The analysis is the part of the essay in which the marks are awarded; and, dependant on the topic, it can be the most boring section to write.
But, how do we get 8 lines of text from 5 or so words from the evidence? We must zoom in on individual words. If there is not at least one word that you can really zoom in on (and by “zoom in on”, I mean why the author put it there, why that word was chosen, it’s connotations – what other meaning it has and how these other meanings link with the mood and style of the text – and why the sentence is structured as such around it), and get at least 3 to 4 lines out of it. Really dig deep, even if the links are frail (try to make strong links though.
Join up your sentences every now and again to create varied sentence structures. This will keep the person who marks your essay more entertained and more attentive towards your essay. But, you can use this point as well in your essay – why the author uses that particular sentence length.
E.g. Charles Dickens uses the short sentence “Scrooge stopped”, to really draw attention to the momentous break in tension. The verb “stopped” is monosyllabic, which in itself is an abrupt word, and it really is the moment in which the tension is broken after the meeting of Marley’s’ ghost, this is also the end of a paragraph – which further develops the shock of both the reader and Scrooge. There is also gentle sibilance in the short sentence, and this helps the reader to imagine the gentle moans and hisses of the ghosts in the nights’ sky – which are later mentioned in the chapter.
I could just keep on going with other points, but you get the idea about what to do in your analysis (everything in the paragraph above accept from the quote is analysis).
I hope that you have enjoyed this little side-trip, but it is not over yet, there are still two more things to talk about, but I might put them together in tomorrows’ post, we shall have to see.
How to: School 