Depth of an analytical essay

Your analytical essay can analyse at two different levels:

Analysis of the evidence and discussion the writer presents to support their argument or claim.
Analysis of the hidden messages in the writer’s argument and the implications of what they are saying.

The first level is usually the easier of the two. It involves taking what the writer is saying at face value and checking whether it is correct and makes sense. The second level is where you analyse the hidden meaning in the essay. To do this, you need to be able to see through the surface-level stuff to see what the writer is really saying in their essay. This takes some practice and experience.

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