Whereas a summary most often answers the question of what a text says, an analysis is your interpretation of how a text conveys its main idea. Assignments calling for an analysis of a text usually ask you to look at how a text’s parts contribute to its central argument or purpose, often with the aim of taking it apart and breaking it down into component parts.

When you analyze a text, you say to readers: “Here’s my reading of this text. This is what the text means and why it matters.”

Typically, an analysis takes the form of an essay that makes its own argument about a text. Include an introduction that briefly summarizes the text, a thesis that states your own judgment about the text, and body paragraphs that support your thesis with evidence.