An analysis breaks down the points or parts of something and considers how they work together to make an impression or convey a main point. When writing an analysis, you might also consider points or parts that seem to be missing or that raise questions in your mind. Your analysis of a reading provides the main points as well as your own reaction to the piece.

Here is an analysis of “Daily Hassles.” The main point is double-underlined, and the support points are underlined.

We have all read about stress, but Hockenbury and Hockenbury have something new and interesting to say about it: It is not the big life crises but the million petty hassles we face every day that get to us. They mention a number of different studies on hassles and their effects on us. Two of these studies explore gender differences, and they conclude that men and women report different kinds of daily hassles and respond to them differently.

These studies seem to involve only married men and women, however, which raises areas for further exploration. Do all men and women really experience and respond to hassles differently? For example, would unmarried male and female students be affected in the same ways that married men and women are? In a future paper, I would like to examine the kinds of daily hassles my college friends — both male and female — react to and what symptoms those hassles produce. The subject of hassles and how we react to them seems particularly relevant to students, whose lives are full of stress.

In any college course, your instructor may ask you to write an analysis to show your critical thinking skills and your ability to respond to a reading.