A strong analytical statement requires a strong analytical verb. Your analytical statements should have one of the verbs from the list below, to show what exactly your essay aims to prove. A good analytical verb ensures that your essay does not merely indicate something that definitely happens in the book, but rather, what you think the author intended.
Analytical Terms: An Initial List
Verbs that Move Toward Analysis
Advocates
Alludes to
Articulates
Asserts
Balances
Builds
Bolsters
Catalogs
Categorizes
Characterizes
Clarifies
Classifies
Collates
Compares
Concludes
Confirms
Continues
Contrasts
Conveys
Correlates to
Creates
Critiques
Debates
Defends
Depicts
Details
Develops
Differentiates
Elevates
Elicits
Emphasizes
Employs
Establishes
Expands
Expresses
Facilitates
Frames
Gathers
Generates
Guides
Highlights
Identifies
Illustrates
Implements
Implies
Informs
Integrates
Moves
Perpetuates
Persuades
Portrays
Presents
Promotes
Propels
Proposes
Provoke
Raises
Recalls
Reduces
Relates
Reinforces
Represents
Responds
Reveals
Revitalizes
Shows
States
Strengthens
Substantiates
Suggests
Supports
Underlines
Validates
Verifies
Phrases That Move Toward Analysis
By extension
Juxtaposed against
A vehicle for
Phrases that Show Comparison/Contrast
In contrast to…
Similarly,
While that…, this too
This_______ is analogous to
Words to Describe Tone
calm or angry
strident or wistful
arrogant or modest
detached or sentimental
sincere or ironic
condescending or reverent
*Also see ATTITUDE WORDS
Concepts to Consider
Irony – ironic
paradoxes and dichotomies
analogy – analogous
satire – satiric
contrasts/shifts
Jargon of Analysis
imagery – progression of
imagery
diction: register and level
syntax
voice
persona and/or speaker
shifts
structure
symbolism
conventional
original
figures of speech
tropes
rhetorical figures
metaphor
vehicle
tenor
Syntax (grammar/structure)
exclamatory
rhetorical
declarative
interrogative
imperative
loose or periodic sentences
parallel structure
asyndeton
polysyndeton
anaphora
anastrophe / inversion
Diction (word choice)
concrete vs. abstract
repetitive
ambiguous
opposing
Level: Formal, Standard,
Colloquial, Academic.
Literary, etc.
Register (category)
