create an outline for your analytical essay writing assignments. The reason behind this is that the outline of your outline will act as the architectural design of your essay. Your outline will provide you with a systematic and logical flow of your ideas from the introduction up to the conclusion. With all these insights at your fingertips, you have every reason to optimize them and up our game to the next level of excellence and genius in drafting analytical essays.