Stay on Track
Writing Genre Adaptations (Revised)
"Don't Marry the Fly"
When it comes to analytical writing it is essential for us to stay in line with our thoughts and not become so distracted by little details that do not necessarily further our analysis. Granted this is easier said than done. It is very easy as a writer to become lost in our thoughts due to our overwhelming excitement for our writing, for our amazing ideas in analysis, and maybe even just for the work you are analyzing. This excitement is not bad at all, in fact it is great if this excitement is reflected into your writing, however this excitement can cause us to become side tracked in our analysis which ultimately veers the reader into a realm of confusion—which is not good.
Now the question we must ask is what can we do to avoid our readers from becoming confused or befuddled as they attempt to track our thoughts in our writing? Well the truth is there is no right or wrong way this issue can be addressed, however the simplest step we can take is creating an outline for our writing. Use an outline to essentially outline your thoughts and ideas this way you can structure your essay in a manner that will clearly present your central argument for your analysis. Also be sure to label pieces of evidence that can potentially be used in each one of your sub-arguments that will ultimately create a much more sound and concrete central argument overall. Unfortunately, some students do not necessarily enjoy the idea of prewriting an outline and that is perfectly fine because students can possess different methods of writing. So to those students who do not like outlines, my advice to you is to still write down your arguments on paper along with several potential pieces of evidence. This is similar to an outline yet it is not as rigorous as an outline. This practice is essentially to get your ideas onto paper so if you do happen to get lost in your thoughts as you write, there is still some guidance that can bring your writing back on track to your intended argument.
Another critical tip that must be presented is to avoid being strayed away through the tiny details. What do I mean by this? Say you are writing an analytical paper on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and you try to demonstrate, through your writing, the binaries of good and evil in the novel. As you begin to write, you discuss the monster and Frankenstein and then all of a sudden you begin to focus, in minute detail, the beauty of the weather in the novel. As you can probably tell, that whole weather bit is quite irrelevant and it can ultimately make the reader lose focus and lose track of your writing—which is unfortunate. It is fine to like the weather in the novel, but you do not have to mention it unless the topic of weather will push forward your central argument.
Hopefully this short guide helps with future analytical writing. Just remember to plan ahead, whether it be creating a small outline or even putting down your thoughts on paper, this way you can keep track of your thoughts. Also, try not to focus on the tiny details that do not necessarily advance your analysis, they are nice to mention but not too significant to spend so much time on. Hopefully you were able to follow my crazy train of thought—sometimes my excitement gets the best of me. Happy writing.
Works Cited:
Goldberg, Natalie. “Don’t Marry the Fly”. Writing Down the Bones. Boston: Shambhala, 1986. Print.