Reminder: Instructors may use different reading selections than those below.

The Textual Analysis Essay

Introduction and Purpose The purpose of textual analysis is to move beyond telling what another essay means by including analysis of how another essay is written. As a writer, your task is to demonstrate to your readers that you have examined the ways another essay is composed to convey its ideas to readers. In a sense, then, an analytical essay is persuasive because you'll be trying to persuade your readers that you see how and why another writer has used certain techniques and strategies to present and develop an idea. urthermore, one of the most effective ways of improving your own writing is by understanding!studying! analy"ing a more skilled writer's work. In order to compose your textual analysis, you'll need to do two things. irst, you'll have to read the selected essay analytically#that is, closely and critically, for you must try to discover the writer's meanings and writing strategies. $econd, you'll have to write about your discoveries. $uch writing is, obviously, interpretive. %owever, your interpretation should be written in a way that conveys your discoveries. The readers of your textual analysis want to learn something interesting about the essay you analy"e, and they will if you offer a thoughtful interpretation of that essay that explains what it means by analy"ing how it works as a piece of writing. Choices or your textual analysis, select one of the following essays from Language Awareness& 'And (ay %e )e )ilingual* by +udith ,rti" -ofer ./0123 'The ourth of +uly* by Audre 4orde ./0523 '6oing to +apan* by )arbara 7ingsolver ./582. Form, Format, Function $o what should your analytical essay look like9 :emember the primary purpose of your analytical essay is to offer your interpretation of the relationship between an essay's composition and its meaning. That means you should consider such aspects as the author's ; tone/attitude persona/voice word choice ; imagery/figures of speech/symbolism ; arrangement/structure/pattern.

The beginning (introduction) of your analytical essay##in addition to anything else it might include and however long it might be##should identify the idea .theme2 developed by the writer of the essay you've chosen to analy"e. <our beginning should also describe the features of the writer's essay you will analy"e. The beginning of your essay is a sort of contract with your reader3 your reader .and grader2 will expect you to fulfill that contract. The middle (body) of the essay will include your description and analysis of those techniques!strategies the essay writer has used to convey his!her ideas. <ou should assume an intelligent reader but one who may not be familiar with the essay you've chosen. <ou must, therefore, include some summary!explanation3 however, it is not necessary to retell the entire essay. =art of your task is to determine how much information your reader must have about the essay in order to understand your analysis of that essay. The middle of your analytical essay should also include textual support .evidence2 from the essay you've chosen to work with. :emember& textual support should be used only to support the interpretation you're developing!asserting. Any quotations from the text should be introduced and then explained or commented upon. <ou'll also have to decide how to arrange your analysis. <ou might use a sequential organi"ational pattern, one that moves through the other essay in the order in which you read it. ,r, you might use a topical arrangement, one that organi"es your observations around the particular aspects of writing you've chosen to analy"e. The ending (conclusion) of your essay should echo the beginning3 it should remind your reader of what you think most important and interesting about the essay you've analy"ed. Dra t Due! Final Due!