Considering Analysis

 Prior to SUPA Writing, my knowledge on literary analysis was slim to none. I’ve heard of people analyzing data and statistics quite often, but not so much writing or composers by individuals. With the little knowledge I had on literary analysis, I thought it was just simply summarizing something in greater depth than normal. I was utterly wrong. Summarizing would be to take ideas and project them in a more developed, meticulous way. To analyze would be to add your own thought of such elements that you are presenting upon, most times looking deeper and asking yourself “why” and “how” to reach your own conclusion. 

I quickly learned how to analyze when I was given the task to pick a cover from the popular magazine, The New Yorker. I “simply” had to analyze a very jejune picture, with what seemed like little meaning behind it. At first, I simply summarized this picture in about one and half paragraphs, thinking I had completed the task. In following classes I realized that what I did was nowhere near what was expected or even correct. I didn’t answer the “why” and “how” of the picture, I just simply described it in depth. With help from my peers, I expanded my composure from one and a half paragraphs to just about two pages (double spaced of course). I examined the “why” and “how” and even found a very powerful message the imagine had been underlying the whole time. It took me focusing on key areas of the image, concluding how and why each element works with the rest, as well as making my point of the message I thought it was trying to portray. From here on, my understanding of what it really means to analyze something grew tremendously.

Considering that I went into Unit 2 with little knowledge of proper analysis, I can say that I was challenged from the start. As I was asked many times to analyze certain pieces of work throughout this unit, I can say that I have learned how to properly analyze a given piece of writing. Analysis is not just an in depth summary, but rather a composure that expresses my perspective, judgement, and interpretation, all while answering the questions of “how” and “why.” If I wasn’t able to analyze well, I would simply not understand the text that I was reading fully. I find myself taking a step back, closing the book that I am reading, and just thinking about what I read in order to gain a greater understanding. Reading and writing analytically has taken my knowledge to a higher degree than before.