Eng 97/98
Analysis Intro
Summary vs. Analysis
So far this quarter, we’ve been working with summary. Remember that to summarize means to restate the main ideas of a text in different words, in a much shorter way. Summaries look at the text
as a whole. They objectively report – they don’t interpret or discuss meaning. They simply say
again, in different words, what the author originally said.
To analyze a text is very different. Analysis means to look carefully at different parts of something,
not the whole. You look at some part, or aspect, of the text so that you can make a guess as to what
the whole thing means. When you analyze, you’re looking at how the writer wrote the text and then
you make a guess as to why she or he wrote it in that particular way. We will discuss and practice
this for the rest of the quarter.
One thing that summary and analysis do have in common is that to do either of them, you have to
fully understand a text. You have to know what the words mean so that you can know how they
work together to form the essential, or fundamental, idea of the text. The difference is that a
summary gives the gist of the original text whereas an analysis chooses only one small part of the
original text, points it out, and says what it means.
Summarizing is a valuable skill in college because what you’re doing is condensing or distilling a
text into a shorter form. For example, you can usually summarize a paragraph within a single
sentence. You should be able to summarize a given text within a paragraph. Remember your exit
exam for this class will involve reading a text and summarizing it. For that task, your reading speed
and comprehension, your understanding of vocabulary and word parts, and your ability to
summarize will all be crucial.
Likewise, knowing how to analyze will also be a strong skill to have in your college “toolbox.”
Once you learn how to step back from the whole and look at various aspects of a text, a movie, a
class, or a conversation, you will be able to sharpen your critical thinking skills. This will help you
in many different parts of your life, not just school.
Key concepts:
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A summary is not an analysis.
A summary takes the whole of a text into consideration, not only a part of the text.
A summary is shorter than the original text.
A summary does not go into detail – it only discusses the main ideas
A summary uses your words, not the author’s words.
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An analysis is not a summary.
An analysis looks only at one or two aspects of a text.
An analysis is also shorter than the original text.
An analysis goes into detail about one or two aspects of a text.
An analysis uses your words and a few, specifically chosen, quotes from the original text.
OVER
Examples of the difference between summary and analysis:
A summary of “Simplicity” might say something like, “Simplicity is a set of instructions and
examples about how to be a good writer.”
 The summary tells us WHAT the text is about.
If we wanted to analyze “Simplicity,” we’d perhaps discuss the examples that Zinsser used and
explain why he used those specific examples.
 This analysis looks only at examples from the text – this is the how part. Think: HOW does he
write? He uses examples. Then think WHY does he use these examples?
Another way to analyze Simplicity might be to discuss the specific vocabulary choices (diction)
Zinsser uses when he talks about the reader. For example, he writes about an “elusive creature…
[who is] … assailed by many forces” (175) and the “galaxy” (175) of choices available to a reader
who doesn’t want to read. We would point out these words and then explain the effects the words
have on the reader.
 This analysis would look only at Zinsser’s diction – this is the how part. Think: HOW does he
write? He uses specific word choices for the reader. Then think WHY does he use these examples?
How does he want to affect the reader, using words like “elusive” and “assail”?
We could also look at Zinsser’s use of figurative language.
 Think: HOW does he write? He uses figurative language like metaphors and similes. We could
discuss his choice of the word “clutter” and what it literally means versus how he uses it
figuratively. Or we could discuss his choice of the word “disease.” What does he mean that
American writing is diseased? Does he use any other words later in the essay that bring “disease” to
mind again? Then we tell our readers WHY we think he uses this figurative language – what we
think it does to the reader’s understanding of the text.