When writing a critical analysis essay, it is important that you are used to and understand the source material that you will be analysing. It does not matter what subject you are doing – whether it is History or Fashion, your analysis of the source material will be the same for whatever subject you are doing. To understand the source material properly you must read it at length and read around it as well so that you have a full understanding of what it means in the context of the subject.
For example, if you are writing a critical analysis essay about the works of Aristophanes, it is important that you understand the play or plays you will be writing about in the context of their time and how they fit into the wider period. By understanding this and being able to analyse how this affects the text and understand what it means for the source material you are reviewing. If you know the source material that you will be writing your critical analysis essay on well before you have to write it, then it is wise to practise writing some of the analysis out so that you have an idea as to how you will approach it when you come to the actual paper. This will ensure that when you plan and write your essay it will seem like second nature to trot out analysis of the work and thus demonstrate that you can do the work easily. Of course, this wouldn’t work if you don’t know the specific material that you will be analysing beforehand, but it will give you an idea of how to practise your analysis and ensure that when you come to write such an essay when you know exactly what the source material is, that you will be fully prepared. For example, let’s see how you might analyse Aristophanes in a way that would help with the preparation for your essay.
“In Knights, Aristophanes uses the political circumstances of the late Athenian democracy to subvert conventional ideas of class and politics in order to present a satirical commentary on the political elite. His characterisation of the demagogue Cleon as equivalent to a slave is a means of not simply discussing how Aristophanes felt about the Athenian political system (that political leaders were slaves to the masses) but also satirising Cleon’s low birth “a tanner’s claw” is how the Cleon like character is referred to throughout the play, there is a direct reference to Cleon’s father being a tanner. This type of commentary was dangerous for its time; the notion of the “freedom of the press” was over a thousand years away and Aristophanes was attacking a powerful man who was sensitive to his origins. This is perhaps why Knights is seen as such a subversive and ground-breaking piece – it caricatures a powerful man in an age when its author could have as easily been executed as he could have been lauded. “
This type of analysis lies at the heart of a critical analysis essay. By understanding the context in which the source material was created and by being able to analyse and understand the intent of the author, you will be able to demonstrate that you can not only understand the significance of elements of the source material that are obvious in the text but also that you can understand how they relate to other occurrences that happened during the time period that the material was written or created. This is one of the most important elements in understanding how to write a critical analysis essay step by step; in other words breaking down the various parts of writing the essay in easy to understand sections and allowing your brain to figure out how to be able to replicate such work easily when you come to write your essay in full. This way you will ensure that your essay is the best it can possibly be.