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In scholarly writing, “analysis” refers to your own understanding of the evidence you use to support your argument.

Definition

When you analyze, you offer your observations, insights, and critiques about the evidence you’ve found for your topic—at its roots, the word “analysis” means “breaking something down into its elements."

Purpose

While it may seem as though, to avoid bias, your opinions shouldn’t be included in your scholarly writing, they’re actually vital. After all, if your readers only wanted to learn facts about your topic, they could simply read the same sources you used for your paper. Instead, your readers need your analysis to comprehend what your evidence means and why your topic is important. While you should strive for objectivity and avoid making claims that can’t be supported with evidence, including your reasoned opinions about your subject provides essential context for your overall argument.

Paired with Evidence

In scholarly writing, analysis is typically paired with evidence in the form of paraphrases or, occasionally, direct quotes. Without evidence, analysis lacks support from the research literature and may not be seen as credible. Conversely, without analysis, evidence can feel disconnected from the rest of your text, and its meaning may not be clear. Explore the first draft and revision examples to see the effect analysis can have in conveying the meaning of scholarly evidence.

Example of Analysis

Click on each button to learn more about this first draft without analysis.

Design thinking has the potential to be an innovative instructional tool in higher education. Guaman‑Quintanilla et al. (2022) found that incorporating design thinking into college coursework increased students’ ability to creatively solve problems. Design thinking is often misunderstood and poorly defined even by its practitioners (Park et al., 2023). Despite the recent popularity of design thinking in higher education, few evidence-based best practices for it have emerged (Moffett et al., 2023). [].

Explanation

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While the evidence included here is useful, it’s not clear how these ideas relate to each other or to the writer’s overall argument. The writer hasn’t shared their own understanding of this material.

Click on each button to learn more about each element of this revision with analysis.

Design thinking has the potential to be an innovative instructional tool in higher education. Guaman‑Quintanilla et al. (2022) found that incorporating design thinking into college coursework increased students’ ability to creatively solve problems.However, using design thinking in this way can be challenging, [] . Design thinking is often misunderstood and poorly defined even by its practitioners (Park et al., 2023). Despite the recent popularity of design thinking in higher education, few evidence-based best practices for it have emerged (Moffett et al., 2023). Without the development of such guidelines, educators may not know how to effectively implement design thinking in their courses. []

Explanation

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This sentence, shows the writer’s critique of the evidence in the preceding sentence.

By including this sentence of analysis, the writer shares their understanding of their evidence material and identifies its significance.

SPECIAL STYLE TO ADD BACKGROUND COLOR TO BOX

Analysis also provides a basis for synthesis, the creation of new ideas informed by multiple scholarly sources. Without the observations, insights, and critiques you offer in your analysis, your readers won’t be able to understand the conclusions you draw about your overall topic.

Synthesis

Key Takeaway

  • Your analysis is your understanding of the evidence you use. By including analysis in your writing, you share this understanding with your reader and identify why your evidence is important.
  • Analysis provides the basis for synthesis.

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