"What is Analysis?"

Composition students in ENG 104, 108, and 112 often engage in analysis. When you analyze a text, you will be asked to look at the way the author of the text creates an argument. When you analyze, you focus on how/why questions. Close study of these elements will then lead to an essay focusing on one aspect of the work.

Following are some thoughts to keep in mind when you analyze literary texts:

• How is the author creating credibility (ethos) with the audience?
• Who is the intended audience and how can I tell?
• How does the author use logic (logos) or emotion (pathos) to appeal to the audience?
• Why/how are the pathos/logos in the text appropriate for the audience?

Types of Analysis

Some teachers will ask their students to analyze arugments or write their own.  Some possible assignments may include:

1. A argument summary.

2. A rhetorical analysis of how is the author using ethos/pathos/logos.

3. An analysis of how the author establishes ethos with the intended audience.

4. Writing an annotated Bibliography of library sources about your topic. Make a short summary of each source, giving the main point(s).

5. The short research paper, where you create your own argument. Write a short (five to ten page) research paper focused on. Add a title page, a full sentence outline, and a Works Cited or Works Consulted page (whichever your teacher requests) using MLA style.

6. An analysis of some other argument (an essay, a webpage, a T.V. commercial, a magazine cover).