interpretation in essay

How to Write an Analytical Essay in 6 Steps

An analytical essay is an essay that meticulously and methodically examines a single topic to draw conclusions or prove theories. Although they are used in many fields, analytical essays are often used with art and literature to break down works’ creative themes and explore their deeper meanings and symbolism . 

Analytical essays are a staple in academics, so if you’re a student, chances are you’ll write one sooner or later. This guide addresses all the major concerns about how to write an analytical essay, such as the preferred structure and what to put in the outline. Let’s start with an in-depth answer to the question, what is an analytical essay? Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

What is an analytical essay?

One of the seven main types of essay , analytical essays intricately examine a single topic to explain specific arguments or prove the author’s theories. They commonly deal with creative works like art, literature, film, or music, dissecting the creator’s artistic themes and revealing hidden meanings. However, they can also address other issues in realms like science, politics, and society. 

Analytical essays are a type of expository essay , so they’re not supposed to express bias, opinions , or persuasions . Even when the author is trying to prove their own theory (or disprove an opposing theory), their argument should stick solely to facts and logic and keep the author’s personal feelings to a minimum. 

An analytical essay example could be a deep dive into the character of Hamlet, but this topic itself could have multiple interpretations. Your essay could focus on whether or not Hamlet truly loved Ophelia, question the motives for his constant hesitation, or even attempt to prove the theory that he was mentally ill—after all, he did see apparitions! 

How to structure an analytical essay

Although analytical essays tend to be more detailed, specific, or technical than other essays, they still follow the same loose essay structure as the rest:

1 Introduction

3   Conclusion

The introduction is where you present your thesis statement and prepare your reader for what follows. Because analytical essays focus on a single topic, the introduction should give all the background information and context necessary for the reader to understand the writer’s argument. Save the actual analysis of your topic for the body. 

The body is the nucleus of your essay. Here you explain each separate point and offer evidence to support the thesis, breaking up your argument into paragraphs. While the introduction and conclusion are each usually just a single paragraph, the body is composed of many different paragraphs and often stretches out over pages, thereby making up most of the essay. 

Every paragraph in the body still relates to your chosen topic and your thesis, but each paragraph should make a different point or focus on a different piece of evidence. For example, if your topic is about how Edgar Allan Poe uses the theme of death in his writing, one paragraph could explore the use of death in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” while a different paragraph could explore death in “The Raven,” and so on. 

Finally, the conclusion wraps everything up. Conclusions usually don’t introduce new evidence or supporting details but instead reiterate the previous points and bring them all together to strengthen your original thesis. At this point your reader has sufficient background to understand the topic. With your evidential examples in mind, they’ll be more receptive to your main argument when you present it one last time. 

How to write an analytical essay in 6 steps

The process of writing an analytical essay largely follows the same guidelines as all essay writing . Here we break down each individual step from start to finish. 

1 Choose your topic

This step may be optional if your topic has been given to you as an assignment. If not, though, you should choose your topic with care. 

Your topic should be specific enough that you’re able to discuss it thoroughly. If you choose a broad topic like “love in novels from Victorian England,” it’s unlikely you’ll be able to cover all Victorian novels in a single analytical essay (or even ten analytical essays!). However, narrowing the topic down to something such as “love in Jane Austen novels” makes your task more achievable. 

That said, don’t be too specific, or you won’t have enough material to cover. Try to find a good middle ground: specific enough that you can discuss everything but general enough that you’ll be able to find enough research and supporting evidence. 

2 Research your topic

Once you know your topic, you can begin collecting data and evidence to discuss it. If your analytical essay is about a creative work, you may want to spend time reviewing or evaluating that work, such as watching a film closely or studying the details of a painting. It’s also useful to review other people’s critiques of that work to inspire new ideas or reveal details you hadn’t noticed before. 

Don’t forget to write down where you get your information, including page numbers for books or time codes if you’re watching visual media. You may need to reference these in your essay, so making a quick note about where you find your information while researching saves time later when you’re citing your sources . 

It helps to know your thesis from the onset. However, you may realize during your research that your original thesis is not as strong as you thought. If this happens, don’t be afraid to modify it or choose a new one. In any case, by the time your research is finished, you should know what your thesis will be.  

3 Create an outline

An essay outline gives you the opportunity to organize all your thoughts and research so you can put them in the optimal order. Ideally, you’ll have finished your research by now and made notes of everything you want to say in your analytical essay. The outline is your chance to decide when to talk about each point. 

Outlines are typically broken up by paragraph. Each paragraph should explore an individual point you’re making and include your evidence or statistical data to back up that particular point. Be careful about trying to squeeze too much information into a single paragraph; if it looks excessive, try to break up the information into two or more paragraphs. 

Feel free to move around or rearrange the order of paragraphs while outlining—that’s what this step is for! It’s much easier to fix structural problems now in the outline phase than later when writing. 

4 Write your first draft

Now is the time you sit down and actually write the rough draft of your analytical essay. This step is by far the longest, so be sure to set aside ample time. 

If you wrote your outline thoroughly, all you have to do is follow it paragraph by paragraph. Be sure to include each piece of evidence and data you had planned to include. Don’t worry about details like choosing the perfect wording or fixing every grammar mistake—you can do those later in the revisions phase. For now, focus solely on getting everything down. 

Pay particular attention to how you start an essay. The introduction serves different purposes, such as telling the reader what to expect, providing background information, and above all presenting your thesis statement. Make sure your introduction checks all those boxes. 

Likewise, be extra careful with your conclusion. There are special techniques for how to write a conclusion, such as using a powerful clincher and avoiding certain cliches like “in summary.” Conclusions usually hold more weight than the other paragraphs because they’re the last thing a person reads and can leave a lasting impression on them. 

Finally, don’t forget to include transition sentences in between your body paragraphs when needed. Moving abruptly from one topic to the next can be jarring for the reader; transition sentences improve the essay’s flow and remove distractions.  

5 Revise your draft

Your first draft is never meant to be perfect. Once you have all your ideas down on paper, it’s much easier to go back and revise . Now is the perfect time to improve your phrasing and word choice and edit out any unnecessary or tangential parts.

When you revise, pay particular attention to details. Try to find areas that you can remove to make your essay more succinct or passages that aren’t clear that need more explanation. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes: Will someone with no background knowledge still understand your points? 

6 Proofread your essay

Last, it’s time to fix any grammar and spelling mistakes by proofreading . While it’s tempting to do this at the same time as your revisions, it’s best to do them separately so you don’t split your attention. This allows you to focus only on word choice, phrasing, and adding/removing content while revising and to concentrate solely on language mistakes during proofreading. 

If you’re not confident in your grammar or spelling expertise, you can always use an app like Grammarly . Our app highlights any spelling or grammar mistakes directly in your text and gives proper suggestions on how to fix them. There are even features that help you choose the perfect word or adjust your writing to fit a certain tone. You can also copy  and paste your writing to check your grammar and get instant feedback on grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other mistakes you might have missed.

Analytical essay outline example

If you’re having trouble, here’s an analytical essay example that shows how a proper outline or structure should look. The format here uses a five-paragraph essay structure, but for more complicated topics, you can add as many body paragraphs as you need. 

Topic: Who is the real villain: Macbeth or Lady Macbeth?

Introduction

• Briefly describe the plot of Macbeth for those who aren’t familiar with it
• Thesis statement : Lady Macbeth is the real villain of Macbeth because she manipulates her husband into committing an atrocious crime 

Body Paragraph 1 

• Murdering the king is all Lady Macbeth’s idea
• Macbeth is initially against it until Lady Macbeth convinces him

Body Paragraph 2

• Lady Macbeth has her own individual character arc where she is driven mad by her guilt
• Her guilt insinuates she knows her actions are villainous, with appropriate consequences
• Cite quotations from her “Out, damned spot!” speech

Body Paragraph 3

• Macbeth decides to listen to Lady Macbeth, so he is still guilty
• Speculate that he still would not have murdered the king if not for Lady Macbeth
• Macbeth remains the main character because most scenes revolve around him, but the person acting against him most is Lady Macbeth
• Remind reader that Macbeth didn’t want to murder the king until Lady Macbeth convinced him
• Clincher : Macbeth is still the hero albeit a tragic one. But his main antagonist is not Macduff or the king or even the prophecy itself; it’s his wife. 

Analytical essay FAQs

An analytical essay is an essay that deeply examines a single topic, often a creative work, to reveal certain conclusions or prove theories held by the essay’s author. 

How is an analytical essay structured?

Analytical essays are structured like most other essays: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. However, the body paragraphs have a stricter emphasis on facts, logic, and empirical evidence compared to other essays. 

What are the steps to writing an analytical essay? 

As with all essays, you first research and then organize all your points into a working outline. Next, you write the rough draft with all the data and evidence collected during your research. Revise the rough draft when it’s finished to improve the phrasing and add/remove certain parts. Last, proofread the essay for any grammar or spelling mistakes.

• Walden University
• Faculty Portal

Using Evidence: Analysis

Beyond introducing and integrating your paraphrases and quotations, you also need to analyze the evidence in your paragraphs. Analysis is your opportunity to contextualize and explain the evidence for your reader. Your analysis might tell the reader why the evidence is important, what it means, or how it connects to other ideas in your writing.

Note that analysis often leads to synthesis , an extension and more complicated form of analysis. See our synthesis page for more information.

Example 1 of Analysis

Without analysis.

Embryonic stem cell research uses the stem cells from an embryo, causing much ethical debate in the scientific and political communities (Robinson, 2011). "Politicians don't know science" (James, 2010, p. 24). Academic discussion of both should continue (Robinson, 2011).

With Analysis (Added in Bold)

Embryonic stem cell research uses the stem cells from an embryo, causing much ethical debate in the scientific and political communities (Robinson, 2011). However, many politicians use the issue to stir up unnecessary emotion on both sides of the issues. James (2010) explained that "politicians don't know science," (p. 24) so scientists should not be listening to politics. Instead, Robinson (2011) suggested that academic discussion of both embryonic and adult stem cell research should continue in order for scientists to best utilize their resources while being mindful of ethical challenges.

Note that in the first example, the reader cannot know how the quotation fits into the paragraph. Also, note that the word both was unclear. In the revision, however, that the writer clearly (a) explained the quotations as well as the source material, (b) introduced the information sufficiently, and (c) integrated the ideas into the paragraph.

Example 2 of Analysis

Trow (1939) measured the effects of emotional responses on learning and found that student memorization dropped greatly with the introduction of a clock. Errors increased even more when intellectual inferiority regarding grades became a factor (Trow, 1939). The group that was allowed to learn free of restrictions from grades and time limits performed better on all tasks (Trow, 1939).

In this example, the author has successfully paraphrased the key findings from a study. However, there is no conclusion being drawn about those findings. Readers have a difficult time processing the evidence without some sort of ending explanation, an answer to the question so what? So what about this study? Why does it even matter?

Trow (1939) measured the effects of emotional responses on learning and found that student memorization dropped greatly with the introduction of a clock. Errors increased even more when intellectual inferiority regarding grades became a factor (Trow, 1939). The group that was allowed to learn free of restrictions from grades and time limits performed better on all tasks (Trow, 1939). Therefore, negative learning environments and students' emotional reactions can indeed hinder achievement.

Here the meaning becomes clear. The study’s findings support the claim the reader is making: that school environment affects achievement.

Analysis Video Playlist

Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

Related Resources

Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] .

• Previous Page: Quotation
• Next Page: Synthesis
• Office of Student Disability Services

Walden Resources

Departments.

• Academic Residencies
• Academic Skills
• Career Planning and Development
• Customer Care Team
• Field Experience
• Military Services
• Student Success Advising
• Writing Skills

Centers and Offices

• Center for Social Change
• Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services
• Office of Degree Acceleration
• Office of Research and Doctoral Services
• Office of Student Affairs

Student Resources

• Doctoral Writing Assessment
• Form & Style Review
• Quick Answers
• ScholarWorks
• SKIL Courses and Workshops
• Walden Bookstore
• Walden Catalog & Student Handbook
• Student Safety/Title IX
• Legal & Consumer Information
• Website Terms and Conditions
• Cookie Policy
• Accessibility
• Accreditation
• State Authorization
• Net Price Calculator
• Contact Walden

Walden University is a member of Adtalem Global Education, Inc. www.adtalem.com Walden University is certified to operate by SCHEV © 2024 Walden University LLC. All rights reserved.

• Entertainment

How To Write An Analytical Essay A Full Guide

Crafting an impeccable analytical essay is an art form that demands precision, insight, and a structured approach. Whether you’re delving into literature, dissecting historical events, or unraveling scientific theories, the ability to present a compelling analysis is pivotal. Here’s a comprehensive guide to navigate the intricate path of writing a flawless analytical essay.

What Is An Analytical Essay

An analytical essay is a type of academic writing that delves deeply into a topic, idea, or piece of literature. Unlike descriptive or narrative essays, which focus on providing a vivid description or telling a story, an analytical essay aims to examine and dissect its subject matter.

The primary objective of an analytical essay is to present a thorough analysis or interpretation of the subject, often breaking it down into its constituent parts and scrutinizing how they contribute to the whole.

Why Analytical Essay Is Important

Analytical essays play a pivotal role in developing critical thinking skills and fostering a deeper understanding of complex subjects. Through the meticulous examination and interpretation of information, these essays teach individuals how to dissect arguments, evaluate evidence, and form well-supported conclusions. They serve as a platform for honing analytical prowess, enabling individuals to engage with diverse perspectives, challenge assumptions, and articulate their insights effectively. Moreover, mastering the art of analytical essays equips individuals with invaluable skills applicable across various disciplines, fostering a capacity for logical reasoning, problem-solving, and persuasive communication—a skill set indispensable in academia, professional endeavors, and everyday life.

Tips For Writing A Good Analytical Essay

Understanding the essence.

To excel in analytical writing, one must comprehend the essence of analysis itself. It’s not merely about summarizing or narrating; it’s about deconstructing the core components, scrutinizing their significance, and synthesizing perspectives to derive insightful conclusions.

Devising a Strategic Blueprint

Begin with a comprehensive understanding of your subject matter. Formulate a thesis statement —a succinct encapsulation of your perspective—which serves as the guiding beacon throughout your essay. Craft an outline delineating key sections and their respective arguments, ensuring a logical flow that seamlessly connects each point.

The Pinnacle of Research

A sturdy analytical essay is built upon a foundation of rigorous research. Delve into reputable sources, be it scholarly articles, books, or credible online repositories. Gather diverse perspectives and data to fortify your arguments, but always uphold the standards of credibility and relevance.

Structure: The Backbone of Brilliance

A well-structured essay is akin to an architectural marvel. The introduction should entice readers with a gripping hook, provide context, and introduce the thesis statement. The body paragraphs, each beginning with a topic sentence, should expound on individual arguments supported by evidence and analysis. Finally, the conclusion should reaffirm the thesis while offering a nuanced synthesis of the essay’s core ideas.

The Art of Analysis

Here’s where the magic unfolds. Analyze, dissect, and interpret the data and evidence gathered. Scrutinize underlying themes, dissect intricate details, and juxtapose contrasting viewpoints. Employ analytical tools pertinent to your subject, such as literary devices for literature analyses, statistical methods for scientific inquiries, or historical frameworks for historical essays.

Precision in Language and Style

The language employed in an analytical essay should be precise, articulate, and tailored to convey complex ideas clearly. Utilize a formal tone, vary sentence structures, and employ transitions to ensure a seamless progression of ideas. Embrace clarity and coherence as your allies in elucidating intricate analyses.

Revisiting and Refining

Revision is the crucible wherein a good essay transforms into a great one. Review your work meticulously—check for coherence, refine arguments, ensure logical transitions, and verify the alignment of evidence with your thesis. Seek feedback from peers or mentors to gain diverse perspectives and refine your essay further.

Conclusion: A Culmination of Mastery

In conclusion, a perfect analytical essay isn’t merely a collection of facts and opinions; it’s an orchestrated symphony of critical thinking, analysis, and eloquent expression. Embrace the journey of discovery, relish the complexities, and let your essay resonate as a testament to your mastery of analytical prowess.

Best Place To Avail Analytical Essay Service

At Allessaywriter.com, excellence meets expertise in crafting exceptional analytical essay services . Our platform is your gateway to top-tier service, offering a seamless experience to elevate your academic journey. With a team of seasoned writers dedicated to precision and depth in analysis, we ensure tailored essays that reflect critical thinking and comprehensive understanding. Trust us for meticulous research, compelling arguments, and impeccable structure, all aimed at delivering the finest analytical essays that exceed expectations.

An analytical essay service encapsulates the culmination of rigorous analysis, insightful interpretation, and concise articulation. It serves as the pinnacle of intellectual prowess, combining critical thinking with eloquent expression to offer a profound understanding of complex subjects. So if you are still wondering about analytical essay writing then ask our writers and get our do my essay help services.

Meet Kathy, the mindful mind behind the words at minimalistfocus.com. With an innate ability to distill the essence of life down to its purest form, Kathy's writing resonates with those seeking clarity in a cluttered world.

Related Post

Embracing sustainability: navigating the recycling path for outdated tvs, the ultimate guide to top-rated mattress brands, starting fresh: how storage solutions can pave the way for new beginnings, leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

The Power of Analysis: Tips and Tricks for Writing Analysis Essays: Home

Crystal sosa.

Helpful Links

• Super Search Webpage Where to start your research.
• Scribbr Textual analysis guide.
• Analyzing Texts Prezi Presentation A prezi presentation on analyzing texts.
• Writing Essays Guide A guide to writing essays/
• Why is it important?
• Explanation & Example
• Different Types of Analysis Essays

Text analysis and writing analysis texts are important skills to develop as they allow individuals to critically engage with written material, understand underlying themes and arguments, and communicate their own ideas in a clear and effective manner. These skills are essential in academic and professional settings, as well as in everyday life, as they enable individuals to evaluate information and make informed decisions.

What is Text Analysis?

Text analysis is the process of examining and interpreting a written or spoken text to understand its meaning, structure, and context. It involves breaking down the text into its constituent parts, such as words, phrases, and sentences, and analyzing how they work together to convey a particular message or idea.

Text analysis can be used to explore a wide range of textual material, including literature, poetry, speeches, and news articles, and it is often employed in academic research, literary criticism, and media analysis. By analyzing texts, we can gain deeper insights into their meanings, uncover hidden messages and themes, and better understand the social and cultural contexts in which they were produced.

What is an Analysis Essay?

An analysis essay is a type of essay that requires the writer to analyze and interpret a particular text or topic. The goal of an analysis essay is to break down the text or topic into smaller parts and examine each part carefully. This allows the writer to make connections between different parts of the text or topic and develop a more comprehensive understanding of it.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses the first-person point of view and vivid descriptions of the protagonist’s surroundings to convey the protagonist’s psychological deterioration. By limiting the reader’s understanding of the story’s events to the protagonist’s perspective, Gilman creates a sense of claustrophobia and paranoia, mirroring the protagonist’s own feelings. Additionally, the use of sensory language, such as the “smooch of rain,” and descriptions of the “yellow wallpaper” and its “sprawling flamboyant patterns,” further emphasize the protagonist’s sensory and emotional experience. Through these techniques, Gilman effectively communicates the protagonist’s descent into madness and the effects of societal oppression on women’s mental health.

There are several different types of analysis essays, including:

Literary Analysis Essays: These essays examine a work of literature and analyze various literary devices such as character development, plot, theme, and symbolism.

Rhetorical Analysis Essays: These essays examine how authors use language and rhetoric to persuade their audience, focusing on the author's tone, word choice, and use of rhetorical devices.

Film Analysis Essays: These essays analyze a film's themes, characters, and visual elements, such as cinematography and sound.

Visual Analysis Essays: These essays analyze visual art, such as paintings or sculptures, and explore how the artwork's elements work together to create meaning.

Historical Analysis Essays: These essays analyze historical events or documents and examine their causes, effects, and implications.

Comparative Analysis Essays: These essays compare and contrast two or more works, focusing on similarities and differences between them.

Process Analysis Essays: These essays explain how to do something or how something works, providing a step-by-step analysis of a process.

Analyzing Texts

• General Tips
• How to Analyze
• What to Analyze

When writing an essay, it's essential to analyze your topic thoroughly. Here are some suggestions for analyzing your topic:

Read carefully: Start by reading your text or prompt carefully. Make sure you understand the key points and what the text or prompt is asking you to do.

Analyze the text or topic thoroughly: Analyze the text or topic thoroughly by breaking it down into smaller parts and examining each part carefully. This will help you make connections between different parts of the text or topic and develop a more comprehensive understanding of it.

Identify key concepts: Identify the key concepts, themes, and ideas in the text or prompt. This will help you focus your analysis.

Take notes: Take notes on important details and concepts as you read. This will help you remember what you've read and organize your thoughts.

Consider different perspectives: Consider different perspectives and interpretations of the text or prompt. This can help you create a more well-rounded analysis.

Use evidence: Use evidence from the text or outside sources to support your analysis. This can help you make your argument stronger and more convincing.

Formulate your thesis statement: Based on your analysis of the essay, formulate your thesis statement. This should be a clear and concise statement that summarizes your main argument.

Use clear and concise language: Use clear and concise language to communicate your ideas effectively. Avoid using overly complicated language that may confuse your reader.

Revise and edit: Revise and edit your essay carefully to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors.

• Understanding the assignment: Make sure you fully understand the assignment and the purpose of the analysis. This will help you focus your analysis and ensure that you are meeting the requirements of the assignment.

Read the essay multiple times: Reading the essay multiple times will help you to identify the author's main argument, key points, and supporting evidence.

Take notes: As you read the essay, take notes on key points, quotes, and examples. This will help you to organize your thoughts and identify patterns in the author's argument.

Take breaks: It's important to take breaks while reading academic essays to avoid burnout. Take a break every 20-30 minutes and do something completely different, like going for a walk or listening to music. This can help you to stay refreshed and engaged.

Highlight or underline key points: As you read, highlight or underline key points, arguments, and evidence that stand out to you. This will help you to remember and analyze important information later.

Ask questions: Ask yourself questions as you read to help you engage critically with the text. What is the author's argument? What evidence do they use to support their claims? What are the strengths and weaknesses of their argument?

Engage in active reading: Instead of passively reading, engage in active reading by asking questions, making connections to other readings or personal experiences, and reflecting on what you've read.

Find a discussion partner: Find someone to discuss the essay with, whether it's a classmate, a friend, or a teacher. Discussing the essay can help you to process and analyze the information more deeply, and can also help you to stay engaged.

• Identify the author's purpose and audience: Consider why the author wrote the essay and who their intended audience is. This will help you to better understand the author's perspective and the purpose of their argument.

Analyze the structure of the essay: Consider how the essay is structured and how this supports the author's argument. Look for patterns in the organization of ideas and the use of transitions.

Evaluate the author's use of evidence: Evaluate the author's use of evidence and how it supports their argument. Consider whether the evidence is credible, relevant, and sufficient to support the author's claims.

Consider the author's tone and style: Consider the author's tone and style and how it contributes to their argument. Look for patterns in the use of language, imagery, and rhetorical devices.

Consider the context : Consider the context in which the essay was written, such as the author's background, the time period, and any societal or cultural factors that may have influenced their perspective.

Evaluate the evidence: Evaluate the evidence presented in the essay and consider whether it is sufficient to support the author's argument. Look for any biases or assumptions that may be present in the evidence.

Consider alternative viewpoints: Consider alternative viewpoints and arguments that may challenge the author's perspective. This can help you to engage critically with the text and develop a more well-rounded understanding of the topic.

• Last Updated: Jun 21, 2023 1:01 PM
• URL: https://odessa.libguides.com/analysis

• Link to facebook
• Link to linkedin
• Link to twitter
• Link to youtube
• Writing Tips

 How to Write a Perfect Analytical Paragraph

• 8-minute read
• 30th January 2023

If you are looking up how to write an analytical paragraph, you are most likely writing an argumentative or analytical essay. Analytical essays are similar to other essays, such as descriptive essays, in that you have a central idea, organize supporting ideas into body paragraphs, and make conclusions.

However, analytical essays differ from other essays because the writer must go further. They require the writer to interpret and analyze a given text or information using evidence to support their central idea or thesis statement. This analysis takes place in analytical paragraphs, or body paragraphs, if you are writing an analytical essay .

In this article, you’ll learn the components of a perfect analytical paragraph: the topic sentence, evidence, analysis, and conclusion. Keep reading to learn more.

What Is an Analytical Paragraph?

An analytical paragraph is a paragraph that breaks down a piece of literature, an idea, or a concept into smaller parts and analyzes each part to understand the whole. Being able to write an effective and successful analytical paragraph reflects a writer’s critical thinking and organizational writing skills. All in all, like any other type of writing, writing an analytical paragraph requires skill and practice.

Write the Topic Sentence

A topic sentence is usually the first, or sometimes second, sentence at the beginning of anybody paragraph. Your topic sentence should contain one main idea related to the thesis statement . If it is not related to your thesis statement, then you are likely off topic.

Pro Tip: If your topic sentence is the second sentence of your paragraph, then your first sentence should be a transitional sentence .

Let’s look at a thesis statement and some topic sentences to get a better idea.

Topic: Examine and analyze the marriages in George Eliot’s Middlemarch .

Thesis Statement: Eliot uses three different marriages to give depth to everyday people and show the reader the struggles of marriage within the nineteenth century’s societal standards of submissive roles, class range, and financial status.

Topic Sentence 1: Lydgate and Rosamond had a terrible marriage in Middlemarch , like all other marriages during this time.

This topic sentence is not effective because it is not specific enough and does not directly relate to the thesis statement. It does not mention how their “terrible” marriage is related to submissive roles, class range, or financial status. Additionally, the overly generalized language of “all” marriages being terrible marriages during this time is a weak argument.

Topic Sentence 2: Financial matters play a huge role in the Lydgate and Rosamond marriage, as Lydgate has no money and Rosamond is a big spender.

This topic sentence is effective because it directly supports the thesis statement. It is focused on the financial status of this marriage.

Provide Evidence

The type of evidence you use to support your topic sentence will largely depend on the topic of your analytical essay. For example, if you are writing an essay related to a work of literature, you will need to provide direct quotes, paraphrasing, specific details, or a summary from the work to support your main idea. If your topic is related to analyzing data, then you may use figures, statistics, or charts and graph evidence to support your topic sentence.

Regardless of what type of evidence you provide, it must be appropriate and directly relate to and support your topic sentence.

For example, if we take the above thesis and topic sentence, we might select direct quotes, paraphrases, or summaries from the novel Middlemarch that depict the marriage’s financial stress.

Pro Tip: When using direct quotes, make sure you always provide an in-text citation and use correct punctuation to ensure your essay is neat and clean.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Once you have provided evidence, you should analyze it to illustrate its significance and how it relates to the topic sentence. In your analysis, you can discuss how an author uses certain literary devices to emphasize character traits, themes, patterns, and connections in a literary work.

Be sure that your analysis always connects to the topic sentence/main idea of the paragraph. Avoid introducing new ideas in this section. Save those for later paragraphs or consider creating a new one to explore and analyze the new point.

Conclude Your Paragraph

When closing an analytical paragraph, you can consider doing two things:

●  Briefly emphasize the main point your reader should take away after having read the paragraph.

●  Begin a transition if the analysis continues into the next paragraph. (This strategy may be more suitable for longer, more in-depth analytical essays).

Using the above example topic sentence, we might conclude the paragraph as follows:

Notice how this concluding statement not only emphasizes the main points from the paragraph but also ties back into the thesis statement.

Writing Tips For Analytical Paragraphs

Leave out first person language.

Avoid using language such as “in my opinion,” “from my perspective,” or “I think.” While the analysis is your interpretation of a text or information, you should rely on and focus on using evidence to support your ideas. Overall, you should aim to maintain an objective tone .

Instead of saying “I think Rosamond is manipulative,” you should use evidence from the text to show that she was manipulative. For example, “Rosamond shows a pattern of manipulation throughout Middlemarch , specifically toward her husband. For instance, she says, ‘…’”

Do Writing Exercises

When writing, especially in the early drafts of an essay, it is typical to find the main idea of a paragraph at the end. This is a natural course for our thinking process. However, the main idea should be presented as your topic sentence at the beginning of this paragraph. Additionally, most students leave this main idea at the end because they do not identify it as the main idea.

To overcome this dilemma, try a looping prewriting exercise . In this exercise, you write continuously for a designated time (maybe 10 minutes, your choice). At the end of that time, read over what you’ve written and circle the main idea of the text (this is usually at the end). In the next cycle, you start with this main idea at the beginning and further examine and analyze it.

This is a wonderful exercise to help you pick out main ideas and delve deeper into your analysis.

Get Feedback

If you are a student, there are several options to get feedback for free. Ask a friend to read your essay. Go to your writing center to get feedback and help with your writing. Go to your professor’s office hours with your writing or questions to get detailed advice. More often than not, they are happy to see you take advantage of their expertise.

As a working professional, writer, or author, you can look to fellow authors or bookish friends to read your work. You can find free beta readers online from sites such as Goodreads to get feedback from your target audience. You can also find writing groups on social media platforms.

Proofread Your Work

It can be easy to finish writing an essay and think “Finally, I’m done!” Unfortunately, that is only half the process. Be sure to always read and reread your writing before hitting submit. Check for stray commas, spelling errors, or awkward sentences to make your main ideas and hard work shine. Learn about 6 Quick and Easy Tips for Proofreading you can do at home.

Writing an analytical paragraph doesn’t have to be stressful. Be sure to include a topic sentence at the beginning of your paragraph that connects to the thesis statement. Provide a variety of evidence to support your main idea, analyze the text by highlighting literary devices used, themes, and patterns, and end with a brief concluding statement.

If you need more help with writing analysis, descriptive essays, or any other type of essay, then Proofed is here to help. Try our free trial today!

What Is a Topic Sentence?

A topic sentence goes at the beginning of a body paragraph and clearly states the main idea of the paragraph.

How Do I Organize an Analytical Paragraph?

An analytical paragraph has four components: topic sentence, evidence, analysis, and conclusion. The topic sentence is the most important part of any body paragraph because it establishes the main idea of the paragraph and relates to the thesis statement.

What Makes a Good Analytical Paragraph?

A good analytical paragraph has a clear topic sentence, strong evidence, and a thorough analysis that reflects the writer’s critical thinking and writing skills. It should conclude by emphasizing the main idea of the paragraph and how it supports the essay overall.

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

2-minute read

How to Cite the CDC in APA

If you’re writing about health issues, you might need to reference the Centers for Disease...

5-minute read

Six Product Description Generator Tools for Your Product Copy

Introduction If you’re involved with ecommerce, you’re likely familiar with the often painstaking process of...

3-minute read

What Is a Content Editor?

Are you interested in learning more about the role of a content editor and the...

4-minute read

The Benefits of Using an Online Proofreading Service

Proofreading is important to ensure your writing is clear and concise for your readers. Whether...

6 Online AI Presentation Maker Tools

Creating presentations can be time-consuming and frustrating. Trying to construct a visually appealing and informative...

What Is Market Research?

No matter your industry, conducting market research helps you keep up to date with shifting...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 5 steps to write a great analytical essay.

General Education

Do you need to write an analytical essay for school? What sets this kind of essay apart from other types, and what must you include when you write your own analytical essay? In this guide, we break down the process of writing an analytical essay by explaining the key factors your essay needs to have, providing you with an outline to help you structure your essay, and analyzing a complete analytical essay example so you can see what a finished essay looks like.

What Is an Analytical Essay?

Before you begin writing an analytical essay, you must know what this type of essay is and what it includes. Analytical essays analyze something, often (but not always) a piece of writing or a film.

An analytical essay is more than just a synopsis of the issue though; in this type of essay you need to go beyond surface-level analysis and look at what the key arguments/points of this issue are and why. If you’re writing an analytical essay about a piece of writing, you’ll look into how the text was written and why the author chose to write it that way. Instead of summarizing, an analytical essay typically takes a narrower focus and looks at areas such as major themes in the work, how the author constructed and supported their argument, how the essay used literary devices to enhance its messages, etc.

While you certainly want people to agree with what you’ve written, unlike with persuasive and argumentative essays, your main purpose when writing an analytical essay isn’t to try to convert readers to your side of the issue. Therefore, you won’t be using strong persuasive language like you would in those essay types. Rather, your goal is to have enough analysis and examples that the strength of your argument is clear to readers.

Besides typical essay components like an introduction and conclusion, a good analytical essay will include:

• A thesis that states your main argument
• Analysis that relates back to your thesis and supports it
• Examples to support your analysis and allow a more in-depth look at the issue

In the rest of this article, we’ll explain how to include each of these in your analytical essay.

How to Structure Your Analytical Essay

Analytical essays are structured similarly to many other essays you’ve written, with an introduction (including a thesis), several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Below is an outline you can follow when structuring your essay, and in the next section we go into more detail on how to write an analytical essay.

Introduction

Your introduction will begin with some sort of attention-grabbing sentence to get your audience interested, then you’ll give a few sentences setting up the topic so that readers have some context, and you’ll end with your thesis statement. Your introduction will include:

• Brief background information explaining the issue/text
• Your thesis

Body Paragraphs

Your analytical essay will typically have three or four body paragraphs, each covering a different point of analysis. Begin each body paragraph with a sentence that sets up the main point you’ll be discussing. Then you’ll give some analysis on that point, backing it up with evidence to support your claim. Continue analyzing and giving evidence for your analysis until you’re out of strong points for the topic. At the end of each body paragraph, you may choose to have a transition sentence that sets up what the next paragraph will be about, but this isn’t required. Body paragraphs will include:

• Introductory sentence explaining what you’ll cover in the paragraph (sort of like a mini-thesis)
• Analysis point
• Evidence (either passages from the text or data/facts) that supports the analysis
• (Repeat analysis and evidence until you run out of examples)

You won’t be making any new points in your conclusion; at this point you’re just reiterating key points you’ve already made and wrapping things up. Begin by rephrasing your thesis and summarizing the main points you made in the essay. Someone who reads just your conclusion should be able to come away with a basic idea of what your essay was about and how it was structured. After this, you may choose to make some final concluding thoughts, potentially by connecting your essay topic to larger issues to show why it’s important. A conclusion will include:

• Paraphrase of thesis
• Summary of key points of analysis
• Final concluding thought(s)

5 Steps for Writing an Analytical Essay

Follow these five tips to break down writing an analytical essay into manageable steps. By the end, you’ll have a fully-crafted analytical essay with both in-depth analysis and enough evidence to support your argument. All of these steps use the completed analytical essay in the next section as an example.

#1: Pick a Topic

You may have already had a topic assigned to you, and if that’s the case, you can skip this step. However, if you haven’t, or if the topic you’ve been assigned is broad enough that you still need to narrow it down, then you’ll need to decide on a topic for yourself. Choosing the right topic can mean the difference between an analytical essay that’s easy to research (and gets you a good grade) and one that takes hours just to find a few decent points to analyze

Before you decide on an analytical essay topic, do a bit of research to make sure you have enough examples to support your analysis. If you choose a topic that’s too narrow, you’ll struggle to find enough to write about.

For example, say your teacher assigns you to write an analytical essay about the theme in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath of exposing injustices against migrants. For it to be an analytical essay, you can’t just recount the injustices characters in the book faced; that’s only a summary and doesn’t include analysis. You need to choose a topic that allows you to analyze the theme. One of the best ways to explore a theme is to analyze how the author made his/her argument. One example here is that Steinbeck used literary devices in the intercalary chapters (short chapters that didn’t relate to the plot or contain the main characters of the book) to show what life was like for migrants as a whole during the Dust Bowl.

You could write about how Steinbeck used literary devices throughout the whole book, but, in the essay below, I chose to just focus on the intercalary chapters since they gave me enough examples. Having a narrower focus will nearly always result in a tighter and more convincing essay (and can make compiling examples less overwhelming).

#2: Write a Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement is the most important sentence of your essay; a reader should be able to read just your thesis and understand what the entire essay is about and what you’ll be analyzing. When you begin writing, remember that each sentence in your analytical essay should relate back to your thesis

In the analytical essay example below, the thesis is the final sentence of the first paragraph (the traditional spot for it). The thesis is: “In The Grapes of Wrath’s intercalary chapters, John Steinbeck employs a variety of literary devices and stylistic choices to better expose the injustices committed against migrants in the 1930s.” So what will this essay analyze? How Steinbeck used literary devices in the intercalary chapters to show how rough migrants could have it. Crystal clear.

#3: Do Research to Find Your Main Points

This is where you determine the bulk of your analysis--the information that makes your essay an analytical essay. My preferred method is to list every idea that I can think of, then research each of those and use the three or four strongest ones for your essay. Weaker points may be those that don’t relate back to the thesis, that you don’t have much analysis to discuss, or that you can’t find good examples for. A good rule of thumb is to have one body paragraph per main point

This essay has four main points, each of which analyzes a different literary device Steinbeck uses to better illustrate how difficult life was for migrants during the Dust Bowl. The four literary devices and their impact on the book are:

• Lack of individual names in intercalary chapters to illustrate the scope of the problem
• Parallels to the Bible to induce sympathy for the migrants
• Non-showy, often grammatically-incorrect language so the migrants are more realistic and relatable to readers
• Nature-related metaphors to affect the mood of the writing and reflect the plight of the migrants

#4: Find Excerpts or Evidence to Support Your Analysis

Now that you have your main points, you need to back them up. If you’re writing a paper about a text or film, use passages/clips from it as your main source of evidence. If you’re writing about something else, your evidence can come from a variety of sources, such as surveys, experiments, quotes from knowledgeable sources etc. Any evidence that would work for a regular research paper works here.

In this example, I quoted multiple passages from The Grapes of Wrath  in each paragraph to support my argument. You should be able to back up every claim you make with evidence in order to have a strong essay.

#5: Put It All Together

Now it's time to begin writing your essay, if you haven’t already. Create an introductory paragraph that ends with the thesis, make a body paragraph for each of your main points, including both analysis and evidence to back up your claims, and wrap it all up with a conclusion that recaps your thesis and main points and potentially explains the big picture importance of the topic.

Analytical Essay Example + Analysis

So that you can see for yourself what a completed analytical essay looks like, here’s an essay I wrote back in my high school days. It’s followed by analysis of how I structured my essay, what its strengths are, and how it could be improved.

One way Steinbeck illustrates the connections all migrant people possessed and the struggles they faced is by refraining from using specific titles and names in his intercalary chapters. While The Grapes of Wrath focuses on the Joad family, the intercalary chapters show that all migrants share the same struggles and triumphs as the Joads. No individual names are used in these chapters; instead the people are referred to as part of a group. Steinbeck writes, “Frantic men pounded on the doors of the doctors; and the doctors were busy.  And sad men left word at country stores for the coroner to send a car,” (555). By using generic terms, Steinbeck shows how the migrants are all linked because they have gone through the same experiences. The grievances committed against one family were committed against thousands of other families; the abuse extends far beyond what the Joads experienced. The Grapes of Wrath frequently refers to the importance of coming together; how, when people connect with others their power and influence multiplies immensely. Throughout the novel, the goal of the migrants, the key to their triumph, has been to unite. While their plans are repeatedly frustrated by the government and police, Steinbeck’s intercalary chapters provide a way for the migrants to relate to one another because they have encountered the same experiences. Hundreds of thousands of migrants fled to the promised land of California, but Steinbeck was aware that numbers alone were impersonal and lacked the passion he desired to spread. Steinbeck created the intercalary chapters to show the massive numbers of people suffering, and he created the Joad family to evoke compassion from readers.  Because readers come to sympathize with the Joads, they become more sensitive to the struggles of migrants in general. However, John Steinbeck frequently made clear that the Joads were not an isolated incident; they were not unique. Their struggles and triumphs were part of something greater. Refraining from specific names in his intercalary chapters allows Steinbeck to show the vastness of the atrocities committed against migrants.

Steinbeck also creates significant parallels to the Bible in his intercalary chapters in order to enhance his writing and characters. By using simple sentences and stylized writing, Steinbeck evokes Biblical passages. The migrants despair, “No work till spring. No work,” (556).  Short, direct sentences help to better convey the desperateness of the migrants’ situation. Throughout his novel, John Steinbeck makes connections to the Bible through his characters and storyline. Jim Casy’s allusions to Christ and the cycle of drought and flooding are clear biblical references.  By choosing to relate The Grapes of Wrath to the Bible, Steinbeck’s characters become greater than themselves. Starving migrants become more than destitute vagrants; they are now the chosen people escaping to the promised land. When a forgotten man dies alone and unnoticed, it becomes a tragedy. Steinbeck writes, “If [the migrants] were shot at, they did not run, but splashed sullenly away; and if they were hit, they sank tiredly in the mud,” (556). Injustices committed against the migrants become greater because they are seen as children of God through Steinbeck’s choice of language. Referencing the Bible strengthens Steinbeck’s novel and purpose: to create understanding for the dispossessed.  It is easy for people to feel disdain for shabby vagabonds, but connecting them to such a fundamental aspect of Christianity induces sympathy from readers who might have otherwise disregarded the migrants as so many other people did.

The simple, uneducated dialogue Steinbeck employs also helps to create a more honest and meaningful representation of the migrants, and it makes the migrants more relatable to readers. Steinbeck chooses to accurately represent the language of the migrants in order to more clearly illustrate their lives and make them seem more like real paper than just characters in a book. The migrants lament, “They ain’t gonna be no kinda work for three months,” (555). There are multiple grammatical errors in that single sentence, but it vividly conveys the despair the migrants felt better than a technically perfect sentence would. The Grapes of Wrath is intended to show the severe difficulties facing the migrants so Steinbeck employs a clear, pragmatic style of writing.  Steinbeck shows the harsh, truthful realities of the migrants’ lives and he would be hypocritical if he chose to give the migrants a more refined voice and not portray them with all their shortcomings. The depiction of the migrants as imperfect through their language also makes them easier to relate to. Steinbeck’s primary audience was the middle class, the less affluent of society. Repeatedly in The Grapes of Wrath , the wealthy make it obvious that they scorn the plight of the migrants. The wealthy, not bad luck or natural disasters, were the prominent cause of the suffering of migrant families such as the Joads. Thus, Steinbeck turns to the less prosperous for support in his novel. When referring to the superior living conditions barnyard animals have, the migrants remark, “Them’s horses-we’re men,” (556).  The perfect simplicity of this quote expresses the absurdness of the migrants’ situation better than any flowery expression could.

In The Grapes of Wrath , John Steinbeck uses metaphors, particularly about nature, in order to illustrate the mood and the overall plight of migrants. Throughout most of the book, the land is described as dusty, barren, and dead. Towards the end, however; floods come and the landscape begins to change. At the end of chapter twenty-nine, Steinbeck describes a hill after the floods saying, “Tiny points of grass came through the earth, and in a few days the hills were pale green with the beginning year,” (556). This description offers a stark contrast from the earlier passages which were filled with despair and destruction. Steinbeck’s tone from the beginning of the chapter changes drastically. Early in the chapter, Steinbeck had used heavy imagery in order to convey the destruction caused by the rain, “The streams and the little rivers edged up to the bank sides and worked at willows and tree roots, bent the willows deep in the current, cut out the roots of cottonwoods and brought down the trees,” (553). However, at the end of the chapter the rain has caused new life to grow in California. The new grass becomes a metaphor representing hope. When the migrants are at a loss over how they will survive the winter, the grass offers reassurance. The story of the migrants in the intercalary chapters parallels that of the Joads. At the end of the novel, the family is breaking apart and has been forced to flee their home. However, both the book and final intercalary chapter end on a hopeful note after so much suffering has occurred. The grass metaphor strengthens Steinbeck’s message because it offers a tangible example of hope. Through his language Steinbeck’s themes become apparent at the end of the novel. Steinbeck affirms that persistence, even when problems appear insurmountable, leads to success. These metaphors help to strengthen Steinbeck’s themes in The Grapes of Wrath because they provide a more memorable way to recall important messages.

John Steinbeck’s language choices help to intensify his writing in his intercalary chapters and allow him to more clearly show how difficult life for migrants could be. Refraining from using specific names and terms allows Steinbeck to show that many thousands of migrants suffered through the same wrongs. Imitating the style of the Bible strengthens Steinbeck’s characters and connects them to the Bible, perhaps the most famous book in history. When Steinbeck writes in the imperfect dialogue of the migrants, he creates a more accurate portrayal and makes the migrants easier to relate to for a less affluent audience. Metaphors, particularly relating to nature, strengthen the themes in The Grapes of Wrath by enhancing the mood Steinbeck wants readers to feel at different points in the book. Overall, the intercalary chapters that Steinbeck includes improve his novel by making it more memorable and reinforcing the themes Steinbeck embraces throughout the novel. Exemplary stylistic devices further persuade readers of John Steinbeck’s personal beliefs. Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath to bring to light cruelties against migrants, and by using literary devices effectively, he continuously reminds readers of his purpose. Steinbeck’s impressive language choices in his intercalary chapters advance the entire novel and help to create a classic work of literature that people still are able to relate to today. 

This essay sticks pretty closely to the standard analytical essay outline. It starts with an introduction, where I chose to use a quote to start off the essay. (This became my favorite way to start essays in high school because, if I wasn’t sure what to say, I could outsource the work and find a quote that related to what I’d be writing about.) The quote in this essay doesn’t relate to the themes I’m discussing quite as much as it could, but it’s still a slightly different way to start an essay and can intrigue readers. I then give a bit of background on The Grapes of Wrath and its themes before ending the intro paragraph with my thesis: that Steinbeck used literary devices in intercalary chapters to show how rough migrants had it.

Each of my four body paragraphs is formatted in roughly the same way: an intro sentence that explains what I’ll be discussing, analysis of that main point, and at least two quotes from the book as evidence.

My conclusion restates my thesis, summarizes each of four points I discussed in my body paragraphs, and ends the essay by briefly discussing how Steinbeck’s writing helped introduce a world of readers to the injustices migrants experienced during the dust bowl.

What does this analytical essay example do well? For starters, it contains everything that a strong analytical essay should, and it makes that easy to find. The thesis clearly lays out what the essay will be about, the first sentence of each of the body paragraph introduces the topic it’ll cover, and the conclusion neatly recaps all the main points. Within each of the body paragraphs, there’s analysis along with multiple excerpts from the book in order to add legitimacy to my points.

Additionally, the essay does a good job of taking an in-depth look at the issue introduced in the thesis. Four ways Steinbeck used literary devices are discussed, and for each of the examples are given and analysis is provided so readers can understand why Steinbeck included those devices and how they helped shaped how readers viewed migrants and their plight.

Where could this essay be improved? I believe the weakest body paragraph is the third one, the one that discusses how Steinbeck used plain, grammatically incorrect language to both accurately depict the migrants and make them more relatable to readers. The paragraph tries to touch on both of those reasons and ends up being somewhat unfocused as a result. It would have been better for it to focus on just one of those reasons (likely how it made the migrants more relatable) in order to be clearer and more effective. It’s a good example of how adding more ideas to an essay often doesn’t make it better if they don’t work with the rest of what you’re writing. This essay also could explain the excerpts that are included more and how they relate to the points being made. Sometimes they’re just dropped in the essay with the expectation that the readers will make the connection between the example and the analysis. This is perhaps especially true in the second body paragraph, the one that discusses similarities to Biblical passages. Additional analysis of the quotes would have strengthened it.

Summary: How to Write an Analytical Essay

What is an analytical essay? A critical analytical essay analyzes a topic, often a text or film. The analysis paper uses evidence to support the argument, such as excerpts from the piece of writing. All analytical papers include a thesis, analysis of the topic, and evidence to support that analysis.

When developing an analytical essay outline and writing your essay, follow these five steps:

Reading analytical essay examples can also give you a better sense of how to structure your essay and what to include in it.

What's Next?

Learning about different writing styles in school? There are four main writing styles, and it's important to understand each of them. Learn about them in our guide to writing styles , complete with examples.

Writing a research paper for school but not sure what to write about? Our guide to research paper topics has over 100 topics in ten categories so you can be sure to find the perfect topic for you.

Literary devices can both be used to enhance your writing and communication. Check out this list of 31 literary devices to learn more !

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

Student and Parent Forum

Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

Analytical Essay: Tips, Structure, Examples

Analytical essays could be perfect for you if you enjoy immersing yourself in tasks and excel at thinking creatively. By conducting thorough analysis and employing innovative writing techniques, you can discover new viewpoints and enhance your understanding of the subject.

In this article, our research paper writer will explain what it entails, learn how to structure your paper for top marks, snag some snazzy topic ideas, and glean practical examples. This guide has got all the essentials you need for writing success!

What Is an Analytical Essay

To write an effective analytical essay, it is important to understand its purpose and method. In basic terms, it requires using textual evidence to logically support the author's arguments rather than relying on emotions or personal anecdotes. ‍ Compared to persuasive essays that advocate for one specific viewpoint, a quality analytical essay example should delve into all aspects of the subject. This involves examining different perspectives, dissecting arguments, and assessing evidence thoughtfully. ‍ Ultimately, you will have to express your viewpoint after conducting your analysis. This requires combining your research and determining if you agree with the conclusions made or have a different interpretation.

Wondering How to Impress Your Professor with Your Essay?

Let our writers craft you a winning essay, no matter the subject, field, type, or length!

How to Structure an Analytical Essay

Now it's time to ace the process of crafting an excellent paper. To make writing easier, organize your thoughts and structure your arguments clearly. An analytical essay needs the introduction, body, and conclusion of an outline, which acts as a guide from start to finish. Here's the simple breakdown of an analytical essay outline:

‍Introduction‍

• Background information
• Thesis statement

Body paragraph 1‍

• Topic sentence
• Supporting evidence
• Transition to the body paragraph to‍

Body paragraph 2‍

• Transition to body paragraph 3

Body paragraph 3

• Transition to conclusion
• Summary of major points
• Restate the thesis
• Key takeaways

Introduction: To begin your essay successfully (see our analytical essay example), captivate the reader's interest from the very start and clearly outline the topic. A good beginning should give some background information, outline the essay's purpose, and suggest the main arguments that will be made. Grab the reader's attention with an engaging and pertinent opening sentence, such as a surprising fact, a funny story, or a challenging question. After that, introduce your thesis statement, which summarizes your main point in the essay.

Body Paragraphs: In an analysis essay, each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that helps guide the reader. The paragraph then provides evidence to support the thesis, concentrating on a single issue. By summarizing the main point at the end of each paragraph, the essay flows smoothly from one idea to the next, maintaining clarity and coherence in the argument.

Conclusion: The final paragraph of an analytical essay usually adheres to a specific structure:

• Reiterating the main argument
• Outlining the main ideas discussed in the essay
• Providing thoughts on the overall significance of the analysis

It is crucial to include your perspective on the topic's relevance and how your analysis adds to the understanding of it. This approach can strongly impact the reader's perception of the essay.

Meanwhile, you might also be interested in how to write a reflection paper , so check out the article for more information!

How to Write an Analytical Essay

Once you understand the structure, there are some steps you can take to make writing an analytical essay easier. Preparing beforehand can simplify the process and improve the overall flow and structure of your essay. Here are some tips from our experts. Meanwhile, you can also request from our experts - write my essay for me . And we'll take care of it right away.

• Think Ahead : Before writing, a good analytical essay writer should spend some time thinking about the topic. Make a list of ideas or themes related to it. This helps you find interesting angles for your essay.
• Create a Thesis Statement : Develop a clear and concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument of your essay. This will guide you in how to write an analytical essay introduction and keep your writing focused.
• Visualize Information : Use graphs or charts to organize your thoughts visually. This makes your research easier to understand. For example, you can compare ideas with a chart.
• Consider Different Views : Address opposing viewpoints in your essay. This shows you've thought about different perspectives and strengthens your argument.
• Use Original Sources : Include interviews, presentations, or original documents in your research. They give a unique insight into your topic. For instance, old letters can offer personal views on historical events.
• Analyze Cause and Effect : Explore the cause-and-effect relationships within your topic. Analyze how different factors contribute to certain outcomes or phenomena.

Analytical Essay Topics

Choosing the right one among lots of analytical essay topic ideas is crucial when tackling your essay. Here's a guide to help you pick wisely:

• Find a topic that piques your interest. It's easier to dive into analysis when you're passionate about the subject.
• Look for topics that catch the reader's eye. Think about what would make someone stop and want to read more.
• Avoid topics that are too broad. Focus on something specific that you can thoroughly analyze within the scope of your essay.
• Ensure there's enough quality research available to support your analysis. You'll need evidence to back up your points.
• Your topic should raise questions worth exploring. Aim for something that sparks curiosity and has significance.

Now, here's a mix of engaging topics from our dissertation services to consider:

• Analyzing the Impact of Blue Light from Screens on Sleep Quality
• Exploring the Environmental Effects of Microplastics in Ocean Ecosystems
• Understanding the Benefits of Deep Breathing Exercises for Anxiety Relief
• Analyzing the Influence of Instagram Filters on Body Image Perception
• Exploring the Health Risks of Artificial Sweeteners in Diet Soda
• Understanding the Psychological Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
• Analyzing the Environmental Impact of Fast Food Packaging Waste
• Exploring the Effects of Social Media Validation on Self-Esteem
• Understanding the Benefits of Indoor Plants for Air Quality Improvement
• Analyzing the Relationship Between Sugar Consumption and Dental Health
• Exploring the Psychological Effects of Online Shopping Addiction
• Understanding the Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion Textile Dyes
• Analyzing the Effects of Smartphone Notifications on Focus and Productivity
• Exploring the Benefits of Outdoor Exercise for Vitamin D Production
• Understanding the Relationship Between Noise Pollution and Cardiovascular Health
• Analyzing the Psychological Effects of Colorful Food Presentation on Appetite
• Exploring the Impact of Petting Therapy Dogs on Stress Reduction
• Understanding the Benefits of Classical Music for Concentration While Studying
• Analyzing the Effects of Lavender Aromatherapy on Sleep Quality
• Exploring the Health Risks of Prolonged Sitting and Sedentary Lifestyles

Analytical Essay Examples

Here is our analytical writing sample to see theory in action. Notice how analytical thinking applies to real-world situations, improving your understanding of concepts. By studying these examples, you'll learn to analyze complex issues, build strong arguments, and sharpen your critical thinking skills.

Final Thoughts

With our tips on how to write an analytical essay and examples, you're ready to boost your writing skills and craft essays that captivate your audience. With practice, you'll become a pro at analytical writing, ready to tackle any topic with confidence.

And hey, if you need help to buy essay online , just drop us a line saying ' do my homework for me ' and we'll jump right in!

Do Analytical Essays Tend to Intimidate You?

Give us your assignment to uncover a deeper understanding of your chosen analytical essay topic!

How to Write an Analytical Essay?

What is an analytical essay, what is the purpose of an analytical essay, related articles.

How to Write an Interpretive Essay and Literary Analysis

• Trent Lorcher
• Categories : High school english lesson plans grades 9 12
• Tags : High school lesson plans & tips

How to NOT Write an Interpretive Essay

Remember when you assigned a literary analysis or an interpretive essay and all you got was 237 summaries of a short story you’d already read 15 times, so you slammed your hand in the filing cabinet drawer until you drew blood and broke every finger? The better option, of course, would have been to teach students how to write an interpretive essay or to teach students how to write a literary analysis.

Use the following guidelines for teaching how to write an interpretive essay or how to write a literary analysis:

• The introduction must introduce the literary work, capture the reader’s attention, and include a clearly written thesis statement that contains the literary interpretation.
• The body of the essay must support the thesis statement through evidence–facts, examples, summaries–and commentary–opinions, analysis, interpretation, insight.
• The conclusion summarizes the interpretation and allows the writer to draw attention to the most important aspects of the analysis.

An ‘A’ essay does the following:

• Identifies the author, title, and gives a brief summary of the literary work.
• Provides a clear interpretation of the author’s message and purpose.
• Provides details, quotations, and other evidence to support the interpretation.

Drafting and Revising

When teaching how to write a literary analysis or interpretive essay, emphasize the following:

• Reread the literary work several times. This seems logical to teachers. It’s not logical for students. Read through the first time to get a feel for the work. Reread and look for passages and ideas that stand out or have special meaning.
• Before drafting, brainstorm possible interpretations. A good strategy is to write annotations as you read.
• Discuss the interpretation with others who have read the work. As a teacher, it’s important to have class discussions on works being analyzed.
• What is the main point of the essay? This main point should be clearly identified in the thesis statement .
• What evidence best supports the interpretation?
• Are there any points that should be added to clarify the interpretation?
• Is there any superfluous evidence that could be deleted?

Common Pitfalls of Literary Analysis

Following are the most common errors with literary analysis:

• Writing a Summary: No matter how many times you emphasize that you do not want a summary, you’ll still get them. The only way to eliminate this error is to model analysis and give really low grades to students who summarize rather than analyze.
• Listing Facts: A close relative of the summary is listing facts. It’s also called the, “I’ll list as many facts as I can about this literary work and hope the teacher doesn’t grade it very closely” syndrome. Explain that listing facts without explaining how the fact supports the thesis statement or why that fact is important is useless.
• Having No Evidence: At the other end of the bad analysis spectrum is the no evidence analysis. It consists of nothing but conjecture.

Mini Lesson

Teach how to write a literary analysis or how to write an interpretive essay and avoid the common pitfalls before you assign the essay. Try this exercise:

• Write down a specific quotation or example from a literary work.
• Underneath the quote write the phrase this shows________ .
• Complete the sentence two times for each quotation.
• Discuss answers and point out the difference between analysis and summary.
• Once students have the basic idea down, assign the essay.
• Another option is to have them answer discussion questions in the following format: 1 detail from the story, with 2 pieces of analysis.

Find an entire semester of lesson plans and handouts coordinated with language arts standards with this English syllabus .

This post is part of the series: Different Types of Essays

Implement these strategies for different types of essays.

• Lesson Plan: How to Write a Reflective Essay
• Interpretive Essay Lesson Plan: How to Write a Literary Analysis
• Writing a Career Research Paper
• Lesson Plan: How to Write a Problem/Solution Essay
• American History Project Ideas: Capturing Oral History

WRITING AN INSIGHTFUL INTERPRETIVE ESSAY

Writing an insightful interpretive essay : a review.

I recently had the opportunity to read two books that had very different interpretations of the same subject. One book moved me to tears and the other was challenging to follow and remember. Even though both books had the same theme, one had symbolism, metaphors, and an emotional connection that had me hooked.

In contrast, the other book implored a generic approach that lacked depth and connection. From this scenario, interpretation is relative and crucial in enhancing our comprehension of ideas and subjects, as well as successfully relaying them to others. This is where interpretive essay writing becomes relevant.

In this guide, you will learn what it means and how to write an insightful interpretive essay .

What is an Interpretive Essay?

An interpretive essay is a piece of writing that focuses on a writer’s ability to analyze and interpret an author’s specific literature or subject. As a genre, this is where creative writing is born as it draws on the elements that are central to storytelling. To put it another way, an interpretative essay is prepared to offer a writer’s viewpoint on a literary work.

This essay also provides an in-depth analysis of the interpreted theme, which can be in the form of a commentary, reflection, or a comparison. As an interpretive essay writer, you focus on specific elements of the author’s work, such as a character, setting, topic, or metaphor.

Pitfalls to Avoid in Interpretive Essay Writing

Interpretive essay writing is easy if you know what to look out for; otherwise, you might end up in a hamster’s wheel of failing to drive your essay home. Here are some mistakes writers make:

• Solely listing facts.
• Summarizing your work.
• Creating a piece of writing based on incomplete information (conjectures).
• Being too biased in your work
• Not having a clear objective
• Having a plagiarised write-up

Having these points in mind, I present a series of strategies to help you achieve a successful essay.

Steps to Writing an Effective Interpretive Essay Writing

It’s easy to get bogged down and a little overwhelmed when you first start thinking about writing an interpretive essay. It could seem like a hopeless mess, but it doesn’t have to be! You can still write an amazing essay with the right preparation. So, here’s what to do:

Start with an Effective Thesis Statement

This should be something along the lines of “I believe, therefore I am.” This is the basis for all your facts and the key to your supporting explanation. Be careful to identify the thesis in your introduction. Ideally, your thesis statement should be brief and within two sentences.

Here’s is what a thesis statement may look like, using the role of Ant-Man in Avengers: End Game.

“Despite being a member of the Avengers, Scott Lang’s identity as Ant-Man is somewhat understated, even though he believes that his talents and hard work would make a difference in the world. True to his beliefs, he is pivotal to a larger cause that will save the universe from Thanos, having spent months stuck in the Quantum Realm, understanding it and receiving a warning message concerning time vortexes.”

From the thesis statement, I have introduced the role of Ant-Man in the ultimate battle with Thanos, with which I will discuss supporting details in the body paragraphs.

  Have a Balanced Essay

The body paragraphs should be organized into a sequential, logical flow. Think of it as the game of “Chinese Whispers.” The first paragraph should lead into the second, and so on. Each paragraph should have a defined length. Here’s how I would organize the first body paragraph.

“Thanos’s scheme is based on the belief that he can collect the six Infinity Stones and restore the balance in the universe between good and evil. Even though the Avengers are the strongest superheroes in the universe, they are not invincible. In the end, they must rely on the combined skills of a group of lesser heroes to overcome Thanos.”

At the end of your body paragraphs, wrap your write-up with a nice and brief conclusion.

Infuse Purpose and Clarity in Your Work

With an interpretive essay, you are presenting a position and making that case for your audience. The process is very similar to how you would write a persuasive essay. However, when you are writing an interpretive essay, you are also making a case so the audience can come to a particular conclusion.

Hence, your write-up should have a goal and clarity — to help readers understand aspects of an author’s literature from a personalized view. Lacking a clear sense of purpose can weaken your essay. Clarity should be your watchword. If you tend to over-use words, make a conscious effort to simplify your writing. This will make your sentences more effective, and your essay better at conveying your message.

You can also enhance the quality of your interpretive essay by:

• Supporting your points with convincing evidence a.k.a get your facts right
• Creating unique content, thereby avoiding Turnitin plagiarism checker
• Imprinting your personality into the work.  

The Bottom Lines

Writing an insightful interpretive essay is comparable to writing the perfect recipe. You need a clear idea of what your write-up should achieve and then structure it with facts and supporting explanations. That way, you have a far better chance of creating something that will not disappoint your readers.

Articles To Improve Blogging Skills

How to write a guest post? (Guest Blogging)

How to write a catchy blog post title?

How to improve readability score of an article?  

How to check and remove plagiarism from a copied text?

Commonly used terms in content writing/blogging

How AI paraphrasing tool can be helpful to rewrite an essay?

How to write an epic essay within a specific word count (word counter)

Top 5 best capstone writing services 

5 things to pay attention when writing an essay in english

How to effectively proofread your own works?

How to write an analysis paper on literature

Finding best platform for writers

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Comment Below Your Thoughts Cancel reply

• Utility Menu

GA4 Tracking Code

Gen ed writes, writing across the disciplines at harvard college.

• Evidence and Analysis

Why It Matters

An assignment prompt’s guidance on evidence and analysis sets parameters for the content and form of a writing assignment: What kinds of sources should you be working with? Where should you find those sources? How should you be working with them?

More on "Evidence and Analysis"

The evidence and analysis you're asked to use (or not use) for a writing assignment often reflect the genre and size of the assignment at hand. With any writing assignment prompt, it’s important to step back and make sure you’re clear about the scope of evidence and analysis you’ll be working with.  For example: 

In terms of evidence,

• what kinds of evidence should be used (peer-reviewed articles versus op-ed pieces),
• which evidence in particular and how much (3–5 readings from class versus independent research), and
• why (because op-ed pieces capture a kind of public discourse better than peer-reviewed articles, or because 3–5 readings from class is manageable for a 4-page essay and also reinforces the readings assigned for the course, etc.).

In terms of analysis,

• is the assignment asking you to make an argument? If so, what kind of argument? (e.g., a rhetorical analysis weighing the pros and cons of a think piece, or a policy memo making normative claims about recommended courses of action, or a test a theory essay assessing the applicability of a framework to real-world cases?)
• if not, what is it asking you to do with evidence? (e.g., summarize a source’s argument, or draft a research question based on an annotated bibliography or data set)
• why? (because it’s important to establish other thinkers’ positions accurately before taking your own position, or because asking questions before moving on to a thesis or conclusion will make the research process more compelling).

What It Looks Like

• Science & Technology in Society
• Ethics & Civics
• Histories, Societies, Individuals
• Aesthetics & Culture

STEP 1: PROPOSAL WITH ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Length: 250–500 words, not including annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography must have at least 5 different references from outside the course and 5 different references from the syllabus.

Source requirements:

• Minimum 5 different references from outside the course (at least 3 must be peer-reviewed scholarly sources)   [1]
• Minimum 5 different references from Gen Ed 1093 reading assignments listed on the syllabus; lectures do not count toward the reference requirement, and Reimagining Global Health will only count as one reference   [2]
• Citation format either AAA or APA   [3] , consistent throughout the paper
• Careful attention to academic integrity and appropriate citation practices
• The annotated bibliography does not count toward your word count, but in-text citations do.   [4]

__________ [1]  Explicit guidance about what kinds of sources and how many sources to include [2]  Clarification about what does / doesn't count toward the required number of sources [3]  Clear guidance about citation format  [4]  Clarification about what does / doesn't count toward the required word count  

Adapted from Gen Ed 1093 : Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Cares? Reimagining Global Health | Fall 2020

On p 13 of Why not Socialism?, G. A. Cohen states that the principle of “socialist equality of opportunity” is a principle of justice. What is the principle of “socialist equality of opportunity,” why does Cohen think it is a principle of justice, why does he think it is a desirable principle, and why does he think it is feasible? Which part of his argument do you think is most vulnerable to objections? Formulate some objections and explore how Cohen could respond. Do you think the objections succeed, or is Cohen’s view correct?

Proceed as follows:   [1]  State what socialist equality of opportunity is, by way of contrast with the two other kinds of equality of opportunity identified by Cohen. Explain why Cohen thinks, as a matter of justice, socialist equality of opportunity is preferable to the other two, and explain why an additional principle of community is needed to supplement that principle of justice. Then assess whether Cohen offers additional reasons (beyond the superiority of his principle over the alternatives) as to why equality and community are desirable, both for the camping trip and society at large. In a next step briefly summarize what he says about the feasibility of the principle. Devote about two thirds of your discussion to the tasks sketched so far, and then devote the remaining third to your exploration of the objections to parts of Cohen’s argument and an exploration of their success.

General Guidance

In section, your TF will discuss general guidelines to writing a philosophy paper.   [2] Please also consult the “Advice on Written Assignments” posted on Canvas before writing the paper. Recall that you will write three papers in this course. The assignments get progressively more demanding. In the first paper, the emphasis is on reconstructing arguments, allowing you to develop the skill of logical reconstruction rather than narrative summary of a text. …The second paper goes beyond reconstruction, putting more emphasis on the critically evaluating arguments. The third paper gives you an opportunity to develop a well-reasoned defense in support of your own view regarding one of the central issues of the class.   [3]  

__________ [1]   Students are given clear advice about how to use evidence differently at different points in their assignment. [2]  Students are assured that they will learn guidelines for working with evidence and analysis in a more disciplinary kind of writing (with which many of them will likely be unfamiliar). [3]  The move from “reconstruction” to “critically evaluating” to “well-reasoned defense” signals a scaffolded development of ways to work with evidence, along with reasons why students are being are being asked to work with evidence in a certain way for this first essay, viz., “ to develop the skill of logical reconstruction."

Adapted from Gen Ed 1121 : Economic Justice | Spring 2020 Professor Mathias Risse

Research Requirements

All projects, regardless of which modality you adopt, will need to include   [1]

• an annotated bibliography that includes at least 5 scholarly sources. These sources can include scholarly articles, books, or websites. For a website, please check with the TFs to confirm the viability of it as a source.   [2] There are legitimately scholarly websites, but many content-related sites are not scholarly.
• a 1-page artist statement.

See “How tos_Annotated Bibliography_your Artist Statement” for specific instructions for both the annotated bibliography and the artist statement.   [3]

__________ [1]  Explicit guidance about what kinds of sources and how many to include [2]  Advice on how to get help evaluating whether a source counts as viable evidence [3]  Additional resources (tied to guidelines and process) that help explain the roles of evidence and analysis in the assignment

Adapted from Gen Ed 1099 : Pyramid Schemes: What Can Ancient Egyptian Civilization Teach Us? Professor Peter der Manuelian

Introduce yourself to another student in the class by making a virtual mixtape for them. ⋮ Your tape should contain the following (in any order):   [1]

• The greeting on the Golden Record that best describes you (or record your own)
• One piece of music included on the Golden Record
• Your personal summer hit of 2020
• A “found sound” (recorded in your environment that seems characteristic or interesting)
• A piece of music that best describes you
• Your favorite piece/song by a musician outside the US/Canada

Use these guidelines as a starting point for your mixtape. Feel free to get creative. The mixtape should say something important about YOU. (There will be no written text accompanying your file. The sounds have to say it all.)   [2]

__________ [1]  Students are given a clear checklist of what to include in their assignment. [2]  In this assignment, the evidence makes its argument through curation, rather than additional written analysis. Making sure students understand that particular relationship of evidence to analysis ahead of time frames the assignment’s purpose and genre.

Adapted from Gen Ed 1006 : Music from Earth | Fall 2020 Professor Alex Rehding

• DIY Guides for Analytical Writing Assignments

• Types of Assignments
• Style and Conventions
• Specific Guidelines
• Advice on Process
• Receiving Feedback

Assignment Decoder

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

18.2 What is Literary Interpretation?

Defining literary interpretation.

In many ways, writing a literary interpretation will feel like the other essays you compose in this course. You will use the same close reading skills, the same kinds of critical thinking, and the same investigative approaches to ideas that interest you. Literary interpretation employs multiple modes of critical thought and writing, including summary, description, and analysis. In writing your literary interpretation essay, you will need to do the following:

Summarize : What happens in this literary work?

Describe : What are the components and details of this literary work?

Analyze : What does this literary work mean?

However, literary interpretation requires a bit more than the basic components of summary, description, and analysis. Literary interpretation requires a process of inquiry and a methodology. To make sure you interpret rather than summarize, don’t just ask “what” questions, but also ask “how” and “why” questions.

Summary asks: What happens in this literary work?

Interpretation asks: Why does it that happen?

Description asks: What are the components and details of this literary work?

Interpretation asks: How has author crafted the components and details of this literary work? Why has the author made those particular choices: in plot, images, settings, narration, characterizations, word choice, and so on?

Analysis asks: What does this literary work mean?

Interpretation asks: What does this literary work mean when analyzed through the lens of a particular methodology? For instance: How might we understand the topics of media bias and safe water rights in Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People by applying a Cultural Historical, Marxist, Environmental Studies, or Presentist approach? How might a feminist theorist interpret the scenes between Desdemona and Othello compared to how a postcolonial theorist might interpret them?

Adding these sort of “why” and “how” questions—as well as adding another level of complexity to the standard “what” questions—will help you to come up with an interpretive argument rather than just a summary, description, personal response, opinion, or evaluation.

To sum up: In many ways, a literary interpretation paper will feel like the other writing assignments you complete in this course. You will use the same close reading skills, the same kinds of critical thinking, and the same investigative approaches to ideas that interest you. However, because literary interpretation focuses on an inventive work, a work of fiction, drama, poetry, or creative non-fiction, it will require special attention to how literary texts work in different ways—and set out to achieve different purposes—than the non-fiction essays addressed in other assignments. To make sure you interpret rather than summarize, don’t just ask “what happened?” but also ask “why did that happen?” or “why did that matter?”

Multiple Interpretations, Discovery, and the Importance of Your Perspective

Most works of literature are open to more than one interpretation. We have discussed the importance of reading through various interpretive lenses by applying established methodologies, but the most important perspective is yours. Ultimately, you will be the one to come up with your overall interpretive argument about the literature. Your goal from the beginning, then, is to read closely on your path to discovery. Discovery often involves looking at something from a different perspective.

To illustrate this point, consider this excerpt from the essay by scholar Walter Benjamin entitled “Unpacking My Library: A Talk about Book Collecting.” In this essay, Benjamin recounts how unpacking his books after having moved inspired him to look at his books differently. Once he looks at his books from a different perspective, Benjamin has a moment of discovery:

I am unpacking my library. Yes, I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order. I cannot march up and down their ranks to pass them in review before a friendly audience. You need not fear any of that. In­stead, I must ask you to join me in the disorder of crates that have been wrenched open, the air saturated with the dust of wood, the floor covered with torn paper, to join me among piles of volumes that are seeing daylight again after two years of darkness, so that you may be ready to share with me a bit of the mood—it is certainly not an elegiac mood but, rather, one of an­ticipation which these books arouse in a genuine collector. For such a man is speaking to you, and on closer scrutiny he proves to be speaking only about himself. Would it not be presumptuous of me if, in order to appear convincingly objective and down-to-­earth, I enumerated for you the main sections or prize pieces of a library, if I presented you with their history or even their usefulness to a writer? I, for one, have in mind something less ob­scure, something more palpable than that; what I am really con­cerned with is giving you some insight into the relationship of a book collector to his possessions, into collecting rather than a collection. If I do this by elaborating on the various ways of ac­quiring books, this is something entirely arbitrary. This or any other procedure is merely a dam against the spring tide of mem­ories which surges toward any collector as he contemplates his possessions. Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collec­tor’s passion borders on the chaos of memories. More than that: the chance, the fate, that suffuse the past before my eyes are conspicuously present in the accustomed confusion of these books. For what else is this collection but a disorder to which habit has accommodated itself to such an extent that it can appear as order? You have all heard of people whom the loss of their books has turned into invalids, or of those who in order to ac­quire them became criminals. These are the very areas in which any order is a balancing act of extreme precariousness. “The only exact knowledge there is,” said Anatole France, “is the knowl­edge of the date of publication and the format of books.” And indeed, if there is a counterpart to the confusion of a library, it is the order of its catalogue. [1]

Note Benjamin’s theorizing about his library, even in the chaotic state that accompanies unpacking. Even to Benjamin, owner of the books, they seem different to him in these new circumstances. The same is true with interpretation. The act of interpretation asks us to pull apart a text, to think of it as disorderly parts without the connections of a narrative thread. Interpretation allows us a more arbitrary approach.

Take for instance, the main character of a novel, who may be introduced on one page, fall in love a few chapters later, and have a child closer to the end of the story. Character analysis allows you to pull these discrete elements into an essay without paying any attention to the intervening events. Just as Benjamin sees his collection as more than the sum of the individual books, so does the author of a character analysis see the protagonist as a complex, even flawed, character who represents some facet of human behavior.

If Benjamin had never written his essay, we wouldn’t think of his collection in precisely this way. Similarly, your interpretation will make a similar contribution to the existing bank of knowledge—providing insights available only from your unique perspective.

One important takeaway from this discussion is: you do not have to be an English major to write a great literary interpretation essay. In fact, when students approach the literary work through their varied majors, career goals, or personal interests, it often results in a fascinating, new perspective on the literature. For instance,

• In English 161, a Culinary Arts major wrote about the food as symbolic of the character’s cultural identities in Josefina Lopez’s play Real Women Have Curves .
• In English 162, an Engineering/Game Design major wrote about how Suzanne Collins incorporates video gaming techniques into the characterization and plot of The Hunger Games throughout the entire novel.
• In English 161, a student who was studying to take the state license exam in Real Estate interpreted Lorainne Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun through the perspective of the historical changes in his chosen profession, outlawing realtors from committing discriminatory actions such as blockbusting, redlining, and steering.

As you think about the best approach to take when reading and interpreting literature, add another question to your list. You are asking not just “What happens in this literary work?”—and also not just “why does that matter?”—but also “why does this literary work matter to me?”

The Literary Interpretation Essay

A good literary interpretation essay includes:

• A strong thesis statement that makes an interpretive argument,
• Your main points (sometimes called topic sentences or claims) that lead each paragraph or section of the essay,
• Your ample and thorough collection of relevant evidence from the literary work—including examples, passages, scenes, details, and quotations, and
• Your detailed analyses of that textual evidence, showing how the evidence relates to the main points of the interpretation as well as the overall thesis statement.

In the following sections, we will discuss these four components in the order that you will probably present them in your essay, but of course that is not the order in which they occur in the overall process of composing the essay. It’s not as though anyone begins reading a play, or writing an essay about a novel, with an interpretive thesis statement already formed. Before you get to the stage in the process where you are ready to write your interpretive thesis statement, you will probably go through an initial reading of the literary work and a second, closer reading in which you have a topic or two in mind. Your instructor may have your class read the literary work through a specific interpretive lens from the very beginning, or you may be introduced to multiple methodologies and asked to choose which one you will apply. Remember that interpretation is a journey to discovery that involves seeing things from a different perspective. However, the path that you take along the journey—the order in which you take the steps needed to write a strong interpretation essay—will depend upon your instructor’s guidance and your own sense of the process that works best for you.

[1] Quoted from “The Long(ish) Read: Walter Benjamin Unpacking His Library.” Arch Daily. https://www.archdaily.com/771939/the-long-ish-read-walter-benjamin-unpacking-his-library . Benjamin’s appeared first in German, in Literarische Welt  (1931); it was translated into English and republished in Benjamin’s Illuminations  (1999).

Continue Reading: 18.3 The Literary Interpretation Essay

Composition for Commodores Copyright © 2023 by Mollie Chambers; Karin Hooks; Donna Hunt; Kim Karshner; Josh Kesterson; Geoff Polk; Amy Scott-Douglass; Justin Sevenker; Jewon Woo; and other LCCC Faculty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

• Search Menu
• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Archaeology
• Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
• Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
• Archaeology by Region
• Archaeology of Religion
• Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
• Biblical Archaeology
• Contemporary and Public Archaeology
• Environmental Archaeology
• Historical Archaeology
• History and Theory of Archaeology
• Industrial Archaeology
• Landscape Archaeology
• Mortuary Archaeology
• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Underwater Archaeology
• Urban Archaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Browse content in Architecture
• Architectural Structure and Design
• History of Architecture
• Residential and Domestic Buildings
• Theory of Architecture
• Browse content in Art
• Art Subjects and Themes
• History of Art
• Industrial and Commercial Art
• Theory of Art
• Biographical Studies
• Byzantine Studies
• Browse content in Classical Studies
• Classical History
• Classical Philosophy
• Classical Mythology
• Classical Literature
• Classical Reception
• Classical Art and Architecture
• Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
• Greek and Roman Epigraphy
• Greek and Roman Law
• Greek and Roman Papyrology
• Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Late Antiquity
• Religion in the Ancient World
• Digital Humanities
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Diplomatic History
• Environmental History
• Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
• Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
• Historical Geography
• History by Period
• History of Emotions
• History of Agriculture
• History of Education
• History of Gender and Sexuality
• Industrial History
• Intellectual History
• International History
• Labour History
• Legal and Constitutional History
• Local and Family History
• Maritime History
• Military History
• National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
• Oral History
• Political History
• Public History
• Regional and National History
• Revolutions and Rebellions
• Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
• Social and Cultural History
• Theory, Methods, and Historiography
• Urban History
• World History
• Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
• Language Learning (Specific Skills)
• Language Teaching Theory and Methods
• Browse content in Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics
• Cognitive Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Forensic Linguistics
• Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
• Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
• History of English
• Language Acquisition
• Language Evolution
• Language Reference
• Language Variation
• Language Families
• Lexicography
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Linguistic Theories
• Linguistic Typology
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Translation and Interpretation
• Writing Systems
• Browse content in Literature
• Bibliography
• Children's Literature Studies
• Literary Studies (Asian)
• Literary Studies (European)
• Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
• Literary Studies (Romanticism)
• Literary Studies (American)
• Literary Studies (Modernism)
• Literary Studies - World
• Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
• Literary Studies (19th Century)
• Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
• Literary Studies (African American Literature)
• Literary Studies (British and Irish)
• Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
• Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
• Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
• Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
• Literary Studies (History of the Book)
• Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
• Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
• Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
• Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
• Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
• Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
• Literary Studies (War Literature)
• Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Mythology and Folklore
• Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
• Browse content in Media Studies
• Browse content in Music
• Applied Music
• Dance and Music
• Ethics in Music
• Ethnomusicology
• Gender and Sexuality in Music
• Medicine and Music
• Music Cultures
• Music and Religion
• Music and Media
• Music and Culture
• Music Education and Pedagogy
• Music Theory and Analysis
• Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
• Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
• Musicology and Music History
• Performance Practice and Studies
• Race and Ethnicity in Music
• Sound Studies
• Browse content in Performing Arts
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
• Epistemology
• Feminist Philosophy
• History of Western Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Moral Philosophy
• Non-Western Philosophy
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Perception
• Philosophy of Action
• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
• Practical Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Browse content in Religion
• Biblical Studies
• Christianity
• East Asian Religions
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Qumran Studies
• Religion and Education
• Religion and Health
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Science
• Religion and Law
• Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cookery, Food, and Drink
• Cultural Studies
• Customs and Traditions
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
• Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
• Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
• Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
• Sports and Outdoor Recreation
• Technology and Society
• Travel and Holiday
• Visual Culture
• Browse content in Law
• Arbitration
• Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
• Commercial Law
• Company Law
• Browse content in Comparative Law
• Systems of Law
• Competition Law
• Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Government Powers
• Judicial Review
• Local Government Law
• Military and Defence Law
• Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
• Construction Law
• Contract Law
• Browse content in Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Criminal Evidence Law
• Sentencing and Punishment
• Employment and Labour Law
• Environment and Energy Law
• Browse content in Financial Law
• Banking Law
• Insolvency Law
• History of Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Intellectual Property Law
• Browse content in International Law
• Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
• Public International Law
• IT and Communications Law
• Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
• Law and Politics
• Law and Society
• Browse content in Legal System and Practice
• Courts and Procedure
• Legal Skills and Practice
• Primary Sources of Law
• Regulation of Legal Profession
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Policing
• Criminal Investigation and Detection
• Police and Security Services
• Police Procedure and Law
• Police Regional Planning
• Browse content in Property Law
• Personal Property Law
• Study and Revision
• Terrorism and National Security Law
• Browse content in Trusts Law
• Wills and Probate or Succession
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Allied Health Professions
• Arts Therapies
• Clinical Science
• Dietetics and Nutrition
• Occupational Therapy
• Operating Department Practice
• Physiotherapy
• Radiography
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Browse content in Anaesthetics
• General Anaesthesia
• Neuroanaesthesia
• Browse content in Clinical Medicine
• Acute Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Clinical Genetics
• Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology and Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Genito-urinary Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Toxicology
• Medical Oncology
• Pain Medicine
• Palliative Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports and Exercise Medicine
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Community Medical Services
• Critical Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Forensic Medicine
• Haematology
• History of Medicine
• Browse content in Medical Dentistry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
• Surgical Dentistry
• Browse content in Medical Skills
• Clinical Skills
• Communication Skills
• Nursing Skills
• Surgical Skills
• Medical Ethics
• Medical Statistics and Methodology
• Browse content in Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Neuropathology
• Nursing Studies
• Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Gynaecology
• Occupational Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology (ENT)
• Browse content in Paediatrics
• Neonatology
• Browse content in Pathology
• Chemical Pathology
• Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
• Histopathology
• Medical Microbiology and Virology
• Patient Education and Information
• Browse content in Pharmacology
• Psychopharmacology
• Browse content in Popular Health
• Caring for Others
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Self-help and Personal Development
• Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Reproduction, Growth and Development
• Primary Care
• Professional Development in Medicine
• Browse content in Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Learning Disabilities
• Old Age Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Radiology
• Clinical Radiology
• Interventional Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiation Oncology
• Reproductive Medicine
• Browse content in Surgery
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
• General Surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Paediatric Surgery
• Peri-operative Care
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Transplant Surgery
• Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Browse content in Biological Sciences
• Aquatic Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology and Conservation
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Molecular and Cell Biology
• Natural History
• Plant Sciences and Forestry
• Research Methods in Life Sciences
• Structural Biology
• Systems Biology
• Zoology and Animal Sciences
• Browse content in Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Environmental Chemistry
• Industrial Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Materials Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Mineralogy and Gems
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry
• Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Browse content in Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Architecture and Logic Design
• Game Studies
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mathematical Theory of Computation
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Virtual Reality
• Browse content in Computing
• Business Applications
• Computer Security
• Computer Games
• Computer Networking and Communications
• Digital Lifestyle
• Graphical and Digital Media Applications
• Operating Systems
• Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Environmental Geography
• Geology and the Lithosphere
• Maps and Map-making
• Meteorology and Climatology
• Oceanography and Hydrology
• Palaeontology
• Physical Geography and Topography
• Regional Geography
• Soil Science
• Urban Geography
• Browse content in Engineering and Technology
• Agriculture and Farming
• Biological Engineering
• Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
• Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Energy Technology
• Engineering (General)
• Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
• History of Engineering and Technology
• Mechanical Engineering and Materials
• Technology of Industrial Chemistry
• Transport Technology and Trades
• Browse content in Environmental Science
• Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
• Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Environmental Sustainability
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
• Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
• Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
• Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Materials Science
• Ceramics and Glasses
• Composite Materials
• Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
• Nanotechnology
• Browse content in Mathematics
• Applied Mathematics
• Biomathematics and Statistics
• History of Mathematics
• Mathematical Education
• Mathematical Finance
• Mathematical Analysis
• Numerical and Computational Mathematics
• Probability and Statistics
• Pure Mathematics
• Browse content in Neuroscience
• Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
• Development of the Nervous System
• Disorders of the Nervous System
• History of Neuroscience
• Invertebrate Neurobiology
• Molecular and Cellular Systems
• Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
• Neuroscientific Techniques
• Sensory and Motor Systems
• Browse content in Physics
• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Biological and Medical Physics
• Classical Mechanics
• Computational Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
• History of Physics
• Mathematical and Statistical Physics
• Measurement Science
• Nuclear Physics
• Particles and Fields
• Plasma Physics
• Quantum Physics
• Relativity and Gravitation
• Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
• Browse content in Psychology
• Affective Sciences
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Criminal and Forensic Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Health Psychology
• History and Systems in Psychology
• Music Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Organizational Psychology
• Psychological Assessment and Testing
• Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
• Psychology Professional Development and Training
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Human Evolution
• Medical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Theory and Practice of Anthropology
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Business Strategy
• Business Ethics
• Business History
• Business and Government
• Business and Technology
• Business and the Environment
• Comparative Management
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Health Management
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial and Employment Relations
• Industry Studies
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business
• Knowledge Management
• Management and Management Techniques
• Operations Management
• Organizational Theory and Behaviour
• Pensions and Pension Management
• Public and Nonprofit Management
• Strategic Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Forms of Crime
• International and Comparative Criminology
• Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
• Development Studies
• Browse content in Economics
• Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
• Asian Economics
• Behavioural Finance
• Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
• Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
• Economic Systems
• Economic History
• Economic Methodology
• Economic Development and Growth
• Financial Markets
• Financial Institutions and Services
• General Economics and Teaching
• Health, Education, and Welfare
• History of Economic Thought
• International Economics
• Labour and Demographic Economics
• Law and Economics
• Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
• Microeconomics
• Public Economics
• Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
• Welfare Economics
• Browse content in Education
• Adult Education and Continuous Learning
• Care and Counselling of Students
• Early Childhood and Elementary Education
• Educational Equipment and Technology
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Higher and Further Education
• Organization and Management of Education
• Philosophy and Theory of Education
• Schools Studies
• Secondary Education
• Teaching of a Specific Subject
• Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
• Teaching Skills and Techniques
• Browse content in Environment
• Applied Ecology (Social Science)
• Climate Change
• Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environment)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
• Browse content in Human Geography
• Cultural Geography
• Economic Geography
• Political Geography
• Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
• Communication Studies
• Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
• Browse content in Politics
• African Politics
• Asian Politics
• Chinese Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Elections and Electoral Studies
• Environmental Politics
• European Union
• Foreign Policy
• Gender and Politics
• Human Rights and Politics
• Indian Politics
• International Relations
• International Organization (Politics)
• International Political Economy
• Irish Politics
• Latin American Politics
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Methodology
• Political Communication
• Political Philosophy
• Political Sociology
• Political Behaviour
• Political Economy
• Political Institutions
• Political Theory
• Politics and Law
• Public Administration
• Public Policy
• Quantitative Political Methodology
• Regional Political Studies
• Russian Politics
• Security Studies
• State and Local Government
• UK Politics
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• East Asian Studies
• Japanese Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Native American Studies
• Scottish Studies
• Browse content in Research and Information
• Research Methods
• Browse content in Social Work
• Addictions and Substance Misuse
• Adoption and Fostering
• Care of the Elderly
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
• Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
• Emergency Services
• Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
• International and Global Issues in Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Justice and Human Rights
• Social Policy and Advocacy
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Social Work Macro Practice
• Social Work Practice Settings
• Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
• Welfare and Benefit Systems
• Browse content in Sociology
• Childhood Studies
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Organizations
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Sport and Leisure
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Browse content in Warfare and Defence
• Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
• Land Forces and Warfare
• Military Administration
• Military Life and Institutions
• Naval Forces and Warfare
• Other Warfare and Defence Issues
• Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
• Weapons and Equipment

A newer edition of this book is available.

• < Previous chapter
• Next chapter >

30 Interpretation Strategies: Appropriate Concepts

Allen Trent, College of Education, University of Wyoming

Jeasik Cho, Department of Educational Studies, University of Wyoming

• Published: 04 August 2014
• Cite Icon Cite
• Permissions Icon Permissions

This essay addresses a wide range of concepts related to interpretation in qualitative research, examines the meaning and importance of interpretation in qualitative inquiry, and explores the ways methodology, data, and the self/researcher as instrument interact and impact interpretive processes. Additionally, the essay presents a series of strategies for qualitative researchers engaged in the process of interpretation. The article closes by presenting a framework for qualitative researchers designed to inform their interpretations. The framework includes attention to the key qualitative research concepts transparency, reflexivity, analysis, validity, evidence, and literature. Four questions frame the article: What is interpretation, and why are interpretive strategies important in qualitative research? How do methodology, data, and the researcher/self impact interpretation in qualitative research? How do qualitative researchers engage in the process of interpretation? And, in what ways can a framework for interpretation strategies support qualitative researchers across multiple methodologies and paradigms?

“All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation.” In this seemingly simple statement, the late German philosopher Walter Benjamin asserts that all knowledge is mediated and constructed. He makes no distinction between physical and social sciences, and so situates himself as an interpretivist, one who believes that human subjectivity, individuals’ characteristics, feelings, opinions, and experiential backgrounds impact observations, analysis of these observations, and resultant knowledge/truth constructions. Contrast this perspective with positivist claims that knowledge is based exclusively on external facts, objectively observed and recorded. Interpretivists then, acknowledge that, if positivistic notions of knowledge and truth are inadequate to explain social phenomena, then positivist, hard science approaches to research (i.e., the scientific method and its variants) are also inadequate. So, although the literature often contrasts quantitative and qualitative research as largely a difference in kinds of data employed (numerical vs. linguistic), instead, the primary differentiation is in the foundational, paradigmatic assumptions about truth, knowledge, and objectivity.

This chapter is about interpretation and the strategies that qualitative researchers use to interpret a wide variety of “texts.” Knowledge, we assert, is constructed, both individually (constructivism) and socially (constructionism). We accept this as our starting point. Our aim here is to share our perspective on a broad set of concepts associated with the interpretive or meaning-making process. Although it may happen at different times and in different ways, interpretation is a part of almost all qualitative research.

Qualitative research is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide array of paradigmatic views, goals, and methods. Still, there are key unifying elements that include a generally constructionist epistemological standpoint, attention to primarily linguistic data, and generally accepted protocols or syntax for conducting research. Typically, qualitative researchers begin with a starting point—a curiosity, a problem in need of solutions, a research question, or a desire to better understand a situation from the perspectives of the individuals who inhabit that context (what qualitative researchers call the “emic,” or insider’s, perspective).

From this starting point, researchers determine the appropriate kinds of data to collect, engage in fieldwork as participant-observers to gather these data, organize the data, look for patterns, and then attempt to make sense out of the data by synthesizing research “findings,” “assertions,” or “theories” in ways that can be shared so that others may also gain insights from the conducted inquiry.

Although there are commonalities that cut across most forms of qualitative research, this is not to say that there is an accepted, linear, standardized approach. To be sure, there are an infinite number of variations and nuances in the qualitative research process. For example, some forms of inquiry begin with a firm research question, others without even a clear focus for study. Grounded theorists begin data analysis and interpretation very early in the research process, whereas some case study researchers, for example, may collect data in the field for a period of time before seriously considering the data and its implications. Some ethnographers may be a part of the context (e.g., observing in classrooms), but they may assume more observer-like roles, as opposed to actively participating in the context. Alternatively, action researchers, in studying issues about their own practice, are necessarily situated toward the “participant” end of the participant–observer continuum.

Our focus here is on one integrated part of the qualitative research process, interpretation, the process of collective and individual “meaning making.” As we discuss throughout this chapter, researchers take a variety of approaches to interpretation in qualitative work. Four general questions guide our explorations:

What is interpretation, and why are interpretive strategies important in qualitative research?

How do methodology, data, and the researcher/self impact interpretation in qualitative research?

How do qualitative researchers engage in the process of interpretation?

In what ways can a framework for interpretation strategies support qualitative researchers across multiple methodological and paradigmatic views?

We address each of these guiding questions in our attempt to explicate our interpretation of “interpretation,” and, as educational researchers, we include examples from our own work to illustrate some key concepts.

What Is Interpretation, and Why Are Interpretive Strategies Important in Qualitative Research?

Qualitative researchers and those writing about qualitative methods often intertwine the terms analysis and interpretation . For example, Hubbard and Power (2003) describe data analysis as, “bringing order, structure, and meaning to the data” (p. 88). To us, this description combines analysis with interpretation. Although there is nothing wrong with this construction, our understanding aligns more closely with Mills’s (2007) claim that, “put simply, analysis involves summarizing what’s in the data, whereas interpretation involves making sense of—finding meaning in—that data” (p. 122). For the purpose of this chapter, we’ll adhere to Mills’s distinction, understanding analysis as summarizing and organizing, and interpretation as meaning making. Unavoidably, these closely related processes overlap and interact, but our focus will be primarily on the more complex of these endeavors, interpretation. Interpretation, in this sense, is in part translation, but translation is not an objective act. Instead, translation necessarily involves selectivity and the ascribing of meaning. Qualitative researchers “aim beneath manifest behavior to the meaning events have for those who experience them” ( Eisner, 1991 , p. 35). The presentation of these insider/emic perspectives is a hallmark of qualitative research.

Qualitative researchers have long borrowed from extant models for fieldwork and interpretation. Approaches from anthropology and the arts have become especially prominent. For example, Eisner’s form of qualitative inquiry, “educational criticism” (1991), draws heavily on accepted models of art criticism. Barrett (2000) , an authority on art criticism, describes interpretation as a complex set of processes based on a set of principles. We believe many of these principles apply as readily to qualitative research as they do to critique. The following principles, adapted from Barrett’s principles of interpretation (2000, pp. 113–120), inform our examination:

Qualitative phenomena have “aboutness ”: All social phenomena have meaning, but meanings in this context can be multiple, even contradictory.

Interpretations are persuasive arguments : All interpretations are arguments, and qualitative researchers, like critics, strive to build strong arguments grounded in the information, or data, available.

Some interpretations are better than others : Barrett notes that, “some interpretations are better argued, better grounded with evidence, and therefore more reasonable, more certain, and more acceptable than others” (p. 115). This contradicts the argument that “all interpretations are equal,” heard in the common refrain, “well, that’s just your interpretation.”

There can be different, competing, and contradictory interpretations of the same phenomena : As noted at the beginning of this chapter, we acknowledge that subjectivity matters, and, unavoidably, it impacts one’s interpretations. As Barrett notes (2000) , “Interpretations are often based on a worldview” (p. 116).

Interpretations are not (and can’t be) “right,” but instead, they can be more or less reasonable, convincing, and informative : There is never one “true” interpretation, but some interpretations are more compelling than others.

Interpretations can be judged by coherence, correspondence, and inclusiveness : Does the argument/interpretation make sense (coherence)? Does the interpretation fit the data (correspondence)? Have all data been attended to, including outlier data that don’t necessarily support identified themes (inclusiveness)?

Interpretation is ultimately a communal endeavor : Initial interpretations may be incomplete, nearsighted, and/or narrow, but eventually, these interpretations become richer, broader, and more inclusive. Feminist revisionist history projects are an exemplary case. Over time, the writing, art, and cultural contributions of countless women, previously ignored, diminished, or distorted, have come to be accepted as prominent contributions given serious consideration.

So, meaning is conferred; interpretations are socially constructed arguments; multiple interpretations are to be expected; and some interpretations are better than others. As we discuss later in this chapter, what makes an interpretation “better” often hinges on the purpose/goals of the research in question. Interpretations designed to generate theory, or generalizable rules, will be “better” for responding to research questions aligned with the aims of more traditional quantitative/positivist research, whereas interpretations designed to construct meanings through social interaction, to generate multiple perspectives, and to represent the context-specific perspectives of the research participants are “better” for researchers constructing thick, contextually rich descriptions, stories, or narratives. The former relies on more “atomistic” interpretive strategies, whereas the latter adheres to a more “holistic” approach ( Willis, 2007 ). Both approaches to analysis/interpretation are addressed in more detail later in this chapter.

At this point, readers might ask, why does interpretation matter, anyway? Our response to this question involves the distinctive nature of interpretation and the ability of the interpretive process to put unique fingerprints on an otherwise relatively static set of data. Once interview data are collected and transcribed (and we realize that even the process of transcription is, in part, interpretive), documents are collected, and observations are recorded, qualitative researchers could just, in good faith and with fidelity, represent the data in as straightforward ways as possible, allowing readers to “see for themselves” by sharing as much actual data (e.g., the transcribed words of the research participants) as possible. This approach, however, includes analysis, what we have defined as summarizing and organizing data for presentation, but it falls short of what we actually reference and define as interpretation—attempting to explain the meaning of others’ words and actions. “While early efforts at qualitative research might have stopped at description, it is now more generally accepted that a qualitative researcher adds understanding and interpretation to the description” ( Lichtman, 2006 , p. 8).

As we are fond of the arts and arts-based approaches to qualitative research, an example from the late jazz drummer, Buddy Rich, seems fitting. Rich explains the importance of having the flexibility to interpret: “I don’t think any arranger should ever write a drum part for a drummer, because if a drummer can’t create his own interpretation of the chart, and he plays everything that’s written, he becomes mechanical; he has no freedom.” The same is true for qualitative researchers; without the freedom to interpret, the researcher merely regurgitates, attempting to share with readers/reviewers exactly what the research subjects shared with him or her. It is only through interpretation that the researcher, as collaborator with unavoidable subjectivities, is able to construct unique, contextualized meaning. Interpretation then, in this sense, is knowledge construction.

In closing this section, we’ll illustrate the analysis versus interpretation distinction with the following transcript excerpt. In this study, the authors ( Trent & Zorko, 2006 ) were studying student teaching from the perspective of K–12 students. This quote comes from a high school student in a focus group interview. She is describing a student teacher she had:

The right-hand column contains “codes” or labels applied to parts of the transcript text. Coding will be discussed in more depth later in this chapter, but, for now, note that the codes are mostly summarizing the main ideas of the text, sometimes using the exact words of the research participant. This type of coding is a part of what we’ve called analysis—organizing and summarizing the data. It’s a way of beginning to say, “what is” there. As noted, though, most qualitative researchers go deeper. They want to know more than “what is”; they also ask, “what does it mean?” This is a question of interpretation.

Specific to the transcript excerpt, researchers might next begin to cluster the early codes into like groups. For example, the teacher “felt targeted,” “assumed kids were going to behave inappropriately,” and appeared to be “overwhelmed.” A researcher might cluster this group of codes in a category called “teacher feelings and perceptions” and may then cluster the codes “could not control class,” and “students off task” into a category called “classroom management.” The researcher then, in taking a fresh look at these categories and the included codes, may begin to conclude that what’s going on in this situation is that the student teacher does not have sufficient training in classroom management models and strategies and may also be lacking the skills she needs to build relationships with her students. These then would be interpretations, persuasive arguments connected to the study’s data. In this specific example, the researchers might proceed to write a memo about these emerging interpretations. In this memo, they might more clearly define their early categories and may also look through other data to see if there are other codes or categories that align with or overlap with this initial analysis. They might write further about their emergent interpretations and, in doing so, may inform future data collection in ways that will allow them to either support or refute their early interpretations. These researchers will also likely find that the processes of analysis and interpretation are inextricably intertwined. Good interpretations very often depend on thorough and thoughtful analyses.

How Do Methodology, Data, and the Researcher/Self Impact Interpretation in Qualitative Research?

Methodological conventions guide interpretation and the use of interpretive strategies. For example, in grounded theory and in similar methodological traditions, “formal analysis begins early in the study and is nearly completed by the end of data collection” ( Bogdan & Biklen, 2003 , p. 66). Alternatively, for researchers from other traditions, for example, case study researchers, “Formal analysis and theory development [interpretation] do not occur until after the data collection is near complete” (p. 66).

Researchers subscribing to methodologies that prescribe early data analysis and interpretation may employ methods like analytic induction or the constant comparison method. In using analytic induction, researchers develop a rough definition of the phenomena under study; collect data to compare to this rough definition; modify the definition as needed, based on cases that both fit and don’t fit the definition; and finally, establish a clear, universal definition (theory) of the phenomena (Robinson, 1951, cited in Bogdan & Biklen, 2003 , p. 65). Generally, those using a constant comparison approach begin data collection immediately; identify key issues, events, and activities related to the study that then become categories of focus; collect data that provide incidents of these categories; write about and describe the categories, accounting for specific incidents and seeking others; discover basic processes and relationships; and, finally, code and write about the categories as theory, “grounded” in the data ( Glaser, 1965 ). Although processes like analytic induction and constant comparison can be listed as “steps” to follow, in actuality, these are more typically recursive processes in which the researcher repeatedly goes back and forth between the data and emerging analyses and interpretations.

In addition to methodological conventions that prescribe data analysis early (e.g., grounded theory) or later (e.g., case study) in the inquiry process, methodological approaches also impact the general approach to analysis and interpretation. Ellingson (2011) situates qualitative research methodologies on a continuum spanning “science”-like approaches on one end juxtaposed with “art”-like approaches on the other.

Researchers pursuing a more science-oriented approach seek valid, reliable, generalizable knowledge; believe in neutral, objective researchers; and ultimately claim single, authoritative interpretations. Researchers adhering to these science-focused, post-positivistic approaches may count frequencies, emphasize the validity of the employed coding system, and point to intercoder reliability and random sampling as criteria that bolsters the research credibility. Researchers at or near the science end of the continuum might employ analysis and interpretation strategies that include “paired comparisons,” “pile sorts,” “word counts,” identifying “key words in context,” and “triad tests” ( Ryan & Bernard, 2000 , pp. 770–776). These researchers may ultimately seek to develop taxonomies or other authoritative final products that organize and explain the collected data.

For example, in a study we conducted about preservice teachers’ experiences learning to teach second-language learners, the researchers collected larger datasets and used a statistical analysis package to analyze survey data, and the resultant findings included descriptive statistics. These survey results were supported with open-ended, qualitative data. For example, one of the study’s findings was “a strong majority of candidates (96%) agreed that an immersion approach alone will not guarantee academic or linguistic success for second language learners.” In narrative explanations, one preservice teacher remarked, “there has to be extra instructional efforts to help their students learn English... they won’t learn English by merely sitting in the classrooms” ( Cho, Rios, Trent, & Mayfield, 2012 , p. 75).

Methodologies on the “art” side of Ellingson’s (2011) continuum, alternatively, “value humanistic, openly subjective knowledge, such as that embodied in stories, poetry, photography, and painting” (p. 599). Analysis and interpretation in these (often more contemporary) methodological approaches strive not for “social scientific truth,” but instead are formulated to “enable us to learn about ourselves, each other, and the world through encountering the unique lens of a person’s (or a group’s) passionate rendering of a reality into a moving, aesthetic expression of meaning” (p. 599). For these “artistic/interpretivists, truths are multiple, fluctuating and ambiguous” (p. 599). Methodologies taking more artistic, subjective approaches to analysis and interpretation include autoethnography, testimonio, performance studies, feminist theorists/researchers, and others from related critical methodological forms of qualitative practice.

As an example, one of us engaged in an artistic inquiry with a group of students in an art class for elementary teachers. We called it “Dreams as Data” and, among the project aims, we wanted to gather participants’ “dreams for education in the future” and display these dreams in an accessible, interactive, artistic display (see Trent, 2002 ). The intent here was not to statistically analyze the dreams/data; instead, it was more universal. We wanted, as Ellingson (2011) noted, to use participant responses in ways that “enable us to learn about ourselves, each other, and the world.” The decision was made to leave responses intact and to share the whole/raw dataset in the artistic display in ways that allowed the viewers to holistically analyze and interpret for themselves. The following text is an excerpt from one response:

Almost a century ago, John Dewey eloquently wrote about the need to imagine and create the education that ALL children deserve, not just the richest, the Whitest, or the easiest to teach. At the dawn of this new century, on some mornings, I wake up fearful that we are further away from this ideal than ever.... Collective action, in a critical, hopeful, joyful, anti-racist and pro-justice spirit, is foremost in my mind as I reflect on and act in my daily work.... Although I realize the constraints on teachers and schools in the current political arena, I do believe in the power of teachers to stand next to, encourage, and believe in the students they teach—in short, to change lives. ( Trent, 2002 , p. 49)

In sum, researchers whom Ellingson (2011) characterizes as being on the science end of the continuum typically use more detailed or “atomistic” strategies to analyze and interpret qualitative data, whereas those toward the artistic end most often employ more holistic strategies. Both of these general approaches to qualitative data analysis and interpretation, atomistic and holistic, will be addressed later in this chapter.

As noted, qualitative researchers attend to data in a wide variety of ways depending on paradigmatic and epistemological beliefs, methodological conventions, and the purpose/aims of the research. These factors impact the kinds of data collected and the ways these data are ultimately analyzed and interpreted. For example, life history or testimonio researchers conduct extensive individual interviews, ethnographers record detailed observational notes, critical theorists may examine documents from pop culture, and ethnomethodologists may collect videotapes of interaction for analysis and interpretation.

In addition to the wide range of data types that are collected by qualitative researchers (and most qualitative researchers collect multiple forms of data), qualitative researchers, again influenced by the factors noted earlier, employ a variety of approaches to analyzing and interpreting data. As mentioned earlier in this article, some advocate for a detailed/atomistic, fine-grained approach to data (see e.g., Miles & Huberman, 1994 ); others, a more broad-based, holistic, “eyeballing” of the data. “Eyeballers reject the more structured approaches to analysis that break down the data into small units and, from the perspective of the eyeballers, destroy the wholeness and some of the meaningfulness of the data” ( Willis, 2007 , p. 298).

Regardless, we assert, as illustrated in Figure 30.1 , that as the process evolves, data collection becomes less prominent later in the process, as interpretation and making sense/meaning of the data becomes more prominent. It is through this emphasis on interpretation that qualitative researchers put their individual imprints on the data, allowing for the emergence of multiple, rich perspectives. This space for interpretation allows researchers the “freedom” Buddy Rich alluded to in his quote about interpreting musical charts. Without this freedom, Rich noted that the process would be simply “mechanical.” Furthermore, allowing space for multiple interpretations nourishes the perspectives of many

As emphasis on data/data collection decreases, emphasis on interpretation increases.

others in the community. Writer and theorist Meg Wheatley explains, “everyone in a complex system has a slightly different interpretation. The more interpretations we gather, the easier it becomes to gain a sense of the whole.”

In addition to the roles methodology and data play in the interpretive process, perhaps the most important is the role of the self/the researcher in the interpretive process. “She is the one who asks the questions. She is the one who conducts the analyses. She is the one who decides who to study and what to study. The researcher is the conduit through which information is gathered and filtered” ( Lichtman, 2006 , p. 16). Eisner (1991) supports the notion of the researcher “self as instrument,” noting that expert researchers don’t simply know what to attend to, but also what to neglect. He describes the researcher’s role in the interpretive process as combining sensibility , the ability to observe and ascertain nuances, with schema , a deep understanding or cognitive framework of the phenomena under study.

Barrett (2007) describes self/researcher roles as “transformations” (p. 418) at multiple points throughout the inquiry process: early in the process, researchers create representations through data generation, conducting observations and interviews and collecting documents and artifacts. Another “transformation occurs when the ‘raw’ data generated in the field are shaped into data records by the researcher. These data records are produced through organizing and reconstructing the researcher’s notes and transcribing audio and video recordings in the form of permanent records that serve as the ‘evidentiary warrants’ of the generated data. The researcher strives to capture aspects of the phenomenal world with fidelity by selecting salient aspects to incorporate into the data record” (p. 418). Transformation continues when the researcher analyzes, codes, categorizes, and explores patterns in the data (the process we call analysis). Transformations also involve interpreting what the data mean and relating these “interpretations to other sources of insight about the phenomena, including findings from related research, conceptual literature, and common experience.... Data analysis and interpretation are often intertwined and rely upon the researcher’s logic, artistry, imagination, clarity, and knowledge of the field under study” ( Barrett, 2007 , p. 418).

We mentioned the often-blended roles of participation and observation earlier in this chapter. The role(s) of the self/researcher are often described as points along a “participant/observer continuum” (see, e.g., Bogdan & Biklen, 2003 ). On the far “observer” end of this continuum, the researcher situates as detached, tries to be inconspicuous (so as not to impact/disrupt the phenomena under study), and approaches the studied context as if viewing it from behind a one-way mirror. On the opposite, “participant” end, the researcher is completely immersed and involved in the context. It would be difficult for an outsider to distinguish between researcher and subjects. For example, “some feminist researchers and some postmodernists take on a political stance as well and have an agenda that places the researcher in an activist posture. These researchers often become quite involved with the individuals they study and try to improve their human condition” ( Lichtman, 2006 , p. 9).

We assert that most researchers fall somewhere between these poles. We believe that complete detachment is both impossible and misguided. In doing so, we, along with many others, acknowledge (and honor) the role of subjectivity, the researcher’s beliefs, opinions, biases, and predispositions. Positivist researchers seeking objective data and accounts either ignore the impact of subjectivity or attempt to drastically diminish/eliminate its impact. Even qualitative researchers have developed methods to avoid researcher subjectivity affecting research data collection, analysis, and interpretation. For example, foundational phenomenologist Husserl (1962/1913) developed the concept of “bracketing,” what Lichtman describes as “trying to identify your own views on the topic and then putting them aside” (2006, p. 13). Like Slotnick and Janesick (2011) , we ultimately claim, “it is impossible to bracket yourself” (p. 1358). Instead, we take a balanced approach, like Eisner, understanding that subjectivity allows researchers to produce the rich, idiosyncratic, insightful, and yet data-based interpretations and accounts of lived experience that accomplish the primary purposes of qualitative inquiry. “Rather than regarding uniformity and standardization as the summum bonum, educational criticism [Eisner’s form of qualitative research] views unique insight as the higher good” ( Eisner, 1991 , p. 35). That said, we also claim that, just because we acknowledge and value the role of researcher subjectivity, researchers are still obligated to ground their findings in reasonable interpretations of the data. Eisner (1991) explains:

This appreciation for personal insight as a source of meaning does not provide a license for freedom. Educational critics must provide evidence and reasons. But they reject the assumption that unique interpretation is a conceptual liability in understanding, and they see the insights secured from multiple views as more attractive than the comforts provided by a single right one. (p. 35)

Connected to this participant/observer continuum is the way the researcher positions him- or herself in relation to the “subjects” of the study. Traditionally, researchers, including early qualitative researchers, anthropologists, and ethnographers, referenced those studied as “subjects.” More recently, qualitative researchers better understand that research should be a reciprocal process in which both researcher and the foci of the research should derive meaningful benefit. Researchers aligned with this thinking frequently use the term “participants” to describe those groups and individuals included in a study. Going a step farther, some researchers view research participants as experts on the studied topic and as equal collaborators in the meaning-making process. In these instances, researchers often use the terms “co-researchers” or “co-investigators.”

The qualitative researcher, then, plays significant roles throughout the inquiry process. These roles include transforming data, collaborating with research participants or co-researchers, determining appropriate points to situate along the participant/observer continuum, and ascribing personal insights, meanings, and interpretations that are both unique and justified with data exemplars. Performing these roles unavoidably impacts and changes the researcher. “Since, in qualitative research the individual is the research instrument through which all data are passed, interpreted, and reported, the scholar’s role is constantly evolving as self evolves” ( Slotnick & Janesick, 2011 , p. 1358).

As we note later, key in all this is for researchers to be transparent about the topics discussed in the preceding section: what methodological conventions have been employed and why? How have data been treated throughout the inquiry to arrive at assertions and findings that may or may not be transferable to other idiosyncratic contexts? And, finally, in what ways has the researcher/self been situated in and impacted the inquiry? Unavoidably, we assert, the self lies at the critical intersection of data and theory, and, as such, two legs of this stool, data and researcher, interact to create the third, theory.

How Do Qualitative Researchers Engage in the Process of Interpretation?

Theorists seem to have a propensity to dichotomize concepts, pulling them apart and placing binary opposites on far ends of conceptual continuums. Qualitative research theorists are no different, and we have already mentioned some of these continua in this chapter. For example, in the last section, we discussed the participant–observer continuum. Earlier, we referenced both Willis’s (2007) conceptualization of “atomistic” versus “holistic” approaches to qualitative analysis and interpretation and Ellingson’s (2011) science–art continuum. Each of these latter two conceptualizations inform “how qualitative researchers engage in the process of interpretation.”

Willis (2007) shares that the purpose of a qualitative project might be explained as “what we expect to gain from research” (p. 288). The purpose, or “what we expect to gain,” then guides and informs the approaches researchers might take to interpretation. Some researchers, typically positivist/postpositivist, conduct studies that aim to test theories about how the world works and/or people behave. These researchers attempt to discover general laws, truths, or relationships that can be generalized. Others, less confident in the ability of research to attain a single, generalizable law or truth, might seek “local theory.” These researchers still seek truths, but “instead of generalizable laws or rules, they search for truths about the local context... to understand what is really happening and then to communicate the essence of this to others” ( Willis, 2007 , p. 291). In both of these purposes, researchers employ atomistic strategies in an inductive process in which researchers “break the data down into small units and then build broader and broader generalizations as the data analysis proceeds” (p. 317). The earlier mentioned processes of analytic induction, constant comparison, and grounded theory fit within this conceptualization of atomistic approaches to interpretation. For example, a line-by-line coding of a transcript might begin an atomistic approach to data analysis.

Alternatively, other researchers pursue distinctly different aims. Researchers with an “objective description” purpose focus on accurately describing the people and context under study. These researchers adhere to standards and practices designed to achieve objectivity, and their approach to interpretation falls between the binary atomistic/holistic distinction.

The purpose of hermeneutic approaches to research is to “understand the perspectives of humans. And because understanding is situational, hermeneutic research tends to look at the details of the context in which the study occurred. The result is generally rich data reports that include multiple perspectives” ( Willis, 2007 , p. 293).

Still other researchers see their purpose as the creation of stories or narratives that utilize “a social process that constructs meaning through interaction... it is an effort to represent in detail the perspectives of participants... whereas description produces one truth about the topic of study, storytelling may generate multiple perspectives, interpretations, and analyses by the researcher and participants” ( Willis, 2007 , p. 295).

In these latter purposes (hermeneutic, storytelling, narrative production), researchers typically employ more holistic strategies. “Holistic approaches tend to leave the data intact and to emphasize that meaning must be derived for a contextual reading of the data rather than the extraction of data segments for detailed analysis” (p. 297). This was the case with the “Dreams as Data” project mentioned earlier.

We understand the propensity to dichotomize, situate concepts as binary opposites, and to create neat continua between these polar descriptors. These sorts of reduction and deconstruction support our understandings and, hopefully, enable us to eventually reconstruct these ideas in meaningful ways. Still, in reality, we realize most of us will, and should, work in the middle of these conceptualizations in fluid ways that allow us to pursue strategies, processes, and theories most appropriate for the research task at hand. As noted, Ellingson (2011) sets up another conceptual continuum, but, like ours, her advice is to “straddle multiple points across the field of qualitative methods” (p. 595). She explains, “I make the case for qualitative methods to be conceptualized as a continuum anchored by art and science, with vast middle spaces that embody infinite possibilities for blending artistic, expository, and social scientific ways of analysis and representation” (p. 595).

We explained at the beginning of this chapter that we view analysis as organizing and summarizing qualitative data, and interpretation as constructing meaning. In this sense, analysis allows us to “describe” the phenomena under study. It enables us to succinctly answer “what” and “how” questions and ensures that our descriptions are grounded in the data collected. Descriptions, however, rarely respond to questions of “why?” Why questions are the domain of interpretation, and, as noted throughout this text, interpretation is complex. “Traditionally, qualitative inquiry has concerned itself with what and how questions... qualitative researchers typically approach why questions cautiously, explanation is tricky business” ( Gubrium & Holstein, 2000 , p. 502). Eisner (1991) describes this distinctive nature of interpretation: “it means that inquirers try to account for [interpretation] what they have given account of ” (p. 35).

Our focus here is on interpretation, but interpretation requires analysis, for without having clear understandings of the data and its characteristics, derived through systematic examination and organization (e.g., coding, memoing, categorizing, etc.), “interpretations” resulting from inquiry will likely be incomplete, uninformed, and inconsistent with the constructed perspectives of the study participants. Fortunately for qualitative researchers, we have many sources that lead us through analytic processes. We earlier mentioned the accepted processes of analytic induction and the constant comparison method. These detailed processes (see e.g., Bogdan & Biklen, 2003 ) combine the inextricably linked activities of analysis and interpretation, with “analysis” more typically appearing as earlier steps in the process and meaning construction—“interpretation”—happening later.

A wide variety of resources support researchers engaged in the processes of analysis and interpretation. Saldaña (2011) , for example, provides a detailed description of coding types and processes. He shows researchers how to use process coding (uses gerunds, “-ing” words to capture action), in vivo coding (uses the actual words of the research participants/subjects), descriptive coding (uses nouns to summarize the data topics), versus coding (uses “vs.” to identify conflicts and power issues), and values coding (identifies participants’ values, attitudes, and/or beliefs). To exemplify some of these coding strategies, we include an excerpt from a transcript of a meeting of a school improvement committee. In this study, the collaborators were focused on building “school community.” This excerpt illustrates the application of a variety of codes described by Saldaña to this text:

To connect and elaborate the ideas developed in coding, Saldaña (2011) suggests researchers categorize the applied codes, write memos to deepen understandings and illuminate additional questions, and identify emergent themes. To begin the categorization process, Saldaña recommends all codes be “classified into similar clusters... once the codes have been classified, a category label is applied to them” (p. 97). So, in continuing with the study of school community example coded here, the researcher might create a cluster/category called: “Value of Collaboration,” and in this category might include the codes, “relationships,” “building community,” and “effective strategies.”

Having coded and categorized a study’s various data forms, a typical next step for researchers is to write “memos” or “analytic memos.” Writing analytic memos allows the researcher(s) to “set in words your interpretation of the data... an analytic memo further articulates your... thinking processes on what things may mean... as the study proceeds, however, initial and substantive analytic memos can be revisited and revised for eventual integration into the report itself” ( Saldaña, 2011 , p. 98). In the study of student teaching from K–12 students’ perspectives ( Trent & Zorko, 2006 ), we noticed throughout our analysis a series of focus group interview quotes coded “names.” The following quote from a high school student is representative of many others:

I think that, ah, they [student teachers] should like know your face and your name because, uh, I don’t like it if they don’t and they’ll just like... cause they’ll blow you off a lot easier if they don’t know, like our new principal is here... he is, like, he always, like, tries to make sure to say hi even to the, like, not popular people if you can call it that, you know, and I mean, yah, and the people that don’t usually socialize a lot, I mean he makes an effort to know them and know their name like so they will cooperate better with him.

Although we didn’t ask the focus groups a specific question about whether or not student teachers knew the K–12 students’ names, the topic came up in every focus group interview. We coded the above excerpt and the others, “knowing names,” and these data were grouped with others under the category “relationships.” In an initial analytic memo about this, the researchers wrote:

STUDENT TEACHING STUDY—MEMO #3 “Knowing Names as Relationship Building” Most groups made unsolicited mentions of student teachers knowing, or not knowing, their names. We haven’t asked students about this, but it must be important to them because it always seems to come up. Students expected student teachers to know their names. When they did, students noticed and seemed pleased. When they didn’t, students seemed disappointed, even annoyed. An elementary student told us that early in the semester, “she knew our names... cause when we rose [sic] our hands, she didn’t have to come and look at our name tags... it made me feel very happy.” A high schooler, expressing displeasure that his student teacher didn’t know students’ names, told us, “They should like know your name because it shows they care about you as a person. I mean, we know their names, so they should take the time to learn ours too.” Another high school student said that even after 3 months, she wasn’t sure the student teacher knew her name. Another student echoed, “same here.” Each of these students asserted that this (knowing students’ names) had impacted their relationship with the student teacher. This high school student focus group stressed that a good relationship, built early, directly impacts classroom interaction and student learning. A student explained it like this: “If you get to know each other, you can have fun with them... they seem to understand you more, you’re more relaxed, and learning seems easier.” Meeting Transcript .  Process Coding .  Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Talking Sharing Building Listening Collaborating Understanding IN VIVO CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Talking about what we want to get out of this Each of us sharing Hearing each of us reflecting Collaboration will be extremely valuable Relationships DESCRIPTIVE CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Open, participatory discussion Identification of effective strategies Collaborative, productive relationships Robust Understandings VERSUS CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Effective vs. Ineffective strategies Positive reflections vs. negative reflections VALUES CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Sharing Building community Reflection Collaboration Relationships Deeper Understandings Meeting Transcript .  Process Coding .  Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Talking Sharing Building Listening Collaborating Understanding IN VIVO CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Talking about what we want to get out of this Each of us sharing Hearing each of us reflecting Collaboration will be extremely valuable Relationships DESCRIPTIVE CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Open, participatory discussion Identification of effective strategies Collaborative, productive relationships Robust Understandings VERSUS CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Effective vs. Ineffective strategies Positive reflections vs. negative reflections VALUES CODING Let’s start talking about what we want to get out of this. What I’d like to hear is each of us sharing what we’re doing relative to this idea of building community. “Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what worked. Here’s what didn’t work. I’m happy with this. I’m sad with this,” and just hearing each of us reflecting about what we’re doing I think will be interesting. That collaboration will be extremely valuable in terms of not only our relationships with one another, but also understanding the idea of community in more specific and concrete ways. Sharing Building community Reflection Collaboration Relationships Deeper Understandings Open in new tab

As noted in these brief examples, coding, categorizing, and writing memos about a study’s data are all accepted processes for data analysis and allow researchers to begin constructing new understandings and forming interpretations of the studied phenomena. We find the qualitative research literature to be particularly strong in offering support and guidance for researchers engaged in these analytic practices. In addition to those already noted in this chapter, we have found the following resources provide practical, yet theoretically grounded approaches to qualitative data analysis. For more detailed, procedural, or atomistic approaches to data analysis, we direct researchers to Miles and Huberman’s classic 1994 text, Qualitative Data Analysis , and Ryan and Bernard’s (2000) chapter on “Data Management and Analysis Methods.” For analysis and interpretation strategies falling somewhere between the atomistic and holistic poles, we suggest Hesse-Biber and Leavy’s (2011) chapter, “Analysis and Interpretation of Qualitative Data,” in their book, The Practice of Qualitative Research (2nd edition); Lichtman’s chapter, “Making Meaning From Your Data,” in her book Qualitative Research in Education: A User’s Guide; and “Processing Fieldnotes: Coding and Memoing” a chapter in Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw’s (1995) book, Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes . Each of these sources succinctly describes the processes of data preparation, data reduction, coding and categorizing data, and writing memos about emergent ideas and findings. For more holistic approaches, we have found Denzin and Lincoln’s (2007)   Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials , and Ellis and Bochner’s (2000) chapter “Autoethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity,” to both be very informative.

We have not yet mentioned the use of computer software for data analysis. The use of CAQDAS (Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software) has become prevalent. That said, it is beyond the scope of this chapter because, generally, the software is very useful for analysis, but only human researchers can interpret in the ways we describe. Multiple sources are readily available for those interested in exploring computer-assisted analysis. We have found the software to be particularly useful when working with large sets of data.

Even after reviewing the multiple resources for treating data included here, qualitative researchers might still be wondering, “but exactly how do we interpret?” In the remainder of this section, and in the concluding section of this chapter, we more concretely provide responses to this question, and, in closing, propose a framework for researchers to utilize as they engage in the complex, ambiguous, and yet exciting process of constructing meanings and new understandings from qualitative sources.

These meanings and understandings are often presented as theory, but theories in this sense should be viewed more as “guides to perception” as opposed to “devices that lead to the tight control or precise prediction of events” ( Eisner, 1991 , p. 95). Perhaps Erickson’s (1986) concept of “assertions” is a more appropriate aim for qualitative researchers. He claimed that assertions are declarative statements; they include a summary of the new understandings, and they are supported by evidence/data. These assertions are open to revision and are revised when disconfirming evidence requires modification. Assertions, theories, or other explanations resulting from interpretation in research are typically presented as “findings” in written research reports. Belgrave and Smith (2002) emphasize the importance of these interpretations (as opposed to descriptions), “the core of the report is not the events reported by the respondent, but rather the subjective meaning of the reported events for the respondent” (p. 248).

Mills (2007) views interpretation as responding to the question, “So what?” He provides researchers a series of concrete strategies for both analysis and interpretation. Specific to interpretation, Mills suggests a variety of techniques, including the following:

“ Extend the Analysis ”: In doing so, researchers ask additional questions about the research. The data appear to say X, but could it be otherwise? In what ways do the data support emergent finding X? And, in what ways do they not?

“ Connect Findings with Personal Experience ”: Using this technique, researchers share interpretations based on their intimate knowledge of the context, the observed actions of the individuals in the studied context, and the data points that support emerging interpretations, as well as their awareness of discrepant events or outlier data. In a sense, the researcher is saying, “based on my experiences in conducting this study, this is what I make of it all.”

“ Seek the Advice of ‘Critical’ Friends ”: In doing so, researchers utilize trusted colleagues, fellow researchers, experts in the field of study, and others to offer insights, alternative interpretations, and the application of their own unique lenses to a researcher’s initial findings. We especially like this strategy because we acknowledge that, too often, qualitative interpretation is a “solo” affair.

“ Contextualize the Findings in the Literature ”: This allows researchers to compare their interpretations to others writing about and studying the same/similar phenomena. The results of this contextualization may be that the current study’s findings correspond with the findings of other researchers. The results might, alternatively, differ from the findings of other researchers. In either instance, the researcher can highlight his or her unique contributions to our understanding of the topic under study.

“ Turn to Theory” : Mills defines theory as “an analytical and interpretive framework that helps the researcher make sense of ‘what is going on’ in the social setting being studied.” In turning to theory, researchers search for increasing levels of abstraction and move beyond purely descriptive accounts. Connecting to extant or generating new theory enables researchers to link their work to the broader contemporary issues in the field. (p. 136)

Other theorists offer additional advice for researchers engaged in the act of interpretation. Richardson (1995) reminds us to account for the power dynamics in the researcher–researched relationship and notes that, in doing so, we can allow for oppressed and marginalized voices to be heard in context. Bogdan and Biklen (2003) suggest that researchers engaged in interpretation revisit foundational writing about qualitative research, read studies related to the current research, ask evaluative questions (e.g., is what I’m seeing here good or bad?), ask about implications of particular findings/interpretations, think about the audience for interpretations, look for stories and incidents that illustrate a specific finding/interpretation, and attempt to summarize key interpretations in a succinct paragraph. All of these suggestions can be pertinent in certain situations and with particular methodological approaches. In the next and closing section of this chapter, we present a framework for interpretive strategies we believe will support, guide, and be applicable to qualitative researchers across multiple methodologies and paradigms.

In What Ways Can a Framework for Interpretation Strategies Support Qualitative Researchers Across Multiple Methodological and Paradigmatic Views?

The process of qualitative research is often compared to a journey, one without a detailed itinerary and ending, but instead a journey with general direction and aims and yet an open-endedness that adds excitement and thrives on curiosity. Qualitative researchers are travelers. They travel physically to field sites; they travel mentally through various epistemological, theoretical, and methodological grounds; they travel through a series of problem finding, access, data collection, and data analysis processes; and, finally—the topic of this chapter—they travel through the process of making meaning out of all this physical and cognitive travel via interpretation.

Although travel is an appropriate metaphor to describe the journey of qualitative researchers, we’ll also use “travel” to symbolize a framework for qualitative research interpretation strategies. By design, this is a framework that applies across multiple paradigmatic, epistemological, and methodological traditions. The application of this framework is not formulaic or highly prescriptive, it is also not an “anything goes” approach. It falls, and is applicable, between these poles, giving concrete (suggested) direction to qualitative researchers wanting to make the most out of the interpretations that result from their research, and yet allows the necessary flexibility for researchers to employ the methods, theories, and approaches they deem most appropriate to the research problem(s) under study.

TRAVEL, a Comprehensive Approach to Qualitative Interpretation

In using the word “TRAVEL” as a mnemonic device, our aim is to highlight six essential concepts we argue all qualitative researchers should attend to in the interpretive process: Transparency, Reflexivity, Analysis, Validity, Evidence, and Literature. The importance of each is addressed here.

Transparency , as a research concept seems, well... transparent. But, too often, we read qualitative research reports and are left with many questions: How were research participants and the topic of study selected/excluded? How were the data collected, when, and for how long? Who analyzed and interpreted these data? A single researcher? Multiple? What interpretive strategies were employed? Are there data points that substantiate these interpretations/findings? What analytic procedures were used to organize the data prior to making the presented interpretations? In being transparent about data collection, analysis, and interpretation processes, researchers allow reviewers/readers insight into the research endeavor, and this transparency leads to credibility for both researcher and researcher’s claims. Altheide and Johnson (2011) explain, “There is great diversity of qualitative research.... While these approaches differ, they also share an ethical obligation to make public their claims, to show the reader, audience, or consumer why they should be trusted as faithful accounts of some phenomenon” (p. 584). This includes, they note, articulating “what the different sources of data were, how they were interwoven, and... how subsequent interpretations and conclusions are more or less closely tied to the various data... the main concern is that the connection be apparent, and to the extent possible, transparent” (p. 590).

In the “Dreams as Data” art and research project noted earlier, transparency was addressed in multiple ways. Readers of the project write-up were informed that interpretations resulting from the study, framed as “themes,” were a result of collaborative analysis that included insights from both students and instructor. Viewers of the art installation/data display had the rare opportunity to see all participant responses. In other words, viewers had access to the entire raw dataset (see Trent, 2002 ). More frequently, we encounter only research “findings” already distilled, analyzed, and interpreted in research accounts, often by a single researcher. Allowing research consumers access to the data to interpret for themselves in the “dreams” project was an intentional attempt at transparency.

Reflexivity , the second of our concepts for interpretive researcher consideration, has garnered a great deal of attention in qualitative research literature. Some have called this increased attention the “reflexive turn” (see e.g., Denzin & Lincoln, 2004 :

Although you can find many meanings for the term reflexivity, it is usually associated with a critical reflection on the practice and process of research and the role of the researcher. It concerns itself with the impact of the researcher on the system and the system on the researcher. It acknowledges the mutual relationships between the researcher and who and what is studied... by acknowledging the role of the self in qualitative research, the researcher is able to sort through biases and think about how they affect various aspects of the research, especially interpretation of meanings. ( Lichtman, 2006 , pp. 206–207)

As with transparency, attending to reflexivity allows researchers to attach credibility to presented findings. Providing a reflexive account of researcher subjectivity and the interactions of this subjectivity within the research process is a way for researchers to communicate openly with their audience. Instead of trying to exhume inherent bias from the process, qualitative researchers share with readers the value of having a specific, idiosyncratic positionality. As a result, situated, contextualized interpretations are viewed as an asset, as opposed to a liability.

LaBanca (2011) , acknowledging the often solitary nature of qualitative research, calls for researchers to engage others in the reflexive process. Like many other researchers, LaBanca utilizes a researcher journal to chronicle reflexive thoughts, explorations and understandings, but he takes this a step farther. Realizing the value of others’ input, LaBanca posts his reflexive journal entries on a blog (what he calls an “online reflexivity blog”) and invites critical friends, other researchers, and interested members of the community to audit his reflexive moves, providing insights, questions, and critique that inform his research and study interpretations.

We agree this is a novel approach worth considering. We, too, understand that multiple interpreters will undoubtedly produce multiple interpretations, a richness of qualitative research. So, we suggest researchers consider bringing others in before the production of the report. This could be fruitful in multiple stages of the inquiry process, but especially so in the complex, idiosyncratic processes of reflexivity and interpretation. We are both educators and educational researchers. Historically, each of these roles has tended to be constructed as an isolated endeavor, the solitary teacher, the solo researcher/fieldworker. As noted earlier and in the “analysis” section that follows, introducing collaborative processes to what has often been a solitary activity offers much promise for generating rich interpretations that benefit from multiple perspectives.

Being consciously reflexive throughout our practice as researchers has benefitted us in many ways. In a study of teacher education curricula designed to prepare preservice teachers to support second-language learners, we realized hard truths that caused us to reflect on and adapt our own practices as teacher educators. Reflexivity can inform a researcher at all parts of the inquiry, even in early stages. For example, one of us was beginning a study of instructional practices in an elementary school. The communicated methods of the study indicated that the researcher would be largely an observer. Early fieldwork revealed that the researcher became much more involved as a participant than anticipated. Deep reflection and writing about the classroom interactions allowed the researcher to realize that the initial purpose of the research was not being accomplished, and the researcher believed he was having a negative impact on the classroom culture. Reflexivity in this instance prompted the researcher to leave the field and abandon the project as it was just beginning. Researchers should plan to openly engage in reflexive activities, including writing about their ongoing reflections and subjectivities. Including excerpts of this writing in research account supports our earlier recommendation of transparency.

Early in this chapter, for the purposes of discussion and examination, we defined analysis as “summarizing and organizing” data in a qualitative study, and interpretation as “finding” or “making” meaning. Although our focus has been on interpretation as the primary topic here, the importance of good analysis cannot be underestimated for, without it, resultant interpretations are likely incomplete and potentially uninformed. Comprehensive analysis puts researchers in a position to be deeply familiar with collected data and to organize these data into forms that lead to rich, unique interpretations, and yet to interpretations clearly connected to data exemplars. Although we find it advantageous to examine analysis and interpretation as different but related practices, in reality, the lines blur as qualitative researchers engage in these recursive processes.

We earlier noted our affinity for a variety of approaches to analysis (see e.g., Lichtman, 2006 ; Saldaña, 2011 ; or Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011 ). Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw (1995) present a grounded approach to qualitative data analysis: in early stages, researchers engage in a close, line-by-line reading of data/collected text and accompany this reading with open coding , a process of categorizing and labeling the inquiry data. Next, researchers write initial memos to describe and organize the data under analysis. These analytic phases allow the researcher(s) to prepare, organize, summarize, and understand the data, in preparation for the more interpretive processes of focused coding and the writing up of interpretations and themes in the form of integrative memos .

Similarly, Mills (2007) provides guidance on the process of analysis for qualitative action researchers. His suggestions for organizing and summarizing data include coding (labeling data and looking for patterns), asking key questions about the study data (who, what, where, when, why, and how), developing concept maps (graphic organizers that show initial organization and relationships in the data), and stating what’s missing by articulating what data are not present (pp. 124–132).

Many theorists, like Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw (1995) and Mills (2007) noted here, provide guidance for individual researchers engaged in individual data collection, analysis, and interpretation; others, however, invite us to consider the benefits of collaboratively engaging in these processes through the use of collaborative research and analysis teams. Paulus, Woodside, and Ziegler (2008) wrote about their experiences in collaborative qualitative research: “Collaborative research often refers to collaboration among the researcher and the participants. Few studies investigate the collaborative process among researchers themselves” (p. 226).

Paulus, Woodside, and Ziegler (2008) claim that the collaborative process “challenged and transformed our assumptions about qualitative research” (p. 226). Engaging in reflexivity, analysis, and interpretation as a collaborative enabled these researchers to reframe their views about the research process, finding that the process was much more recursive, as opposed to following a linear progression. They also found that cooperatively analyzing and interpreting data yielded “collaboratively constructed meanings” as opposed to “individual discoveries.” And finally, instead of the traditional “individual products” resulting from solo research, collaborative interpretation allowed researchers to participate in an “ongoing conversation” (p. 226).

These researchers explain that engaging in collaborative analysis and interpretation of qualitative data challenged their previously held assumptions. They note, “through collaboration, procedures are likely to be transparent to the group and can, therefore, be made public. Data analysis benefits from an iterative, dialogic, and collaborative process because thinking is made explicit in a way that is difficult to replicate as a single researcher” ( Paulus, Woodside, & Ziegler, 2008 , p. 236). They share that during the collaborative process, “we constantly checked our interpretation against the text, the context, prior interpretations, and each other’s interpretations” (p. 234).

We, too, have engaged in analysis similar to these described processes, including working on research teams. We encourage other researchers to find processes that fit with the methodology and data of a particular study, use the techniques and strategies most appropriate, and then cite to the utilized authority to justify the selected path. We urge traditionally solo researchers to consider trying a collaborative approach. Generally, we suggest researchers be familiar with a wide repertoire of practices. In doing so, they’ll be in better positions to select and use strategies most appropriate for their studies and data. Succinctly preparing, organizing, categorizing, and summarizing data sets the researcher(s) up to construct meaningful interpretations in the forms of assertions, findings, themes, and theories.

Researchers want their findings to be sound, backed by evidence, justifiable, and to accurately represent the phenomena under study. In short, researchers seek validity for their work. We assert that qualitative researchers should attend to validity concepts as a part of their interpretive practices. We have previously written and theorized about validity, and, in doing so, we have highlighted and labeled what we consider to be two distinctly different approaches, transactional and transformational ( Cho & Trent, 2006 ). We define transactional validity in qualitative research as an interactive process occurring among the researcher, the researched, and the collected data, one that is aimed at achieving a relatively higher level of accuracy. Techniques, methods, and/or strategies are employed during the conduct of the inquiry. These techniques, such as member checking and triangulation, are seen as a medium with which to ensure an accurate reflection of reality (or, at least, participants’ constructions of reality). Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) widely known notion of trustworthiness in “naturalistic inquiry” is grounded in this approach. In seeking trustworthiness, researchers attend to research credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Validity approaches described by Maxwell (1992) as “descriptive” and “interpretive” also proceed in the usage of transactional processes.

For example, in the write-up of a study on the facilitation of teacher research, one of us ( Trent, 2012 , p. 44) wrote about the use of transactional processes: “‘Member checking is asking the members of the population being studied for their reaction to the findings’ ( Sagor, 2000 , p. 136). Interpretations and findings of this research, in draft form, were shared with teachers (for member checking) on multiple occasions throughout the study. Additionally, teachers reviewed and provided feedback on the final draft of this article.” This member checking led to changes in some resultant interpretations (called findings in this particular study) and to adaptations of others that shaped these findings in ways that made them both richer and more contextualized.

Alternatively, in transformational approaches, validity is not so much something that can be achieved solely by way of certain techniques. Transformationalists assert that because traditional or positivist inquiry is no longer seen as an absolute means to truth in the realm of human science, alternative notions of validity should be considered to achieve social justice, deeper understandings, broader visions, and other legitimate aims of qualitative research. In this sense, it is the ameliorative aspects of the research that achieve (or don’t achieve) its validity. Validity is determined by the resultant actions prompted by the research endeavor.

Lather (1993) , Richardson (1997) , and others (e.g., Lenzo, 1995 ; Scheurich, 1996 ) propose a transgressive approach to validity that emphasizes a higher degree of self-reflexivity. For example, Lather has proposed a “catalytic validity” described as “the degree to which the research empowers and emancipates the research subjects” ( Scheurich, 1996 , p. 4). Beverley (2000 , p. 556) has proposed “testimonio” as a qualitative research strategy. These first-person narratives find their validity in their ability to raise consciousness and thus provoke political action to remedy problems of oppressed peoples (e.g., poverty, marginality, exploitation).

We, too, have pursued research with transformational aims. In the earlier mentioned study of preservice teachers’ experiences learning to teach second-language learners ( Cho, Rios, Trent, & Mayfield, 2012 ), our aims were to empower faculty members, evolve the curriculum, and, ultimately, better serve preservice teachers so that they might better serve English-language learners in their classrooms. As program curricula and activities have changed as a result, we claim a degree of transformational validity for this research.

Important, then, for qualitative researchers throughout the inquiry, but especially when engaged in the process of interpretation, is to determine the type(s) of validity applicable to the study. What are the aims of the study? Providing an “accurate” account of studied phenomena? Empowering participants to take action for themselves and others? The determination of this purpose will, in turn, inform researchers’ analysis and interpretation of data. Understanding and attending to the appropriate validity criteria will bolster researcher claims to meaningful findings and assertions.

Regardless of purpose or chosen validity considerations, qualitative research depends on evidence . Researchers in different qualitative methodologies rely on different types of evidence to support their claims. Qualitative researchers typically utilize a variety of forms of evidence including texts (written notes, transcripts, images, etc.), audio and video recordings, cultural artifacts, documents related to the inquiry, journal entries, and field notes taken during observations of social contexts and interactions. “Evidence is essential to justification, and justification takes the form of an argument about the merit(s) of a given claim. It is generally accepted that no evidence is conclusive or unassailable (and hence, no argument is foolproof). Thus, evidence must often be judged for its credibility, and that typically means examining its source and the procedures by which it was produced [thus the need for transparency discussed earlier]” ( Schwandt, 2001 , p. 82).

Qualitative researchers distinguish evidence from facts. Evidence and facts are similar but not identical. We can often agree on facts, e.g., there is a rock, it is harder than cotton candy. Evidence involves an assertion that some facts are relevant to an argument or claim about a relationship. Since a position in an argument is likely tied to an ideological or even epistemological position, evidence is not completely bound by facts, but it is more problematic and subject to disagreement. ( Altheide & Johnson, 2011 , p. 586)

Inquirers should make every attempt to link evidence to claims (or findings, interpretations, assertions, conclusions, etc.). There are many strategies for making these connections. Induction involves accumulating multiple data points to infer a general conclusion. Confirmation entails directly linking evidence to resultant interpretations. Testability/falsifiability means illustrating that evidence does not necessarily contradict the claim/interpretation, and so increases the credibility of the claim ( Schwandt, 2001 ). In the “learning to teach second-language learners” study, for example, a study finding ( Cho, Rios, Trent, & Mayfield, 2012 , p. 77) was that “as a moral claim , candidates increasingly [in higher levels of the teacher education program] feel more responsible and committed to ELLs [English language learners].” We supported this finding with a series of data points that included the following preservice teacher response: “It is as much the responsibility of the teacher to help teach second-language learners the English language as it is our responsibility to teach traditional English speakers to read or correctly perform math functions.” Claims supported by evidence allow readers to see for themselves and to both examine researcher assertions in tandem with evidence and to form further interpretations of their own.

Some postmodernists reject the notion that qualitative interpretations are arguments based on evidence. Instead, they argue that qualitative accounts are not intended to faithfully represent that experience, but instead are designed to evoke some feelings or reactions in the reader of the account ( Schwandt, 2001 ). We argue that, even in these instances where transformational validity concerns take priority over transactional processes, evidence still matters. Did the assertions accomplish the evocative aims? What evidence/arguments were used to evoke these reactions? Does the presented claim correspond with the study’s evidence? Is the account inclusive? In other words, does it attend to all evidence or selectively compartmentalize some data while capitalizing on other evidentiary forms?

Researchers, we argue, should be both transparent and reflexive about these questions and, regardless of research methodology or purpose, should share with readers of the account their evidentiary moves and aims. Altheide and Johnson (2011) call this an “evidentiary narrative” and explain:

Ultimately, evidence is bound up with our identity in a situation.... An “evidentiary narrative” emerges from a reconsideration of how knowledge and belief systems in everyday life are tied to epistemic communities that provide perspectives, scenarios, and scripts that reflect symbolic and social moral orders. An “evidentiary narrative” symbolically joins an actor, an audience, a point of view (definition of a situation), assumptions, and a claim about a relationship between two or more phenomena. If any of these factors are not part of the context of meaning for a claim, it will not be honored, and thus, not seen as evidence. (p. 686)

In sum, readers/consumers of a research account deserve to know how evidence was treated and viewed in an inquiry. They want and should be aware of accounts that aim to evoke versus represent, and then they can apply their own criteria (including the potential transferability to their situated context). Renowned ethnographer and qualitative research theorist Harry Wolcott (1990) urges researchers to “let readers ‘see’ for themselves” by providing more detail rather than less and by sharing primary data/evidence to support interpretations. In the end, readers don’t expect perfection. Writer Eric Liu (2010) explains, “we don’t expect flawless interpretation. We expect good faith. We demand honesty.”

Last, in this journey through concepts we assert are pertinent to researchers engaged in interpretive processes, we include attention to the “ literature .” In discussing “literature,” qualitative researchers typically mean publications about the prior research conducted on topics aligned with or related to a study. Most often, this research/literature is reviewed and compiled by researchers in a section of the research report titled, “literature review.” It is here we find others’ studies, methods, and theories related to our topics of study, and it is here we hope the assertions and theories that result from our studies will someday reside.

We acknowledge the value of being familiar with research related to topics of study. This familiarity can inform multiple phases of the inquiry process. Understanding the extant knowledge base can inform research questions and topic selection, data collection and analysis plans, and the interpretive process. In what ways do the interpretations from this study correspond with other research conducted on this topic? Do findings/interpretations corroborate, expand, or contradict other researchers’ interpretations of similar phenomena? In any of these scenarios (correspondence, expansion, contradiction), new findings and interpretations from a study add to and deepen the knowledge base, or literature, on a topic of investigation.

For example, in our literature review for the study of student teaching, we quickly determined that the knowledge base and extant theories related to the student teaching experience was immense, but also quickly realized that few if any studies had examined student teaching from the perspective of the K–12 students who had the student teachers. This focus on the literature related to our topic of student teaching prompted us to embark on a study that would fill a gap in this literature: most of the knowledge base focused on the experiences and learning of the student teachers themselves. Our study then, by focusing on the K–12 students’ perspectives, added literature/theories/assertions to a previously untapped area. The “literature” in this area (at least we’d like to think) is now more robust as a result.

In another example, a research team ( Trent et al., 2003 ) focused on institutional diversity efforts, mined the literature, found an appropriate existing (a priori) set of theories/assertions, and then used this existing theoretical framework from the literature as a framework to analyze data; in this case, a variety of institutional activities related to diversity.

Conducting a literature review to explore extant theories on a topic of study can serve a variety of purposes. As evidenced in these examples, consulting the literature/extant theory can reveal gaps in the literature. A literature review might also lead researchers to existing theoretical frameworks that support analysis and interpretation of their data (as in the use of the a priori framework example). Finally, a review of current theories related to a topic of inquiry might confirm that much theory already exists, but that further study may add to, bolster, and/or elaborate on the current knowledge base.

Guidance for researchers conducting literature reviews is plentiful. Lichtman (2006) suggests researchers conduct a brief literature review, begin research, and then update and modify the literature review as the inquiry unfolds. She suggests reviewing a wide range of related materials (not just scholarly journals) and additionally suggests researchers attend to literature on methodology, not just the topic of study. She also encourages researchers to bracket and write down thoughts on the research topic as they review the literature, and, important for this chapter, she suggests researchers “integrate your literature review throughout your writing rather than using a traditional approach of placing it in a separate chapter [or section]” (p. 105).

We agree that the power of a literature review to provide context for a study can be maximized when this information isn’t compartmentalized apart from a study’s findings. Integrating (or at least revisiting) reviewed literature juxtaposed alongside findings can illustrate how new interpretations add to an evolving story. Eisenhart (1998) expands the traditional conception of the literature review and discusses the concept of an “interpretive review.” By taking this interpretive approach, Eisenhart claims that reviews, alongside related interpretations/findings on a specific topic, have the potential to allow readers to see the studied phenomena in entirely new ways, through new lenses, revealing heretofore unconsidered perspectives. Reviews that offer surprising and enriching perspectives on meanings and circumstances “shake things up, break down boundaries, and cause things (or thinking) to expand” (p. 394). Coupling reviews of this sort with current interpretations will “give us stories that startle us with what we have failed to notice” (p. 395).

In reviews of research studies, it can certainly be important to evaluate the findings in light of established theories and methods [the sorts of things typically included in literature reviews]. However, it also seems important to ask how well the studies disrupt conventional assumptions and help us to reconfigure new, more inclusive, and more promising perspectives on human views and actions. From an interpretivist perspective, it would be most important to review how well methods and findings permit readers to grasp the sense of unfamiliar perspectives and actions. ( Eisenhart, 1998 , p. 397)

And so, our journey through qualitative research interpretation and the selected concepts we’ve treated in this chapter nears an end, an end in the written text, but a hopeful beginning of multiple new conversations among ourselves and in concert with other qualitative researchers. Our aims here have been to circumscribe interpretation in qualitative research; emphasize the importance of interpretation in achieving the aims of the qualitative project; discuss the interactions of methodology, data, and the researcher/self as these concepts and theories intertwine with interpretive processes; describe some concrete ways that qualitative inquirers engage the process of interpretation; and, finally, to provide a framework of interpretive strategies that may serve as a guide for ourselves and other researchers.

In closing, we note that this “travel” framework, construed as a journey to be undertaken by researchers engaged in the interpretive process, is not designed to be rigid or prescriptive, but instead is designed to be a flexible set of concepts that will inform researchers across multiple epistemological, methodological, and theoretical paradigms. We chose the concepts of transparency, reflexivity, analysis, validity, evidence, and literature (TRAVEL) because they are applicable to the infinite journeys undertaken by qualitative researchers who have come before and to those who will come after us. As we journeyed through our interpretations of interpretation, we have discovered new things about ourselves and our work. We hope readers also garner insights that enrich their interpretive excursions. Happy travels to all— Bon Voyage !

Altheide, D. , & Johnson, J. M. ( 2011 ). Reflections on interpretive adequacy in qualitative research. In N. M. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 595–610). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Google Scholar

Google Preview

Barrett, T. ( 2000 ). Criticizing art: Understanding the contemporary . New York: McGraw Hill.

Barrett, J. ( 2007 ). The researcher as instrument: learning to conduct qualitative research through analyzing and interpreting a choral rehearsal.   Music Education Research , 9 (3), 417–433.

Belgrave, L. L. , & Smith, K. J. ( 2002 ). Negotiated validity in collaborative ethnography. In N. M. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The qualitative inquiry reader (pp. 233–255). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Beverly, J. ( 2000 ). Testimonio, subalternity, and narrative authority. In N. M. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, second edition (pp. 555–566). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Bogdan, R. C. , & Biklen, S. K. ( 2003 ). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods . Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Cho, J. , Rios, F. , Trent, A. , & Mayfield, K. ( 2012 ). Integrating language diversity into teacher education curricula in a rural context: Candidates’ developmental perspectives and understandings.   Teacher Education Quarterly , 39 (2), 63–85.

Cho, J. , & Trent, A. ( 2006 ). Validity in qualitative research revisited.   QR—Qualitative Research Journal , 6 (3), 319–340.

Denzin, N. M. , & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). ( 2004 ). Handbook of qualitative research . Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Denzin, N. M. , & Lincoln, Y. S. ( 2007 ). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Eisenhart, M. ( 1998 ). On the subject of interpretive reviews.   Review of Educational Research , 68 (4), 391–393.

Eisner, E. ( 1991 ). The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice . New York: Macmillan.

Ellingson, L. L. ( 2011 ). Analysis and representation across the continuum. In N. M. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 595–610). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Ellis, C. , & Bochner, A. P. ( 2000 ). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Researcher as subject. In N. M. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research , second edition (pp. 733–768). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Emerson, R. , Fretz, R. , & Shaw, L. ( 1995 ). Writing ethnographic fieldwork . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Erickson, F. ( 1986 ). Qualitative methods in research in teaching and learning. In M. C. Wittrock Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp 119–161). New York: Macmillan.

Glaser, B. ( 1965 ). The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis.   Social Problems , 12 (4), 436–445.

Gubrium, J. F. , & Holstein, J. A. ( 2000 ). Analyzing interpretive practice. In N. M. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research , second edition (pp. 487–508). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hesse-Biber, S. N. , & Leavy, P. ( 2011 ). The practice of qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hubbard, R. S. , & Power, B. M. ( 2003 ). The art of classroom inquiry: A handbook for teacher researchers . Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Husserl, E. ( 1962 ). Ideas: general introduction to pure phenomenology . ( W. R. Boyce Gibson , Trans.). London, New York: Collier, Macmillan. (Original work published 1913)

LaBanca, F. ( 2011 ). Online dynamic asynchronous audit strategy for reflexivity in the qualitative paradigm.   Qualitative Report , 16 (4), 1160–1171.

Lather, P. ( 1993 ). Fertile obsession: Validity after poststructuralism.   Sociological Quarterly , 34 (4), 673–693.

Lenzo, K. ( 1995 ). Validity and self reflexivity meet poststructuralism: Scientific ethos and the transgressive self.   Educational Researcher , 24 (4), 17–23, 45.

Lichtman, M. ( 2006 ). Qualitative research in education: A user’s guide . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Liu, E. (2010). The real meaning of balls and strikes. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-liu/the-real-meaning-of-balls_b_660915.html

Lincoln, Y. S. , & Guba, E. G. ( 1985 ). Naturalistic inquiry . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Maxwell, J. ( 1992 ). Understanding and validity in qualitative research.   Harvard Educational Review , 62 (3), 279–300.

Miles, M. B. , & Huberman, A. M. ( 1994 ). Qualitative data analysis . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mills, G. E. ( 2007 ). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Paulus, T. , Woodside, M. , & Ziegler, M. ( 2008 ). Extending the conversation: Qualitative research as dialogic collaborative process.   Qualitative Report , 13 (2), 226–243.

Richardson, L. ( 1995 ). Writing stories: Co-authoring the “sea monster,” a writing story.   Qualitative Inquiry , 1 , 189–203.

Richardson, L. ( 1997 ). Fields of play: Constructing an academic life . New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Ryan, G. W. , & Bernard, H. R. ( 2000 ). Data management and analysis methods. In N. M. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research , second edition (pp. 769–802). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Sagor, R. ( 2000 ). Guiding school improvement with action research . Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Saldaña, J. ( 2011 ). Fundamentals of qualitative research . New York: Oxford University Press.

Scheurich, J. ( 1996 ). The masks of validity: A deconstructive investigation.   Qualitative Studies in Education , 9 (1), 49–60.

Slotnick, R. C. , & Janesick, V. J. ( 2011 ). Conversations on method: Deconstructing policy through the researcher reflective journal.   Qualitative Report , 16 (5), 1352–1360.

Schwandt, T. A. ( 2001 ). Dictionary of qualitative inquiry . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Trent, A. ( 2002 ). Dreams as data: Art installation as heady research,   Teacher Education Quarterly , 29 (4), 39–51.

Trent, A. ( 2012 ). Action research on action research: A facilitator’s account.   Action Learning and Action Research Journal , 18 (1), 35–67.

Trent, A. , Rios, F. , Antell, J. , Berube, W. , Bialostok, S. , Cardona, D. , et al. ( 2003 ). Problems and possibilities in the pursuit of diversity: An institutional analysis.   Equity & Excellence , 36(3), 213–224.

Trent, A. , & Zorko, L. ( 2006 ). Listening to students: “New” perspectives on student teaching.   Teacher Education & Practice , 19 (1), 55–70.

Willis, J. W. ( 2007 ). Foundations of qualitative research: Interpretive and critical approaches . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Wolcott, H. ( 1990 ). On seeking-and rejecting-validity in qualitative research. In E. Eisner & A. Peshkin (Eds.), Qualitative inquiry in education: The continuing debate (pp. 121–152). New York: Teachers College Press.

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Institutional account management
• Rights and permissions
• Get help with access
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Organizing Your Analysis

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

There is no one perfect way to organize a rhetorical analysis essay. In fact, writers should always be a bit leery of plug-in formulas that offer a perfect essay format. Remember, organization itself is not the enemy, only organization without considering the specific demands of your particular writing task. That said, here are some general tips for plotting out the overall form of your essay.

Introduction

Like any rhetorical analysis essay, an essay analyzing a visual document should quickly set the stage for what you’re doing. Try to cover the following concerns in the initial paragraphs:

• Make sure to let the reader know you’re performing a rhetorical analysis. Otherwise, they may expect you to take positions or make an evaluative argument that may not be coming.
• Clearly state what the document under consideration is and possibly give some pertinent background information about its history or development. The intro can be a good place for a quick, narrative summary of the document. The key word here is “quick, for you may be dealing with something large (for example, an entire episode of a cartoon like the Simpsons). Save more in-depth descriptions for your body paragraph analysis.
• If you’re dealing with a smaller document (like a photograph or an advertisement), and copyright allows, the introduction or first page is a good place to integrate it into your page.
• Give a basic run down of the rhetorical situation surrounding the document: the author, the audience, the purpose, the context, etc.

Thesis Statements and Focus

Many authors struggle with thesis statements or controlling ideas in regards to rhetorical analysis essays. There may be a temptation to think that merely announcing the text as a rhetorical analysis is purpose enough. However, especially depending on your essay’s length, your reader may need a more direct and clear statement of your intentions. Below are a few examples.

1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover. Ask yourself if one or two design aspects of the document is interesting and complex enough to warrant a full analytical treatment.

The website for Amazon.com provides an excellent example of alignment and proximity to assist its visitors in navigating a potentially large and confusing amount of information.

2. Since visual documents often seek to move people towards a certain action (buying a product, attending an event, expressing a sentiment), an essay may analyze the rhetorical techniques used to accomplish this purpose. The thesis statement should reflect this goal.

The call-out flyer for the Purdue Rowing Team uses a mixture of dynamic imagery and tantalizing promises to create interest in potential, new members.

3. Rhetorical analysis can also easily lead to making original arguments. Performing the analysis may lead you to an argument; or vice versa, you may start with an argument and search for proof that supports it.

A close analysis of the female body images in the July 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine reveals contradictions between the articles’ calls for self-esteem and the advertisements’ unrealistic, beauty demands.

These are merely suggestions. The best measure for what your focus and thesis statement should be the document itself and the demands of your writing situation. Remember that the main thrust of your thesis statement should be on how the document creates meaning and accomplishes its purposes. The OWl has additional information on writing thesis statements.

Analysis Order (Body Paragraphs)

Depending on the genre and size of the document under analysis, there are a number of logical ways to organize your body paragraphs. Below are a few possible options. Which ever you choose, the goal of your body paragraphs is to present parts of the document, give an extended analysis of how that part functions, and suggest how the part ties into a larger point (your thesis statement or goal).

Chronological

This is the most straight-forward approach, but it can also be effective if done for a reason (as opposed to not being able to think of another way). For example, if you are analyzing a photo essay on the web or in a booklet, a chronological treatment allows you to present your insights in the same order that a viewer of the document experiences those images. It is likely that the images have been put in that order and juxtaposed for a reason, so this line of analysis can be easily integrated into the essay.

Be careful using chronological ordering when dealing with a document that contains a narrative (i.e. a television show or music video). Focusing on the chronological could easily lead you to plot summary which is not the point of a rhetorical analysis.

A spatial ordering covers the parts of a document in the order the eye is likely to scan them. This is different than chronological order, for that is dictated by pages or screens where spatial order concerns order amongst a single page or plane. There are no unwavering guidelines for this, but you can use the following general guidelines.

• Left to right and top to down is still the normal reading and scanning pattern for English-speaking countries.
• The eye will naturally look for centers. This may be the technical center of the page or the center of the largest item on the page.
• Lines are often used to provide directions and paths for the eye to follow.
• Research has shown that on web pages, the eye tends to linger in the top left quadrant before moving left to right. Only after spending a considerable amount of time on the top, visible portion of the page will they then scroll down.

Persuasive Appeals

The classic, rhetorical appeals are logos, pathos, and ethos. These concepts roughly correspond to the logic, emotion, and character of the document’s attempt to persuade. You can find more information on these concepts elsewhere on the OWL. Once you understand these devices, you could potentially order your essay by analyzing the document’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos in different sections.

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay may not operate too differently from the conclusion of any other kind of essay. Still, many writers struggle with what a conclusion should or should not do. You can find tips elsewhere on the OWL on writing conclusions. In short, however, you should restate your main ideas and explain why they are important; restate your thesis; and outline further research or work you believe should be completed to further your efforts.

Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, interpretation, interpretative frameworks.

• © 2023 by Joseph M. Moxley - University of South Florida

What is Interpretation?

Interpretation is

• the act of literacy, the human process of making inferences, of ascribing meaning to signs and symbols, the act of signification .

People make interpretations of texts and events in order to make sense of world.

Interpretation is a deeply subjective process. Different people can see the exact same event and infer contrasting interpretations. Critics often disagree about the relative merits of movies, songs, and other texts .

For readers, listeners, users , interpretation is challenging. At any given moment, people experience a tsunami of information coming at them at warp speed.

Personal experience shapes interpretation. Our world view is shaped by our contexts—our families, schools, communities, and workplaces. The rhetorical stances we can imagine adopting in response to exigencies, calls for discourse, are shaped by our interpretations about what exists and what is possible.

Key Concepts: Rhetorical Stance ; Semiotics ;

People are rhetorically situated. Their interpretations are shaped by their discourse communities, their communities of practice. For instance, The Association of College and Research Libraries has identified six interpretative frameworks that underlie critical literacy practices:

• Authority is Constructed & Contextual
• Information Creation as a Process
• Information Has Value
• Research as Inquiry
• Scholarship as a Conversation
• Searching as Strategic Exploration

Much of the library-orientated training students receive in the U.S. concern these six frameworks.

Interpretive Frameworks

Consider how critics use theory to interprets works of art and literature:

• Critical Disability Studies
• Feminist Criticism
• LGBTQ + Criticism
• Marxist Criticism
• New Historicist Criticism
• Post-Colonial Criticism
• Post-Structuralist, Deconstructive Criticism
• Psychological Criticism
• Reader-Response Criticism
• Russian Formalism and New Criticism
• Structuralist Criticism

Related Articles:

Textual Analysis - How to Engage in Textual Analysis

Suggested edits.

• Please select the purpose of your message. * - Corrections, Typos, or Edits Technical Support/Problems using the site Advertising with Writing Commons Copyright Issues I am contacting you about something else
• Your full name
• Your email address *
• Page URL needing edits *
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

• Jennifer Janechek

Featured Articles

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Authority – How to Establish Credibility in Speech & Writing

Interpretation Strategies

This essay addresses a wide range of concepts related to interpretation in qualitative research, examines the meaning and importance of interpretation in qualitative inquiry, and explores the ways methodology, data, and the self/researcher as instrument interact and impact interpretive processes. Additionally, the essay presents a series of strategies for qualitative researchers engaged in the process of interpretation. The article closes by presenting a framework for qualitative researchers designed to inform their interpretations. The framework includes attention to the key qualitative research concepts transparency, reflexivity, analysis, validity, evidence, and literature. Four questions frame the article: What is interpretation, and why are interpretive strategies important in qualitative research? How do methodology, data, and the researcher/self impact interpretation in qualitative research? How do qualitative researchers engage in the process of interpretation? And, in what ways can a framework for interpretation strategies support qualitative researchers across multiple methodologies and paradigms?

• Related Documents

Interpretation In Qualitative Research: What, Why, How

This chapter addresses a wide range of concepts related to interpretation in qualitative research, examines the meaning and importance of interpretation in qualitative inquiry, and explores the ways methodology, data, and the self/researcher as instrument interact and impact interpretive processes. Additionally, the chapter presents a series of strategies for qualitative researchers engaged in the process of interpretation and closes by presenting a framework for qualitative researchers designed to inform their interpretations. The framework includes attention to the key qualitative research concepts transparency, reflexivity, analysis, validity, evidence, and literature. Four questions frame the chapter: What is interpretation, and why are interpretive strategies important in qualitative research? How do methodology, data, and the researcher/self impact interpretation in qualitative research? How do qualitative researchers engage in the process of interpretation? And, in what ways can a framework for interpretation strategies support qualitative researchers across multiple methodologies and paradigms?

A Comparison of Physiological Demand between Self-Propelled and Motorized Treadmill Exercise

There are a wide range of options for individuals to choose from in order to engage in aerobic exercise; from outdoor running to computer controlled and self-propelled treadmills. Recently, self-propelled treadmills have increased in popularity and provide an alternative to a motorized treadmill. Twenty subjects (10 men, 10 women) ranging in age from 19-23 with a mean of 20.4 ± 0.8 SD were participants in this study. The subjects visited the laboratory on three occasions. The purpose of the first visit was to familiarize the subject with the self-propelled treadmill (Woodway Curve 3.0). The second visit, subjects were instructed to run on the self-propelled treadmill for 3km at a self-determined pace. Speed data were collected directly from the self-propelled treadmill. The third visit used speed data collected during the self-propelled treadmill run to create an identically paced 3km run for the subjects to perform on a motorized treadmill (COSMED T150). During both the second and third visit, oxygen consumption (VO2) and respiratory exchange ratio (R) data were collected with COSMED’s Quark cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) metabolic mixing chamber system. The VO2 mean value for the self-propelled treadmill (44.90 ± 1.65 SE ml/kg/min) was significantly greater than the motorized treadmill (34.38 ± 1.39 SE ml/kg/min). The mean R value for the self-propelled treadmill (0.91 ± 0.01 SE) was significantly greater than the motorized treadmill (0.86 ± 0.01 SE). Our study demonstrated that a 3km run on a self-propelled treadmill does elicit a greater physiological response than a 3km run at on a standard motorized treadmill. Self-propelled treadmills provide a mode of exercise that offers increased training loads and should be considered as an alternative to motorized treadmills.

Expressing the Self

This book addresses different linguistic and philosophical aspects of referring to the self in a wide range of languages from different language families, including Amharic, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Newari (Sino-Tibetan), Polish, Tariana (Arawak), and Thai. In the domain of speaking about oneself, languages use a myriad of expressions that cut across grammatical and semantic categories, as well as a wide variety of constructions. Languages of Southeast and East Asia famously employ a great number of terms for first-person reference to signal honorification. The number and mixed properties of these terms make them debatable candidates for pronounhood, with many grammar-driven classifications opting to classify them with nouns. Some languages make use of egophors or logophors, and many exhibit an interaction between expressing the self and expressing evidentiality qua the epistemic status of information held from the ego perspective. The volume’s focus on expressing the self, however, is not directly motivated by an interest in the grammar or lexicon, but instead stems from philosophical discussions of the special status of thoughts about oneself, known as de se thoughts. It is this interdisciplinary understanding of expressing the self that underlies this volume, comprising philosophy of mind at one end of the spectrum and cross-cultural pragmatics of self-expression at the other. This unprecedented juxtaposition results in a novel method of approaching de se and de se expressions, in which research methods from linguistics and philosophy inform each other. The importance of this interdisciplinary perspective on expressing the self cannot be overemphasized. Crucially, the volume also demonstrates that linguistic research on first-person reference makes a valuable contribution to research on the self tout court, by exploring the ways in which the self is expressed, and thereby adding to the insights gained through philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science.

Charles Olson and American Modernism

The Practice of the Self situates the work of American poet Charles Olson (1910–70) at the centre of the early postwar American avant-garde. It shows Olson to have been one of the major advocates and theorists of American modernism in the late 1940s and early 1950s; a poet who responded fully and variously to the political, ethical, and aesthetic urgencies driving innovation across contemporary American art. Reading Olson’s work alongside that of contemporaries associated with the New York Schools of painting and music (as well as the exiled Frankfurt School), the book draws on Olson’s published and unpublished writings to establish an original account of early postwar American modernism. The development of Olson’s work is seen to illustrate two primary drivers of formal innovation in the period: the evolution of a new model of political action pivoting around the radical individual and, relatedly, a powerful new critique of instrumental reason and the Enlightenment tradition. Drawing on extensive archival research and featuring readings of a wide range of artists—including, prominently, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Wolfgang Paalen, and John Cage—The Practice of the Self offers a new reading of a major American poet and an original account of the emergence of postwar American modernism.

Do It for the Culture: The Case for Memes in Qualitative Research

Memes are a prominent feature of global life in the 21st century. The author asserts that memes are significant to current and future qualitative research. In particular, the text establishes memes as: (a) part of everyday communication, expression, and explanation, thus useful in qualitative research; (b) valuable cultural units and symbols; (c) forms of rapport building and cultivating relational research; (d) approaches that bolster and sustain remote data collection; (e) methods that infuse agency, humor, and creativity into the research process. The author then showcases distinctive ways memes can be effectively incorporated in qualitative research pursuits and publications. The article concludes with the necessity of data collection and representation approaches that advance the meaningfulness and cultural-relevance of qualitative inquiry.

Conceptualizing Qualitative Data

Qualitative research is practiced across diverse disciplines and contexts, and this produces a wide range of perspectives on the role of conceptualization and theory development. It also results in a hugely varied mix of submissions to qualitative research journals in terms of their level of conceptual elevation. This editorial explores why we conceptualize qualitative data, and some common challenges evident in current qualitative practice.

Ethical Dilemmas of a Clinician/Researcher Interviewing Women who have Grown up in a Family Where There was Domestic Violence

This paper attempts to illuminate some of the ethical dilemmas of a clinician/researcher interviewing women about a sensitive topic- their experience of having witnessed domestic violence in the family they grew up in, as part of a grounded theory study. Vignettes are presented to illustrate the self-reflexive process of the researcher and how she understood the effects of the interview process on her and the participants. The authors argue that doing in-depth qualitative research interviewing is an intervention in the life of the participants, especially, but not only, when the researchers are clinically-trained. However, this clinical training may also be an important resource from which to draw from, to act ethically and understand some of the complexity of the interaction between researcher and participants.

The Power of Constructivist Grounded Theory for Critical Inquiry

The pragmatist roots of constructivist grounded theory make it a useful method for pursuing critical qualitative inquiry. Pragmatism offers ways to think about critical qualitative inquiry; constructivist grounded theory offers strategies for doing it. Constructivist grounded theory fosters asking emergent critical questions throughout inquiry. This method also encourages (a) interrogating the taken-for-granted methodological individualism pervading much of qualitative research and (b) taking a deeply reflexive stance called methodological self-consciousness, which leads researchers to scrutinize their data, actions, and nascent analyses. The article outlines how to put constructivist grounded theory into practice and ends with where this practice could take us.

Beyond Bias: Critical Analysis and Layered Reading of Mao-Era Sources

Abstract Scholars of Mao-era history adopt a wide range of approaches to the selection and treatment of source material. Some scholars regard published sources as propaganda, and therefore as biased and unreliable. For many, archival sources are the gold standard; others question the reliability even of the archive and favor materials that escaped the filtering fingers of the state to be found in flea markets or garbage piles. Avoiding the false choice of either accepting sources as received wisdom or dismissing them as biased, the author argues that how scholars read their sources is more important than which they keep and which they throw away. She advocates for a layered approach that accounts for contexts of production and circulation, and further emphasizes the need to make this process of reading sources visible in our writing. A critical, layered reading of three unlikely sources demonstrates the myriad possibilities for analysis that combines the empirical, the discursive, and the self-reflexive.

Reddit Users’ Experiences of Suicidal Thoughts During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis of r/Covid19_support Posts (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic is having considerable impacts on population-level mental health, with research illustrating an increased prevalence in suicidal thoughts due to pandemic stressors. While the drivers of suicidal thoughts amid the pandemic are poorly understood, qualitative research holds great potential for expanding upon projections from pre-pandemic work and contextualizing emerging epidemiological data. Despite calls for qualitative inquiry, there is a paucity of qualitative research examining experiences of suicidality related to COVID-19. The use of publicly available data from social media offers timely and pertinent information into ongoing pandemic-related mental health, including individual experiences of suicidal thoughts. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to examine online posts that discuss suicidal thoughts within one Reddit community r/COVID19_support with the aim to identify contributing stressors and coping strategies related to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS This study draws on online posts from within the Reddit community r/COVID19_support that describe users’ suicidal thoughts during and related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from creation of this subreddit on February 12, 2020 until December 31, 2020. Using the search term “suicide”, we used the NCapture add-on tool, hosted by NVivo, to conduct our investigation. A qualitative thematic analysis, as described by Braun and Clarke, was conducted to generate themes reflecting users’ experiences of suicidal thoughts. RESULTS A total of 83 posts from 57 users were included in the analysis. Reddit posts described a range of users’ lived experiences of suicidal thoughts related to the pandemic, including deterioration in mental health, complex emotions associated with suicidal thinking, and concern that suicidal thoughts may progress to action. Seven prominent and compounding stressors were identified as contributing to Reddit users’ suicidal thoughts, including social isolation, employment and finances, virus exposure and COVID-19 illness, uncertain timeline of the pandemic, news and social media, pre-existing mental health conditions, and lack of access to mental health resources. Some users described individual coping strategies used in attempt to manage suicidal thoughts, however these were recognized as insufficient for addressing the multilevel stressors of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS Multiple and intersecting stressors have contributed to individuals’ experiences of suicidal thoughts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring thoughtful and complex public health and policy responses. While ongoing challenges exist with self-disclosure of mental health challenges on social media, Reddit and other online platforms may a supportive space for users to share suicidal thoughts and discuss potential coping strategies.

Export Citation Format

Share document.

How to Write an Interpretive Essay?

An essay is one of the most common types of tasks assigned to students in high school and college. If you are wondering why instructors give you this writing project once you’ve just finished with a previous one, keep reading the article!

Why interpretive essays are assigned so often? First of all, such tasks reflect your thinking, so teachers can see whether you understand key concepts and theories in their discipline. In fact, it’s impossible to fake your knowledge with random information because experienced instructors can easily notice it. Secondly, essays are considered better assessment tools than tests.

Why so? Probably, because it’s impossible to guess answers or find clues. Also, essays demonstrate a wide set of skills you’ve gained in class. Alongside your understanding of a certain discipline, an essay paper indicates how you can make research, organize your thoughts, and provide arguments.

What is an interpretive essay?

An interpretive essay is a type of writing often required in subjects like English, history, literature, philosophy, and religion. In this essay, you are expected to critically think about a topic and then present your ideas to readers in a way that can be either objective or subjective, depending on the assignment’s requirements.

If you are looking for the most comprehensive interpretive essay definition, here it is: an interpretive essay is a piece of writing that identifies, evaluates, and analyzes the methods used by the author in a particular work. The interpretation answers the questions like ‘What were the main characters and events?’, ‘What tone was used by the author?’, ‘Where was the setting?’, and so on.

An interpretive essay is a piece of writing that identifies, evaluates, and analyzes the methods used by the author in a particular work.

The key focus of an interpretive essay is on your personal feelings, analysis, and presentation of a subject. It involves making a case for your ideas, aiming to be informative and persuasive, while also keeping the writing interesting. This form of writing is distinctly personal, reflecting your views, arguments, and subjective opinions.

This type of assignment allows you to provide any opinion about a piece of writing as long as you can support it. In fact, there is no “right or wrong” answer because it’s all about explaining your thoughts about the piece. An interpretive essay requires profound knowledge and genuine interest in the writing piece you’ve chosen. You also need to make thorough research of the subject to provide a defendable interpretation and build it logically.

The effectiveness of an interpretive essay depends on how well you can persuade and critically engage with the subject, which is influenced by the specific guidelines of the assignment. Understanding the purpose of your writing and who your audience is plays a crucial role in crafting an effective interpretive essay. Additionally, it’s important to be aware of your instructor’s expectations and be familiar with different writing formats. If you’re ever uncertain, it’s advisable to ask questions and use available resources like a reading writing center.

How to write an interpretive essay?

Before you start writing an interpretive essay, read the poem, story, or novel chapter you were assigned a few times. While reading, highlight various literary elements like symbols, character descriptions, activities, settings, etc. Then write down those of them that you are going to interpret. Once you have a full list of literary elements to analyze, you can move to the introduction. Let’s consider in detail how to write it.

1️⃣ Introduction

Start your introduction with a short summary of the piece. Write it in 3-4 sentences, so the reader can get familiar with the content. You shouldn’t give your opinion about it, just summarize the work. Don’t forget to mention the full title of the writing piece, the author’s name and the literary elements you will interpret in body paragraphs. Then come up with your thesis statement in one sentence.

The essay body is the part where you have to do your analysis by stating what you think the text is about. Note that your opinion must be supported with relevant examples, so add quotations and paraphrases to your arguments. If you provide some ideas about patterns, symbols and themes, make sure you can back up each of them.

Analyzing literary elements requires you to explain their meaning, compare them and contrast them with each other. Your teacher will also appreciate it if you apply a literary theory to each element. Basically, logical analysis with the right structure will definitely bring you the highest grade.

It’s really important to organize your paragraphs in order of the elements you are going to interpret. Start each of them with a statement to create the roadmap for your readers.

Generally, every paragraph must include a particular idea answering the questions like:

• “What do you think about…?”
• “Do you agree with…?”
• “Is it true that…?”

as well as supporting arguments and a clear takeaway message.

It would be great to pose implicit questions that engage the reader in reflection. They may sound like “Although the author doesn’t mention it, there is the reason to believe…”, “The idea is very ambiguous, and there’s room for dispute…”, etc.

3️⃣ Conclusion

In conclusion, you have to unify the main literary elements you have interpreted in your essay. In general, this part of your paper summarizes the main points of your analysis. Basically, it must explain how the interpreted piece of writing fits into the big picture of life or literature as well as how it added to your personal growth. You can also make it clear how your analysis could contribute to understanding the society or literature of people who read it.

Some helpful life hacks to help you write an interpretive essay

📌 create a mind map.

One of the most powerful tools to organize your thoughts before writing itself is visualization. You can draw an essay map on paper or use a smartphone app for this purpose. When you see the whole picture of your ideas and the connections between them, it will be much easier to start writing your essay.

📌 Make a list of questions

This action has a similar goal to the previous one, which is basically to guide you while writing. To make your paper properly structured, create a list of questions that must be necessarily answered in your essay. Then rearrange them in the best way possible and start answering one question in each paragraph.

📌 Use a thesaurus

If you check the best interpretive essay examples, you will notice that they have a rich vocabulary. To enhance the wording, use a thesaurus. It will help you to get rid of tautologies across the text, replace some words with more appropriate equivalents, and choose synonyms.

📌 Read your work out loud

To spot imperfections and improve your essay, you should reread it after finishing your work. It would be better to read the text out loud, so you can better understand what thoughts may seem unclear or vague.

Final thoughts

In short, an excellent paper provides a brief summary of the literary work in its introduction, gives a clear interpretation of the author’s message as well as includes details, quotes, and other evidence supporting your interpretation.

Interpretive writing can take various forms, including summaries, analyses, critiques, research papers, and essays. Each of these forms requires a unique approach but shares the common goal of presenting a thoughtful, well-reasoned interpretation of the subject matter.

So if you want to get the highest grade for your essay, make sure to add all the mentioned above to it. Although a solid interpretive essay requires much effort and time, it’s much easier to complete if you follow the tips given above.

Analysis: what it is and how to do it

Part of English Critical reading

Did you know?

The word ‘analysis’ literally means to loosen something up. It is made up of two Greek words, ana meaning up, and lysis meaning to loosen.

Introduction to analysis

Analysis is an important skill to learn and practise in English – it helps you to explore and understand the writer’s craft.

Key learning points

• What is analysis and where would we use it?
• How do I analyse a fiction text and write about it?
• Which literary terms could I use in my analysis and how do I use them?

Video about analysis

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

A video about how to carry out analysis on fiction texts

Video Transcript Video Transcript

When we analyse a text, we are trying to understand how it works. We can look at the overall structure, the individual sentences and the writer’s word choices to find different possible meanings. Think about what you’d like to explore. For example, it might be interesting to understand how the characters are portrayed.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

How does Dickens present the character of Scrooge?

Start your analysis by finding a relevant or interesting section of text.

'Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint … secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.'

What does Dickens’s language choice tell you about Scrooge?

Dickens presents Scrooge as a character isolated from society.

But how has Dickens achieved this? Take the simile: “solitary as an oyster”. What effect does this comparison have?

Oysters have hard shells that protect themselves from predators. This simile suggests that Scrooge could be isolating himself from the people around him as a defence mechanism.

Try to explore additional connotations and further layers of meaning.

Oysters only come out to feed. So perhaps Scrooge only interacts with people when it benefits him.

And you can add depth to your analysis by exploring the context in which the text was produced.

Most rich members of Victorian society only interacted with their social inferiors when it was necessary. Dickens would have experienced this first-hand from when he was a boy working in Warren’s Blacking factory.

To summarise your analysis, articulate your personal opinion with authority.

I believe Dickens compared Scrooge to an oyster to illustrate his isolation from society. The simile alludes to his relationship with others and hints that he doesn't want to be hurt…

Use the tools of analysis to explore how a text works: start by looking at a short section; make an observation on the language choice, explain the effect or meaning, explore further layers of meaning and context – then summarise with authority!

Who knows what you might discover in your favourite texts.

What is analysis?

Analysis allows us to see the smaller parts of something and understand more about them.

Think about a woollen scarf. If you pull it apart, the strands become looser and you can start to see how it is made – the weave, the threads, the pattern etc.

When asked to analyse a piece of writing, you need to look in detail at what the writer has done. Instead of weave, threads and pattern, look for words, techniques, and the structure of the writing. This can help you understand how the piece of writing was created and the effect the writing has on the reader.

Analysis in non-fiction contexts

Analysis is a skill that is used in many different areas of life. Right now, there are millions of people all over the world completing some sort of analysis to find out the answer to something or explain how something works. Often this is based on something they have to read.

Scientific analysis might involve looking at evidence in studies and reports and picking out what is needed to support a hypothesis close hypothesis A theory or suggestion that is made based on evidence that can be tested. or a decision.

Forensic analysis might involve looking over emails to find specific patterns or searching social media to find key words to aid an investigation.

Journalistic analysis might involve reading the testimonies of witnesses to an event and piecing together a narrative about that event.

How to analyse a fiction text

Analysing language is about unpicking the words and structure of a text to see its smaller, simpler elements.

You could focus your analysis of a text on one the following areas:

• Words – adjectives, adverbs, verbs, etc
• Sentences – simple, compound, complex
• Paragraphs – structure, length
• Literary techniques – metaphor close metaphor Makes a direct comparison by presents one thing as if it were something else with the characteristic. For example describing a brave person as a lion. , simile close simile A comparison between two objects using ‘like’ or ‘as’. , repetition close repetition Repeating a word or phrase in a sentence can emphasise a point, or help to make sure it is fully understood. , imagery close imagery Descriptive writing which appeals to one or more of the five senses. etc
• Characters – appearance, mannerisms, motivations, dialogue
• Themes – where a theme appears, which characters represent the theme
• Plot – what happens and when, and to whom
• Symbols – links to character, links to themes

How to analyse character

More on Critical reading

Find out more by working through a topic

Exploring effect on the reader

• count 7 of 11

Gothic literature

• count 8 of 11

How to investigate structure in fiction texts

• count 9 of 11

How to investigate language in fiction texts

• count 10 of 11

AI Index Report

Welcome to the seventh edition of the AI Index report. The 2024 Index is our most comprehensive to date and arrives at an important moment when AI’s influence on society has never been more pronounced. This year, we have broadened our scope to more extensively cover essential trends such as technical advancements in AI, public perceptions of the technology, and the geopolitical dynamics surrounding its development. Featuring more original data than ever before, this edition introduces new estimates on AI training costs, detailed analyses of the responsible AI landscape, and an entirely new chapter dedicated to AI’s impact on science and medicine.

Read the 2024 AI Index Report

The AI Index report tracks, collates, distills, and visualizes data related to artificial intelligence (AI). Our mission is to provide unbiased, rigorously vetted, broadly sourced data in order for policymakers, researchers, executives, journalists, and the general public to develop a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the complex field of AI.

The AI Index is recognized globally as one of the most credible and authoritative sources for data and insights on artificial intelligence. Previous editions have been cited in major newspapers, including the The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The Guardian, have amassed hundreds of academic citations, and been referenced by high-level policymakers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, among other places. This year’s edition surpasses all previous ones in size, scale, and scope, reflecting the growing significance that AI is coming to hold in all of our lives.

Steering Committee Co-Directors

Ray Perrault

Steering committee members.

Erik Brynjolfsson

John Etchemendy

Katrina Ligett

Terah Lyons

James Manyika

Juan Carlos Niebles

Vanessa Parli

Yoav Shoham

Russell Wald

Staff members.

Loredana Fattorini

Nestor Maslej

Letter from the co-directors.

A decade ago, the best AI systems in the world were unable to classify objects in images at a human level. AI struggled with language comprehension and could not solve math problems. Today, AI systems routinely exceed human performance on standard benchmarks.

Progress accelerated in 2023. New state-of-the-art systems like GPT-4, Gemini, and Claude 3 are impressively multimodal: They can generate fluent text in dozens of languages, process audio, and even explain memes. As AI has improved, it has increasingly forced its way into our lives. Companies are racing to build AI-based products, and AI is increasingly being used by the general public. But current AI technology still has significant problems. It cannot reliably deal with facts, perform complex reasoning, or explain its conclusions.

AI faces two interrelated futures. First, technology continues to improve and is increasingly used, having major consequences for productivity and employment. It can be put to both good and bad uses. In the second future, the adoption of AI is constrained by the limitations of the technology. Regardless of which future unfolds, governments are increasingly concerned. They are stepping in to encourage the upside, such as funding university R&D and incentivizing private investment. Governments are also aiming to manage the potential downsides, such as impacts on employment, privacy concerns, misinformation, and intellectual property rights.

As AI rapidly evolves, the AI Index aims to help the AI community, policymakers, business leaders, journalists, and the general public navigate this complex landscape. It provides ongoing, objective snapshots tracking several key areas: technical progress in AI capabilities, the community and investments driving AI development and deployment, public opinion on current and potential future impacts, and policy measures taken to stimulate AI innovation while managing its risks and challenges. By comprehensively monitoring the AI ecosystem, the Index serves as an important resource for understanding this transformative technological force.

On the technical front, this year’s AI Index reports that the number of new large language models released worldwide in 2023 doubled over the previous year. Two-thirds were open-source, but the highest-performing models came from industry players with closed systems. Gemini Ultra became the first LLM to reach human-level performance on the Massive Multitask Language Understanding (MMLU) benchmark; performance on the benchmark has improved by 15 percentage points since last year. Additionally, GPT-4 achieved an impressive 0.97 mean win rate score on the comprehensive Holistic Evaluation of Language Models (HELM) benchmark, which includes MMLU among other evaluations.

Although global private investment in AI decreased for the second consecutive year, investment in generative AI skyrocketed. More Fortune 500 earnings calls mentioned AI than ever before, and new studies show that AI tangibly boosts worker productivity. On the policymaking front, global mentions of AI in legislative proceedings have never been higher. U.S. regulators passed more AI-related regulations in 2023 than ever before. Still, many expressed concerns about AI’s ability to generate deepfakes and impact elections. The public became more aware of AI, and studies suggest that they responded with nervousness.

Ray Perrault Co-director, AI Index

Our Supporting Partners

Analytics & Research Partners

Stay up to date on the AI Index by subscribing to the  Stanford HAI newsletter.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Guest Essay

Why Biden Has a Narrower Path to the Presidency Than Trump, in 11 Maps

Illustration by Akshita Chandra/The New York Times; Images by PhotoObjects.net, Yuji Sakai, and THEPALMER/Getty Images

By Doug Sosnik Graphics by Quoctrung Bui

Mr. Sosnik was a senior adviser to President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 2000 and has advised over 50 governors and U.S. senators.

While polls show the race for president is tightening, Joe Biden still has a narrower and more challenging path to winning the election than Donald Trump. The reason is the Electoral College: My analysis of voter history and polling shows a map that currently favors Mr. Trump, even though recent developments in Arizona improve Mr. Biden’s chances. The Biden campaign will need to decide this summer which states to contest hardest. Our Electoral College maps below lay out the best scenarios for him and Mr. Trump.

Seven states with close results determined who won both the 2020 and the 2016 presidential elections, and those same seven states will most likely play the same battleground role this fall: three industrial states – Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – and four Sun Belt states – Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

The seven states that will most likely decide the 2024 presidential election

Mr. Biden’s declining popularity in the Sun Belt states is the main reason Mr. Trump has an edge right now. He is especially struggling with young and nonwhite voters there. Let’s take a closer look:

According to 2020 exit polls , Mr. Biden won 65 percent of Latino voters, who comprised roughly a fifth of voters in Arizona and Nevada. And Mr. Biden won 87 percent of Black voters, who made up 29 percent of the Georgia vote and 23 percent of the North Carolina vote. He also won 60 percent of voters aged 18 to 29. Now look at this year: A New York Times/Siena College poll released last weekend showed support for Mr. Biden had dropped 18 points with Black voters, 15 points with Latinos and 14 points with younger voters nationally.

Abortion could be a decisive issue in Mr. Biden stemming this erosion of support in Arizona and Nevada. The Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling last week that largely bans abortions raises the stakes of a likely ballot initiative on the issue there in November. It also appears likely that there will be a similar ballot measure in Nevada.

Nevertheless, the key to Mr. Biden’s victory is to perform well in the three industrial states. If Mr. Trump is able to win one or more of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Mr. Biden’s path to 270 electoral votes becomes even narrower.

If Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump remain ahead in the states where they are currently running strongest, the outcome of the election could come down to who wins Michigan and the two Sun Belt states where abortion will very likely be on the ballot, Arizona and Nevada.

Based on past voting, Mr. Trump will start out the general election with 219 electoral votes, compared to 226 votes for Mr. Biden, with 93 votes up for grabs.

Voter history and recent polling suggest that Mr. Trump is in a strong position to win North Carolina . Republicans have carried the state in every presidential election since 1976 except in 2008. In a Wall Street Journal battleground poll taken in March, Mr. Biden had only 37 percent job approval in the state. By winning North Carolina , Mr. Trump would have 235 electoral votes and two strong paths to 270.

The first path involves carrying Georgia , a state he lost by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020. Before then, Republicans won Georgia in every election since 1992. If Mr. Trump carries North Carolina and Georgia , he would have a base of 251 electoral votes with four scenarios that get him to 270.

Scenario 1 Then all Mr. Trump needs is Pennsylvania …

Scenario 2 … or Michigan and Nevada …

Scenario 3 … or Michigan and Arizona …

Scenario 4 … or Arizona and Wisconsin.

The second and harder path for Mr. Trump would be if he carried only one Southern swing state – most likely North Carolina . He would have only 235 electoral votes and would need to win three of the six remaining battleground states.

Scenario 5 Then he would need to win Arizona , Michigan and Wisconsin …

Scenario 6 … or Arizona , Nevada and Pennsylvania .

How Biden Can Win

It is difficult to see how Mr. Biden gets re-elected without doing well in the industrial battleground states – the so-called “ Blue Wall ” for Democrats. This is particularly true of Pennsylvania, given the state’s 19 electoral votes and Mr. Biden’s ties there and appeal to middle-class and blue-collar voters. That’s why he’s spending three days in Pennsylvania this week.

Mr. Biden will most likely need to win at least one other industrial battleground – with Wisconsin the most probable, since his polling numbers there are stronger than in the other battleground states.

A combination of factors have made winning Michigan much more challenging for Mr. Biden. Hamas’s attack on Israel and the war in Gaza have ripped apart the coalitions that enabled Democrats to do so well in the state since 2018. There are over 300,000 Arab Americans there, as well as a large Jewish population. Both groups were crucial to Mr. Biden’s success there in 2020.

In addition, Michigan voters’ perception of the economy is more negative compared with the other battleground states. In the Journal battleground poll , two-thirds of Michigan voters described the national economy negatively; more than half had a negative opinion of the state’s economy.

Now let’s look at Mr. Biden’s map.

Mr. Biden’s best strategy is based on winning Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which would give him 255 electoral votes (assuming that he carries the 2nd Congressional District in Nebraska). By carrying these states, Mr. Biden has several paths to 270, but the first three scenarios are his most viable.

Scenario 1 He just needs to win Michigan …

Scenario 2 … or Arizona and Nevada …

Scenario 3 ... or Georgia .

There are two other scenarios where Mr. Biden loses Wisconsin and keeps Pennsylvania . But that would mean winning states where Mr. Biden is polling much worse.

Scenario 4 They involve Mr. Biden winning Georgia and Arizona …

Scenario 5 … or Michigan and Georgia .

A Look Ahead

With over six months to go until Election Day, given the volatility in the world and the weaknesses of Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump, it would be foolish to make firm predictions about specific results. And other electoral map scenarios are possible: Recent polling shows Mr. Biden with a narrow lead in Minnesota, a state that usually votes for Democrats for president. While it is mathematically possible for Mr. Biden to win without carrying Minnesota, it is unlikely he will be elected if he cannot carry this traditionally Democratic state.

For the third election cycle in a row, a small number of voters in a handful of states could determine the next president of the United States.

If the election remains close but Mr. Biden is unable to regain support from the core group of voters who propelled him to victory in 2020 — young and nonwhite voters — then we could be headed to a repeat of the 2016 election. The outcome of that election was decided by fewer than 80,000 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Last week’s abortion ruling in Arizona, and the likely abortion ballot initiatives in that state and Nevada, give Mr. Biden the possibility of being re-elected even if he loses Michigan. That’s why, if we have another close presidential election, I think Arizona, Michigan and Nevada will likely determine the outcome for Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump.

Based on my experience as Bill Clinton’s White House political director in his 1996 re-election campaign, I would take immediate advantage of Mr. Biden’s significant fund-raising advantage over Mr. Trump to focus on shoring up the president’s chances in Michigan and the must-win states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while at the same time trying to keep Georgia and North Carolina in play. Mr. Biden does not need to win either of those Sun Belt states to get re-elected, but draining Mr. Trump’s resources there could help him in other battleground states.

More on the 2024 presidential election

Democrats Need to Stop Playing Nice

Too often, Democrats litigate; Republicans fight.

By Joe Klein

One Purple State Is ‘Testing the Outer Limits of MAGAism’

North Carolina Republicans are “in the running for the most MAGA party in the nation.”

By Thomas B. Edsall

2024, Meet 1892, Your Doppelgänger

Great political change can unfold when the political system seems woefully stalled.

By Jon Grinspan

Doug Sosnik was a senior adviser to President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 2000 and has advised over 50 governors and U.S. senators.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

Analysis of 200 Million Papers by Turnitin Shows that Many Students are Using AI tools to write their Papers

• Also read:  ChatGPT Might Be Kinder and More Cooperative Than Humans, New Study Reveals

Arooj Ahmed

A seasoned web content writer with a passion for crafting compelling narratives around the latest trends and news. Adept at producing engaging blog posts and captivating product descriptions. Driven by an insatiable curiosity and a flair for storytelling, eagerly seeking new opportunities to expand my writing horizons and contribute meaningfully to the ever-evolving literary landscape.

You might like