An analytical essay writing is usually complicated task for students. This typical type of assignments involves breaking up the subject of the research into smaller subcategories in order to analyze each of them and create a single comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon under study. Such type of essay is a way to know and comprehend various complex multicomponent phenomena.
In a single algorithm for an analytical essay writing, brainstorming is in second place after making choice of an analytical essay topic. Despite its second place in the algorithm, brainstorming is the basis for writing your essay. Brainstorming is a way to associate ideas and thereby stimulate the thought process. The technology lies in the fact that as soon as you receive your topic, you write associations arising on the proposed topic for a certain period of time without thinking, not relying on logic. Then you look through the list of associations and see what you can write in the essay.
The considering of topic
It is important to consider the topic from all possible sides in order not to miss anything, to write down any associations and ideas, everything that arises in your mind at the thought of the topic of your analytical essay. For example, the topic chosen for an analytical essay is “Foreign Policy”. To begin with, the student formulates the question: “What is the state’s foreign policy and what can it be directed at?”. Then, considering, he assumes himself: “These are relations of one state with others”, “Conquest”, “Trade”, “Exchange of knowledge”, “Exchange of resources”, “Co-production”, “Joint protection against a common enemy”. In the course of such discussion with yourself, it is desirable to come to the conclusion that all these activities are important for the life of the state. And which one will be preferable will depend on certain conditions, etc.
The first thing to be remembered before applying the method of brainstorming in the process of working on an essay is that in order to reveal the topic, it is necessary to work out the main thesis, which is essentially a criterion for evaluating what is written. The main thesis is by no means an essay topic, but what you want to say on this topic.
This should not be forgotten throughout the entire work, because there is a “danger” that your main thesis will be too broad (and you will get lost in your reasoning, go “not to that steppe” or start “waffle”) or, on the contrary, the main thesis may be too narrow (and then the topic will remain unrevealed). So, in order to avoid this, the brainstorming technique should be used. You should not neglect it, because as soon as it helps to build thoughts correctly, organize and structure your statement, which requires conciseness, accuracy and clarity. Having received the task to write an essay on a specific topic, the student, first of all, resorts to the method of brainstorming. He/she remembers that in order to work out a reasoned, clearly formulated main thesis of the analytical essay, it is necessary to select only those ideas that will help him/her to cover the topic. You need to hurry, because there is a time limit and only about 20 minutes is allowed for brainstorming, during which a “mental attack” on the subject should be conducted. Having finished brainstorming, having told yourself “stop” in time, you look around the writing and select only those ideas that you are concerned yourself with and that is possible for you to develop and bring to the logical end.
Advantages of brainstorm method
Using brainstorming has several advantages. It contributes to the development of creative and analytical thinking, as well as communication skills. Using this method in an analytical essay writing, students learn to express their thoughts, formulating them clearly and accurately. At the same time, imagination and imaginative thinking as well as the skills of positive, adequate criticism develop.
As you can see, using a brainstorming method when writing an analytical essay allows students to see that the same task can have several different solutions and each one of them is correct. It just all depends on the specific conditions specified. Think carefully about your topic, and brainstorming will help you write a qualitative analytical essay.