Ask Interpretive Questions

The foundation for analysis is a question that is open to interpretation. For example, asking whether you have enough money to purchase a ticket to the latest Robert Downey Jr. movie would not require an interpretive response. Either you have enough money or you don’t. Asking whether Downey’s performance breaks new ground, however, would require an analysis of his work in the film. Similarly, while a driver wouldn’t need to conduct an analysis to determine whether a car has a full tank of fuel, a city planner might find it necessary to carry out an analysis to anticipate how high the cost of fuel must rise before commuters leave their cars at home and take public transportation.

You can generate potential interpretive questions about promising topics by brainstorming, freewriting, or clustering in response to the following prompts. Each prompt focuses your attention on a general topic in a different way, and each provides a useful starting point for an analytical essay. Depending on your topic, you’ll find that some prompts are more productive than others.

As you ponder ways to turn a general topic area into the subject of your analytical essay, spend time learning about other people’s answers to the most promising questions you’ve generated. You can discuss the subject with people you know, skim sources published on the subject, or even observe the subject firsthand. You can learn more about gathering information in Chapter 2 and in Part Three.