How to Write an Analytical Essay | Steps & Guide
Let me guess, you've been assigned to write an analytical essay and you don't have any idea how to write one. But now th ...
13 Sep, 2025
When someone asks you to “critically discuss” what they want from you in an essay, it is much more than statements of fact. This means that it is necessary to go further than a simple consideration of information, analyse pro and con arguments, and decline a topic according to evidence.
It entails analysing the situation by challenging or reviewing the particular information, defining the scopes and limitations, and then making a decision. In this article, you will learn more about the ways of critical discussion essay development, including analysing a topic, evaluating proofs, and providing a balanced controversy. You must learn everything to make a perfect essay, even knowing that a proper time break is essential. So, make sure you learn about that as well; for example, you must learn how long it takes to write a 2000 word essay. All these things combine to make you perfect in knowing that.Â
Critically discuss meaning is not just mentioning facts and concluding all the important points. When it's mentioned that you need to do a Critical discussion, it means that you need to do a complete analysis of the information that you are mentioning in your essay. You need to provide a backup for every argument or counterargument that you mention in your essay. Basically, when you have a question, "What does Critically Discuss Mean?" You need to answer questions like, "Why is this important?" and "What does the information provide"?
Critical discussion simply means explaining, as if you are explaining this to some children who don't have any information regarding your topic, so you need to explain everything in proper detail. You need to mention everything and discuss everything. You have to cover all the angles of the information that you are mentioning in your essay. You need to apply all the best tips to write a great essay, as that will help you get more points.
Analyse: This way of splitting the topic into parts.
Evaluate: Do pros and cons and other such comparisons.
Support: Support your conclusions with some facts.
When you are asked to "Critically discuss" your topic, that does not mean you have to change the entire structure of the essay and mention bullet points and subheadings. You have to stay focused on explaining everything critically without making any changes to the common structure of the essay. The structure of an essay is the main body, the introduction, and the conclusion; however, this type of essay is more oriented toward analysis. As discussed with professionals who provide essay writing service in the UK to help you or guide you, they explained that you need to change your intent while writing a critically discussed essay. Here’s a simple breakdown:
In using an introduction, you help your readers understand what to expect from your essay and what topic you are going to address. Introduction has always been a part of an essay that is not focused or considered important, whereas it is equally important, as here you make your readers understand what you want. If you do not know, then you must learn how to make an introduction for an essay, as it is very important to ensure that you understand everything.  In this section, you’ll want to:
Introduce the topic: Briefly tell viewers what you are going to be talking about. State any complex terms or ideas on which your readers require background information before proceeding to the next point or section.
State your thesis: This is a key thing that you are standing up for. You should take a stand, even if you will be shifting between stances during the oral participation in the discussion later on.
Example: This essay revolves around the effects of social media on mental health and how it can be critiqued. Some scholars have said positive things about social media, and I disagree with them that social media has more destructive impacts than positive impacts.
The body of the essay consists of paragraphs that contain materials for critical discussion by the author. It is always better if you make an essay plan before you start writing your essay, as this will avoid the time consumed in last-minute changes. You will also be able to make a proper flow in your writing. While preparing your plan, you can make the changes to which information must be presented first and then further accordingly. For this, you must learn how to write an essay plan for the university, specifically, as essays are written for many reasons.Â
| Start with a clear topic sentence | It tells the reader what the paragraph under discussion is going to be about. |
| Present different perspectives |
We need not hear only one side of the story. Suppose multiple perspectives, and try to think about the problem from an opponent’s point of view. If you go through the samples provided by academic essay writing, you will notice that all of their essay are written with a neutral perspective where they show a complete image of a topic. |
| Analyse and evaluate |
When describing each point, assess the strength or otherwise of the related evidence. Is it strong? Is it biased? Are there any shortcomings in the above approach? |
| Support your Argument |
Try to justify as many of your points as possible by using statistically proven material. They could be from any studies conducted by different institutions, from research by experts, or even cases observed by different companies. For this, it's better if you understand how to write a discursive essay, as discursive essays focus a lot on supporting arguments discussed in the essay. |
For example: “A strength in social media is that it helps people to maintain relationships with their friends and/or families. However, such studies reveal that such a level of connectivity experienced by the users may lead to anxiety and isolation when on social networks, especially among youthful users.
Your conclusion should sum up all the arguments that you presented. Remind important aspects of your discussions and restate the thesis after the evidence is presented. There are also pros and cons associated with the broader argument. Suggested by an expert Essay helper, your conclusion must not include any new information. You have to make sure to only conclude the information that you have shared in your essay.Â
For example, though one has an advantage in using social media, the compilation of evidence depicts that social media has a deleterious impact on mental health. Therefore, one should be careful about spending time on social networks and focus on the health of the psyche rather than communication.
There are two stages in the critical analysis process, and both sides are significant. The first element is the reading process. According to the best essay-writing service UK, the reading process is one of the most important parts. The critical analysis assignment is all about showing how well you understand your topic of study. This means you read, watch, or otherwise study your material in another way to learn how to read it before continuing with your work. The second element is the writing process; Here are nine ways to improve your critical analysis essay writing, organised into two categories: organisational and writing.
1. Note, Mark, Highlight, Underline, Write Notes
You will have to make some reflections about the further activity, the author’s point of view, and the techniques used. Of course, you should know them well before you start writing an essay or any other type of academic paper.
2. Choose a Thesis Statement
Your thesis needs to state an opinion about the author and his/her style of writing. It should be a point of view you have on the work, such that you can support it with evidence from the text; when writing an essay, what matters is to argue about someone else’s work. Select a thesis statement that you can develop into your entire analytical essay. Also, for better understanding, gain knowledge of how to write an essay outline. Â
3. Let us write the first paragraph of the paper - Introduction
Your opening paragraph should capture your reader’s interest, so be very careful when composing this part of your writing. Some of the best introductions begin with a hook, which could be a question or a statement of some kind. Your first paragraph also needs to show or state the book or work of art you will analyse. Follow the author’s name, the title of the work, and publication data.
4. Structure the Body of Your Essay According to the Rules Fixed Above – Main body
After you have your first introductory paragraph, the rest of your essay should contain the body paragraphs that explore the given points. Each of them must be aimed at fulfilling the main objectives: to give the background, to go into the details, or to reveal the conflicting opinions that work to expand on the main statement. Learn how to write an essay structure for better understanding.
5. Craft Clear Topic Sentences
The first sentence of each main body paragraph should summarize the idea of the progressing paragraph to the general statement and connect it with your thesis statement.
6. Provide Proper Evidence for Research
Look at each time at what the contextual expert or scholar explained. Write your particular mode of style and fill your essay with proof. A simple description should be packed in the main body with some substance, along with a discussion. Just as it is impossible to persuade a person with mere claims that cannot be supported by any substantiated evidence.
7. Summarise Everything in the Conclusion
The overall aim of this concluding discussion, for a good grade or simply making the audience have a good read, will depend on the following last argument. The final line of a paragraph should not be the place for new proofs. No, it is the cherry on top of your entire essay or a summary of your principal arguments and ideas that makes your reader think about what has been said. Go through the process of learning how to write a conclusion to an essay as well.
Here, therefore, I stand to reason that critically discussing a topic in an essay entails more than just stating facts, but also analysing, evaluating, and providing reasons that could be given. The answer to the question of what critical discussion is is that when you analyse a topic in terms of its subtopics, argue for different approaches, and ask what-if questions, it is possible to build a coherent line of reasoning. It is important for the kind of evidence one presents to support the positions he/she is presenting; secondly, the evidence has to be assessed for bias and shortcomings.
Lastly, a critical discussion essay engages in the formulation of an argument on a given subject matter but proceeds to make an informed conclusion. Go through expert tips on how to end your statement effectively. As you continue to practice this approach, you will be able to get a good understanding of the area of study and end up presenting well-thought-out papers that are well supported by evidence.
Look beyond the basics when using the phrase: “critically discuss”. It entails a process of analyzing the various components of the subject, comparing the various viewpoints, and checking the analysis with the available facts. So there is not only the description of the issue but also the consideration of its advantages and disadvantages and their consequences.
To critically discuss, ask questions such as: What are the key arguments? Are there any biases? How strong is the evidence? Indeed, what are the counterarguments? As opposed to replaying the findings, interact with the topic to consider and assess the information at hand.
Of course, switching to discussion means considering the issue from various perspectives. Looking at the matter from several angles proves that you have covered the problem from all available angles.
A critical discussion essay typically follows this structure: Introduction, body section, and conclusion section. It gives an idea about the topic and what the whole discussion or argument in the paper will entail. The body paragraphs review more than one approach and analyze and substantiate every argument. This part sums up the results of your discussion, brings out the key argument, and suggests a resolution on the given subject.
It’s also important for people to support what they say with evidence from research work, experts, or statistics. Remember that any evidence should be assessed for quality and for how good a fit it is for the argument being made as a whole.
To do this in brief in your conclusion, recapitulate all the things which you have said to support your thesis. The conclusion that you arrive at must be expressively in line with the level of work that you have done.
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