Chapter 32: The Analytical Essay: Expressing Your Point of View
Chapter 32: The Analytical Essay: Expressing Your Point of View
Introducing the Essay
When revising your essay, you do not have to write it in the exact order that it will be read, as any section you work on in a given moment may appear anywhere in your final draft. In fact, many times it’s best to write the introduction last because we may not know how to introduce the essay until we’ve discovered and articulated the main perspectives. Eventually you will need to consider not only what your analysis consists of, but also the effect you want it to have. An essay that commands attention seems like a discussion between intelligent and aware people, in which ideas are not thrown out randomly but in a deliberate manner with each thought leading logically to the next.
For this reason, the opening paragraph or introduction should be the place where you invite your readers into this discussion, encouraging them to read what will follow, without introducing the main content in a rigid manner or announcing what you plan to accomplish in the following paragraphs. This is know as telling your reader rather than showing your reader. So, imagine being at a party, but this time instead of meeting someone who bores you by reciting irrelevant details of the past, and they tell you exactly what will follow in the near future:
Most likely, you will find an excuse to move to the other side of the room as quickly as possible. Similarly, when writers begin their essays with a step-by-step announcement of what will follow, the reader doesn’t feel the sense of anticipation that they would when the perspective unfolds more organically. Successful analytical essay writers do not begin by blatantly spelling out the main points that they will cover. In an essay, this could include phrases like “In this paragraph I will…” or “This essay will introduce the argument that…” Instead, you should create leads, openings that hook the reader into wanting to read further.
One way to capture the reader’s attention is to share a story or anecdote that directly relates to the main perspective. For instance, you can also capture your reader’s attention with a quote or perhaps you can startle the reader with an unexpected twist. These are just a few suggestions for grabbing the reader’s attention and many other possibilities exist (though try to avoid beginning with a dictionary definition unless you want to provide your own twist on it). For instance, you wouldn’t want to start an essay by telling a joke that has nothing to do with the subject of your analysis just to get an easy laugh. However, it would be fine if you were to write:
There’s an old Sufi joke that points out that “the moon is more valuable than the sun because at night we need the light more.” Of course the joke’s humor arises from the fact that without the sun, it would be night all the time, and yet it does seem to be human nature to take advantage of that which is constant in our lives, the people and things that add