Select a topic for analysis. Your college instructor may provide you with a prompt to write from, usually presented in the form of a question to be answered. Otherwise, analysis of a specific piece, will be required. Select a book, film, essay, periodical, article or advertisement to analyze. Study the material thoroughly, in order to grasp the information it presents.
Examine and outline your topic. Ask yourself, what argument or facts does the piece attempt to present? Find the key points of the message that the author is trying to convey, and identify the thesis statement. The thesis is the main idea of the work, which normally appears within the first paragraph of the introduction. The body of the text provides supporting evidence for the thesis statement. Make note of the facts presented throughout the piece, then summarize the work in your own words.
Decide on an angle to approach your essay from. If the piece is an argument, develop an argument for, or against it. If the piece is an analysis, determine what aspects of it were striking and worth writing about.
Construct an outline in order to organize the elements of your paper. Move from general to specific, jotting down a summary that encompasses the main idea of your essay. Flesh out the main idea with supporting facts and information.
Conduct research to incorporate substantial claims into your essay. Referenced information will support your thesis and promote credibility. In-text citations should be properly attributed, according to MLA style guidelines. Cite your sources on a separate page following your essay, listing any material that contributed to your work.
Draft your essay. Develop an introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs and conclusion. Use the thesis within your introduction to list the elements you will discuss within each paragraph. Do this in order of presentation. Assign one idea per body paragraph, and devise a topic sentence for the first sentence of each paragraph. Topic sentences clue readers in to the subject of each paragraph and aid in the transition of ideas. Wrap up the essay with your conclusion. Restate the thesis and summarize how each key point works to validate the essay.