Select a book or literary work if you haven't haven't been assigned one. Essays that give you choice can be a wonderful opportunity to delve into a subject on which you are passionate. Choose an author whose work captivates you or who discusses a social, literary or historical topic about which you care. Your own interests, thoughts and ideas can motivate you and drive your paper.
Decide on an approach to your essay. There are several ways to approach a critical essay, including taking a stance on a character or theme in the work such as pointing out how one character had a redeeming virtue or a fatal flaw that affected the entire series of events in the plot. Another approach involves examining the validity of factors surrounding a literary work such as an author's conclusions, place in a genre of literature of the accuracy of historical events on which the author's premise is based. Figure out if you want to talk about an internal or external aspect of the work.
Devise your thesis. It should be a statement you can prove. This statement, given at the beginning of the essay, is what you will spent the rest of the paper trying to prove. Make sure it is a provable and defensible thesis. It could be something about how the author was deeply impacted by a political movement of her time or how a particular character was a victim of circumstances. It will depend on your ideas and the work you are analyzing.
Outline your supporting points. Most instructors require at least three major arguments to support your thesis. However, you may have more. Work out a logical order of concepts and facts that back your idea and for which you can find textual support.
Research your topic, looking for experts who agree with you. Depending on your approach and position, you can draw from other writings of the same author, interviews of the author, literary critics, historical texts, biographies of the author and evidence within the work itself. Two to three sources will make for a strong argument.
Bring it together. Write your paragraphs with your supporting arguments in a logical order, ideally building on one another whenever possible. Use facts from your research to back each of your points or assertions, citing the source in the body of the essay. Phrases may include "According to literary critic John Doe, ..." or "The author said in a 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey, ..." Use the academic citation system required by your school. The American Psychological Association and Modern Language Association style guides are commonly used.
Write your conclusion paragraph. It should echo your thesis, but offer either some additional insight or briefly summarize how your well-argued points helped the reader understand the validity and truth of your thesis.