What Even is Analysis? Notes

Analysis is Not Fake

1. I know what you're thinking, sometimes analysis feels fake.
2. So what's the point?
3. The best answer I can give you is that analysis is really about seeing through things.

If you can’t analyse, you’re at the mercy of people who can.

Because Language is Never Neutral

1. Every text you read tries to shape how you see the world.
2. Think about:
   1. An advert that says “New look. Same great taste.”
   2. A politician who says “We're protecting families” instead of “cutting immigration.”
   3. A breakup text that says “I just need time to work on myself.”
3. All of these are carefully worded to make you feel something specific.
4. Language has the power to make lies sound reasonable and strong emotions sound weak.
5. And most of the time, people don’t even notice it happening.

Purpose: Writers Always Write for a Reason

1. This is the why behind the text and you must uncover it.
2. To start, understand most texts have more than one purpose.
3. It helps to break this down into:
   1. Primary purpose: the writer’s main goal. What they most want the reader to do, think, or feel.
   2. Secondary purpose: an additional goal that supports or disguises the real intent.

Language: How Purpose Is Conveyed

1. Words are the only tools a writer has.
2. So they have to be chosen very carefully.
3. Writers use:
   1. Literary techniques (metaphor, alliteration, juxtaposition...)
   2. Structural features (contrast, repetition, tone shifts...)
   3. Specific choices (verbs, adjectives, punctuation...)

Effect: Why Language Makes You Feel Something

1. Language always does something to the reader. It might:
   1. Make an idea clearer (intellectual effect)
   2. Trigger an emotion (emotional effect)

Context: Writer's Respond To The World Around Them

1. Why is your favorite songwriter writing about the end of a relationship? Probably because they just ended one.
2. Why does this ad keep referring to the World Cup? Probably because it's coming up soon.
3. Understanding context is a shortcut to getting to the writer's why.

You're Already Doing It

1. When someone says “no offence but” you already know it's going to be offensive.
2. When a friend says “I’m fine” with a weird tone, you don’t believe it.
3. This is analysis in real life. You’re reading between the lines.
4. English class just gives you the tools and language to do that in a structured way.

Exam technique

• At first glance, the ad seems designed to inspire you.
• But Nike is a business whose goals will always be to maximize profit.
• Therefore, while its secondary purpose is to inspire, its primary purpose is to sell.
• The real goal is to make you feel motivated enough to buy new gear.
• The emotional message supports the financial goal.