Tips For Critical Analysis Essays 1

What is Analysis (sometimes called critical analysis)?
When you critically analyze a text you make evaluations (positive and negative) of the text. You
judge the text based on specific criteria like the relevance, coherence, logic, validity, findings, or
persuasiveness of the text. Often the assignment instructions will specify what you should focus
on.
Tips for Analyzing Scholarly Peer Reviewed Articles:

Tip #1: Make sure to include both summary and critical commentary.
Your critical analysis of a scholarly article should combine some summary with critical
commentary.
Ø You might summarize: the author’s thesis statement or overarching claim, minor claims,
and/or evidence.
Ø You should not only summarize: you should also evaluate the author’s claims. You
might critique: the author’s reasoning, evidence, and interpretation of facts, statistics
and data.
Tip #2: Evaluate the author’s argument by considering questions like the ones below. As you
read, pause and examine the effectiveness of the source.
• What are some strengths of the article?
• What are some problems/limitations/weaknesses with the author’s evidence?
• Are there any points the author makes that aren’t logical?
• Does the author overlook any important factors he/she should consider?
• What assumptions does the author make?
• How do the author’s claims connect to claims of other authors looking at the same
issue?
• How does the author’s writing style and word choice affect his/her argument?
• How does the author establish credibility?
• What is the author’s intended purpose?
Not all of these questions will be relevant. Choose a few to focus on.
Tip #3: Choose a few key points about the source to write in your analysis essay. Avoid listing
all of your observations about the text. Instead choose just a few critiques and weave them into
an argument about the source.
Tip #4: You will most likely need to read/examine the source you are analyzing more than
once. If you are reading a complex article, you should not expect to fully understand the article
the first time. As you read, you might want to annotate the text by highlighting key ideas. You
may also want to summarize the author’s main points. Re-read the text until you’re able to:
• Understand the author’s thesis/claim
• Recognize the author’s main points that support the thesis
• Understand concepts that are essential to the author’s argument (terms/concepts from
a specific field, e.g. psychology terms)
• Identify weaknesses in the author’s argument
Created by AUSB Writing Center (Last updated 12/14/16)

A Potential Outline for a Critical Analysis Essay
1. Provide any essential background that is relevant to your thesis

statement. Keep your background section narrow: avoid writing
Introduction about the whole history of your topic.
2. State the author’s thesis
3. Summarize the author’s main reasons that support his/her claim
4. Include your own thesis (your claim about the work you are
analyzing)
Example thesis about Michael Moore’s documentary Sicko:
Moore (2007) relied too heavily on exaggeration and cherry-picked facts
which damaged the effectiveness of his argument.
In your analysis paragraphs you will critically evaluate the effectiveness

of the source. You can evaluate:
See Tip #2
o Strengths or weaknesses of the author’s claims
on reverse
o Limitations of the author’s evidence
o Perspectives, biases, values, or assumptions that appear to play
a role in the author’s argument
o The author’s organization, writing style, or intended purpose
Each paragraph should include:
Analysis Paragraphs 1. A topic sentence that evaluates one key aspect of the work and
You could have any number of connects back to your thesis statement
analysis paragraphs. 2. Evidence: Specific details about the source (quotes, paraphrases,
summaries of key ideas). Include sufficient references to the
Each analysis paragraph should
present one key idea. source material.
3. Analysis of the evidence: Don’t assume the evidence speaks for
itself. Include critical statements that tell the reader the
importance of the evidence (statements that interpret/analyze See our
the material for your reader). “Quote
Sandwich”
Resource
Don’t just restate what you wrote before.
1. Comment on the balance between the article’s strengths and
weaknesses
Conclusion 2. Include some final comment on the value of the source
3. Look to the bigger picture in some way (comment on the future
of the issue/topic or implications)
Examples of the bigger picture for Moore’s documentary Sicko:
• How other sources/news sources have addressed the same issue
more ethically.
• Why accurate investigative journalism is important for changing
public sentiment about health care reform.
Created by AUSB Writing Center (Last updated 12/14/16)

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What is Analysis (sometimes called critical analysis)?

Tips for Analyzing Scholarly Peer Reviewed Articles:

Created by AUSB Writing Center (Last updated 12/14/16)

1. Provide any essential background that is relevant to your thesis

In your analysis paragraphs you will critically evaluate the effectiveness

Created by AUSB Writing Center (Last updated 12/14/16)

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