Students with an interest in literature or who are writing an essay for their English course can compose a literary analysis for an analytical essay assignment. Here, students evaluate a work of literature or a specific part of a piece of literature. For example, students can select their favorite work and analyze how the author's use of a literary technique like personification, imagery or symbolism impacts the reader's understanding of the story.
Students can also select an issue to write about. They can take a side on the selected issue, research it and provide facts and evidence to support their argument. For example, a student can argue that marijuana should be legalized, but this analysis must include facts, statistics and figures that support the argument. The key to an analytical essay on an issue is that the topic should be one for which people have differing opinions.
An analytical essay can compare two texts, as well. Students can select two texts from their class readings and compare them. A student studying poetry can assess how one author used two different writing styles when composing two poems. She can decide which poem has the greatest impact and explain why in her analysis. In this type of analytical essay, students should provide direct quotes from the texts to compare them.
Students with an interest in history can reflect on past events to write an interesting analytical essay. For example, students can compare the historical impact of two world leaders, proposing that one leader was more effective than the other and supporting this argument with historical facts. Students can also discuss the impact of a historical event, explaining the long-term effects of the event on a nation or society as a whole.