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Media Analysis – An Explanation for Undergraduates

Media analysis is a research methodology used in mass communication studies, media studies, cultural studies, and the social sciences. It is defined as the analysis and critique of media.

The aim of media analysis is to understand media’s potential to impact individuals and society. Media analysis has two main purposes:

media analysis a guide for undergraduates

  • Critique of Media: It can identify how groups in society such as women and people of color are represented in the media to help us understand systemic racism and sexism, and can help expose media bias .
  • Media Campaign Research: It can also help media companies identify gaps in the advertising landscape to better promote their own products.

What is Media Analysis?

Media analysis studies texts: books, letters, videos, television shows, blogs, movies, newspapers, etc. It looks directly at media texts (rather than interviewing media producers) and reflects on what they collectively say about an issue. Here are some useful scholarly definitions that you could use in an essay:

  • Media analysis is the study of “what is said on a given subject in a given place at a given time” within the media (Lasswell, Lerner and Pool, 1952, p. 34) – this is one of the first ever definitions.
  • “Content analysis is a research method that uses a set of procedures to make valid inferences from text” (Weber, 1990, p. 9)
  • “Critical media analysis means thinking critically about the impact of the media on the distribution of power in society.” (Stocchetti & Kukkonen, 2011, p. 13)
  • It “is a research technique that is based on measuring the amount of something (violence, negative portrayals of women, or whatever) in a representative sampling of some mass-mediated popular form of art” (Berger, 2005, p. 25)
  • It is “a technique for gathering and analysing the content of text.” (Neuman, 1997, p. 272)

How to do Media Analysis

Media content analysis can be conducted in multiple ways. But, media analysis has two core elements that must always be looked at systematically: the text and its content.

The text is the thing you look at while conducting your analysis. Neuman (1997, p. 273) describes a text as: “anything written, visual, or spoken that serves as a medium for communication”. Usually, we try to look at a wide range of texts within a defined period of time (say, maybe all superhero movies in 2020; or, all newspaper articles published in national newspapers about Trump in July 2020). This helps increase the validity of the analysis. Texts can be:

  • Newspaper articles
  • Email chains
  • Television shows
  • Advertisements
  • YouTube videos
  • Etc. etc. etc.

The content is the ‘stuff’ that you analyze within the text. Neuman (1997, p. 273) defines content as “words, meanings, pictures, symbols, ideas, themes, or any message that can be communicated.” To analyze this content, we might count the amount of positive versus negative statements about someone, how a camera frames someone as powerful or weak, the amount of time someone is given to speak, and so forth. Generally, content can be broken down into four categories:

  • Written: words, sentences, paragraphs, etc.
  • Sonic / Audible: spoken words, music, sound effects, etc.
  • Visual: Images, pictures, color schemes, camera angles, facial expressions, etc.
  • Motive: The pace at which things move, the direction they move, etc.

Quantitative Techniques

‘Quantitative’ approaches to media analysis use measurable scientific approaches to analyze media texts. These approaches will involve counting exact numbers, ratios, percentages, etc. to get objective facts about media representation. Below are the two major quantitative approaches to media analysis.

1. Quantitative Content Analysis

Quantitative methods count the numbers of mentions, keywords, latent semantic keywords, etc. in order to create measurable comparisons. Comparisons can be made between media texts (e.g. “Which media are more inclusive of women?”, or between elements within a text (e.g. “What is the ratio between white and non-white representation within this text?”). Usually, software tools are employed during quantitative content analysis to create a reliable and objective overview of media representation.

2. Laswell’s Method

Laswell’s method is the oldest method of media analysis. For Laswell, you can do a simple critique of media representation by asking the following 5 questions:

  • Who? Look at the media channel doing the communication. Are they respectable? Are they historically biased? Do they follow journalistic ethics? Who funds them?
  • Says What? Look at what is being said. How does it frame the issue?
  • In which Channel? Look at the means of communication. Is it television, blogs, podcasts, etc.? How does the channel / medium impact the message being communicated? Is it a medium that attracts millenials, or baby boomers?
  • To Whom? Look at who the target audience is. What might this say about why the message is framed the way it is?
  • With what Effect? Has the media had an impact on politics, public discourse, the growth of certain movements, or the increased sale of certain products?

3. Quantitative Approach – Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages of a quantitative approach:

  • It can seem more reliable because it provides objective figures.
  • It provides direct measurable comparisons.

Disadvantages of a quantitative approach:

  • Lack of context. Often, only subjective human analysis can identify how media manipulates people.
  • Media analysis is about looking at how media is manipulative; it’s hard to use machines to pick up on the nuances of media techniques.

Qualitative Techniques

Qualitative methods are much more common for media analysis these days. Many researchers have realized it’s very hard to provide a deep analysis of media texts using hard scientific methods .

There are a lot of little human nuances in meda that require deep explanations and a critical human eye critiquing texts. This is where qualitative approaches are very beneficial. Below are the two major qualitative approaches to media analysis.

1. Social Semiotics

‘Semiotics’ is the study of signs and symbols. It was invented by Ferdinand de Saussure who explored how ‘signs’ create ‘meaning’. ‘Social semiotics’ is a more contemporary approach, which not only looks at signs. It also looks at how signs get their meaning from culture. For example, a red octagon doesn’t naturally mean ‘Stop sign’. But, in our culture, we know that it nearly always means that because it’s the meaning our culture gave to the sign. To do a Social Semiotic Analysis, closely examine the texts you want to analyse. Watch / read / listen to them and take notes on the contents:

  • Sounds: What sounds are present and how do they influence the message? For example, if there is classical music, it may mean a different audience is appealed to than rap music. We know this because we have a finger on the pulse of our culture – we know what social groups rap music would appeal to.
  • Words: Are there words or phrases that jump out to you for the way they frame particular groups? Take note of these words and phrases and how frequently they’re used.
  • Images: How do the images influence us? If the color scheme is mostly blue, perhaps the text is designed to soothe and calm us. If there are images of someone in a white doctor’s coat, is it an advertisement trying to tell us that the product is backed by science? If there are low camera angles looking up at someone, is it trying to make that person appear powerful? Etc.

A social semiotic analysis would then create a group of themes to discuss. A theme might be: “Women are represented as powerful in this text.” Another might be: “Most dental advertisements use scientific language to convince viewers.”

2. Discourse Analysis

Discourse analysis explores discourses (messages circulating in society). It was created by Michel Foucault in the 1970s. It has become a very popular way of examining media texts to figure out how power is reproduced through media bias . Discourse analysis is very similar to social semiotics. In fact, I would recommend combining the two. However, discourse analysis is unique in that its focus is on power. It wants to explore how media silences some people and empowers others. Here are some unique aspects of a discourse analysis to look out for when looking at media texts:

  • Who is silenced by the text? When closely examining your texts, think about who is absent in the text. This means not just looking at what’s said and shown. You also need to look at what isn’t said. What’s not shown is just as important as what is shown.
  • What do silences say about the message? Once you know what isn’t said and shown, what can you infer from this? Is the media conveniently excluding certain points because they don’t adhere to capitalist consumer society? Are marginalized groups and their views missing from mainstream media?
  • What is presumed as ‘true’ and what is presumed as ‘untrue’ within media messages? According to discourse analysis, truth is produced by discourse (the messages that circulate in society). So, discourse analysis critiques what is presumed to be true and untrue within media and how this might change over time.

3. Qualitative Approach – Advantages & Disadvantages 

Advantages of a qualitative approach:

  • Human communication is very hard to measure quantitatively. Quantitative methods can’t pick up the subtle cultural, social and political messages in media.
  • Qualitative research gives deep, detailed explanations using ‘thick description’ of data. It can be very convincing, if done well.

Disadvantages of a qualitative approach:

  • Validity and authority is hard to achieve because researcher interpretation is central to this style of research.
  • It has been accused of bias and hyper-subjectivity. Many people see it as a psudo-science where any researcher can come up with any results they want so long as their arguments are convincing. See: the grievance studies hoax.

Example of Media Analysis

“How do Car Advertisements on Television Represent Women?”

You gather all car advertisements in the national archives of advertising from the past 3 years. It’s 250 advertisements. You decide to conduct a media discourse analysis. You watch all advertisements, and take notes on:

  • How many advertisements depict women
  • What roles women take in the advertisements
  • How women are spoken about in the advertisements

You review your notes, and find three themes:

  • Women are only shown in 25% of advertisements
  • Women are driving trucks in only 5% of advertisements
  • When women are depicted, they’re predominantly sexualized and shown as objects of men’s desire

Strengths & Weaknesses of Media Analysis

  • It helps to show how media contributes to social and cultural biases which could marginalize some members of society.
  • It helps us reflect on power relationships.
  • It can create a case to media departments about how best to advertise a product in the marketplace.
  • It is often accused of having very little real-life relevance . A descriptive overview of media’s biases may be a good academic exercise, but it’s not the most desirable skill to have for future employers.
  • There is so much media these days that it’s hard to get a snapshot of the whole media landscape. You usually have to zoom-in on small market subsets which are case studies that cannot provide broad overgeneralizations .

Altheide, D. & Schneider, C. (2013). Qualitative Media Analysis. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Berger, A. (2005). Media research techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical analysis of media discourse. In: Thornham, S., Bassett, C., & Marris, P. (Eds.). Media studies: A reader . New York: NYU Press.

Kress, G. R., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design . Sydney: Psychology Press.

Macnamara, J. (2005). Media content analysis: Its uses, benefits and Best Practice Methodology. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 6 (1), 1– 34.

Neuman, W. L. (1997). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon

Stocchetti, M. & Kukkonen, K. (2011). Critical Media Analysis: An Introduction for Media Professionals. Frankfurt: Peter Yang.

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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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3 thoughts on “Media Analysis – An Explanation for Undergraduates”

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Dear Chris, Thank you for mentioning our books. However, you have misspelled our names. ‘Stocchetti’ is with two ‘c’ and it is ‘Kukkonen’, and not ‘Kukkonon’

Matteo Stocchetti

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Apologies – that’s been fixed. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your useful book on Media Analysis!

Regards, Chris

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I found this so interesting and useful as a media analyst in the making. Thanks to you Dr. Chris.

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how to write a media analysis paper

What Should You Include In Your Media Analysis Essay?

What Should You Include In Your Media Analysis Essay?

If you’re tasked with writing a media analysis essay, it’s important to include the right elements in your essay for a cohesive and well-written piece. What makes an essay good are its elements and structure.

So, whether you’re new to the concept of media analysis or just need a refresher, keep reading for some helpful tips on what you should include in your media analysis essay.  Another option for writing your essay is hiring a professional essay writer to assist you.

What Is Media Analysis?

Media analysis is the process of critiquing and interpreting information from the media in the context of a particular topic. This can be done with any type of media, including but not limited to:

  • Social media posts

Essentially, when you engage in media analysis, you’re looking at the content in the media and critically evaluating it. Now that we’ve discussed what media analysis is, let’s move on to what should be included in a media analysis essay.

What Are the Elements of a Media Analysis Essay?

A clear thesis statement.

When writing any type of essay, it’s important to start with a clear thesis statement. This is especially true for a media analysis essay, as your thesis statement will serve as the foundation for the rest of your paper. 

When crafting your thesis statement, be sure to make it concise and clear. It should also be specific and arguable. An example of a good thesis statement for a media analysis essay might be: “Despite its claim to be an objective news source, The New York Times is biased in its coverage of political issues.”

Evidence to Support Your Thesis Statement

Once you have a clear thesis statement, the next step is to provide evidence to support it. When looking for such evidence, be sure to consider the content of the media along with the context in which it was created. 

For example, if you’re evaluating a news article, you might look at the language used by the author and how it might reflect their personal biases. If you’re analyzing a social media post, you might consider the creator’s history and any previous posts they’ve made on the same topic.

A Discussion of the Implications of Your Analysis

In addition to providing evidence to support your thesis statement, it’s also important to discuss the implications of your analysis. What does your analysis mean for the media piece that you’re critiquing? 

For example, if you’re arguing that a news article is biased, what implications does this have for the readers of that article? Are they getting an accurate portrayal of the events that are taking place?

A Conclusion

Last but not least, don’t forget to include a conclusion in your media analysis essay. Your conclusion should briefly summarize the main points of your essay and reinforce your thesis statement. It’s also a good idea to end with a call to action, or some food for thought, encouraging your readers to further engage with the topic you’ve discussed.

What Are the Steps in Writing a Media Analysis Essay?

Now that we’ve gone over what should be included in a media analysis essay, let’s discuss the steps involved in writing one.

Choose Your Topic

The first step is to choose a topic for your essay. You can write a media analysis essay on any topic. However, it’s important to choose a topic that you’re interested in and familiar with. This will make the research and writing process much easier.

Find Media Sources to Analyze

Once you’ve chosen your topic, it’s time to find some media sources to analyze. If you’re writing about a specific event, you might look for articles from different news outlets. If you’re critiquing a particular advertisement, you might look for similar ads from other companies. It’s important to try to find a variety of sources so that you can get a well-rounded view of the issue at hand.

Evaluate the Sources

After you’ve gathered your sources, it’s time to start evaluating them. This involves reading and evaluating the content of your sources, as well as looking at the context in which they were created. Be sure to take detailed notes during this process so that you can easily refer back to them later.

Craft Your Thesis Statement

Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to start working on your thesis statement. This is the main argument of your essay, so it’s important that it be clear and well-developed.

Write Your Essay

This is the final step of writing the essay and is often the trickiest. This is especially true if you’re new to writing, as you might struggle to put your thoughts into words coherently. This is where an experienced freelance essay writer, like those available for hire on Guru, might come in handy.

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Organizing Your Analysis

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This resource covers how to write a rhetorical analysis essay of primarily visual texts with a focus on demonstrating the author’s understanding of the rhetorical situation and design principles.

There is no one perfect way to organize a rhetorical analysis essay. In fact, writers should always be a bit leery of plug-in formulas that offer a perfect essay format. Remember, organization itself is not the enemy, only organization without considering the specific demands of your particular writing task. That said, here are some general tips for plotting out the overall form of your essay.

Introduction

Like any rhetorical analysis essay, an essay analyzing a visual document should quickly set the stage for what you’re doing. Try to cover the following concerns in the initial paragraphs:

  • Make sure to let the reader know you’re performing a rhetorical analysis. Otherwise, they may expect you to take positions or make an evaluative argument that may not be coming.
  • Clearly state what the document under consideration is and possibly give some pertinent background information about its history or development. The intro can be a good place for a quick, narrative summary of the document. The key word here is “quick, for you may be dealing with something large (for example, an entire episode of a cartoon like the Simpsons). Save more in-depth descriptions for your body paragraph analysis.
  • If you’re dealing with a smaller document (like a photograph or an advertisement), and copyright allows, the introduction or first page is a good place to integrate it into your page.
  • Give a basic run down of the rhetorical situation surrounding the document: the author, the audience, the purpose, the context, etc.

Thesis Statements and Focus

Many authors struggle with thesis statements or controlling ideas in regards to rhetorical analysis essays. There may be a temptation to think that merely announcing the text as a rhetorical analysis is purpose enough. However, especially depending on your essay’s length, your reader may need a more direct and clear statement of your intentions. Below are a few examples.

1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover. Ask yourself if one or two design aspects of the document is interesting and complex enough to warrant a full analytical treatment.

The website for Amazon.com provides an excellent example of alignment and proximity to assist its visitors in navigating a potentially large and confusing amount of information.

2. Since visual documents often seek to move people towards a certain action (buying a product, attending an event, expressing a sentiment), an essay may analyze the rhetorical techniques used to accomplish this purpose. The thesis statement should reflect this goal.

The call-out flyer for the Purdue Rowing Team uses a mixture of dynamic imagery and tantalizing promises to create interest in potential, new members.

3. Rhetorical analysis can also easily lead to making original arguments. Performing the analysis may lead you to an argument; or vice versa, you may start with an argument and search for proof that supports it.

A close analysis of the female body images in the July 2007 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine reveals contradictions between the articles’ calls for self-esteem and the advertisements’ unrealistic, beauty demands.

These are merely suggestions. The best measure for what your focus and thesis statement should be the document itself and the demands of your writing situation. Remember that the main thrust of your thesis statement should be on how the document creates meaning and accomplishes its purposes. The OWl has additional information on writing thesis statements.

Analysis Order (Body Paragraphs)

Depending on the genre and size of the document under analysis, there are a number of logical ways to organize your body paragraphs. Below are a few possible options. Which ever you choose, the goal of your body paragraphs is to present parts of the document, give an extended analysis of how that part functions, and suggest how the part ties into a larger point (your thesis statement or goal).

Chronological

This is the most straight-forward approach, but it can also be effective if done for a reason (as opposed to not being able to think of another way). For example, if you are analyzing a photo essay on the web or in a booklet, a chronological treatment allows you to present your insights in the same order that a viewer of the document experiences those images. It is likely that the images have been put in that order and juxtaposed for a reason, so this line of analysis can be easily integrated into the essay.

Be careful using chronological ordering when dealing with a document that contains a narrative (i.e. a television show or music video). Focusing on the chronological could easily lead you to plot summary which is not the point of a rhetorical analysis.

A spatial ordering covers the parts of a document in the order the eye is likely to scan them. This is different than chronological order, for that is dictated by pages or screens where spatial order concerns order amongst a single page or plane. There are no unwavering guidelines for this, but you can use the following general guidelines.

  • Left to right and top to down is still the normal reading and scanning pattern for English-speaking countries.
  • The eye will naturally look for centers. This may be the technical center of the page or the center of the largest item on the page.
  • Lines are often used to provide directions and paths for the eye to follow.
  • Research has shown that on web pages, the eye tends to linger in the top left quadrant before moving left to right. Only after spending a considerable amount of time on the top, visible portion of the page will they then scroll down.

Persuasive Appeals

The classic, rhetorical appeals are logos, pathos, and ethos. These concepts roughly correspond to the logic, emotion, and character of the document’s attempt to persuade. You can find more information on these concepts elsewhere on the OWL. Once you understand these devices, you could potentially order your essay by analyzing the document’s use of logos, ethos, and pathos in different sections.

The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis essay may not operate too differently from the conclusion of any other kind of essay. Still, many writers struggle with what a conclusion should or should not do. You can find tips elsewhere on the OWL on writing conclusions. In short, however, you should restate your main ideas and explain why they are important; restate your thesis; and outline further research or work you believe should be completed to further your efforts.

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Content Analysis | A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples

Published on 5 May 2022 by Amy Luo . Revised on 5 December 2022.

Content analysis is a research method used to identify patterns in recorded communication. To conduct content analysis, you systematically collect data from a set of texts, which can be written, oral, or visual:

  • Books, newspapers, and magazines
  • Speeches and interviews
  • Web content and social media posts
  • Photographs and films

Content analysis can be both quantitative (focused on counting and measuring) and qualitative (focused on interpreting and understanding). In both types, you categorise or ‘code’ words, themes, and concepts within the texts and then analyse the results.

Table of contents

What is content analysis used for, advantages of content analysis, disadvantages of content analysis, how to conduct content analysis.

Researchers use content analysis to find out about the purposes, messages, and effects of communication content. They can also make inferences about the producers and audience of the texts they analyse.

Content analysis can be used to quantify the occurrence of certain words, phrases, subjects, or concepts in a set of historical or contemporary texts.

In addition, content analysis can be used to make qualitative inferences by analysing the meaning and semantic relationship of words and concepts.

Because content analysis can be applied to a broad range of texts, it is used in a variety of fields, including marketing, media studies, anthropology, cognitive science, psychology, and many social science disciplines. It has various possible goals:

  • Finding correlations and patterns in how concepts are communicated
  • Understanding the intentions of an individual, group, or institution
  • Identifying propaganda and bias in communication
  • Revealing differences in communication in different contexts
  • Analysing the consequences of communication content, such as the flow of information or audience responses

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  • Unobtrusive data collection

You can analyse communication and social interaction without the direct involvement of participants, so your presence as a researcher doesn’t influence the results.

  • Transparent and replicable

When done well, content analysis follows a systematic procedure that can easily be replicated by other researchers, yielding results with high reliability .

  • Highly flexible

You can conduct content analysis at any time, in any location, and at low cost. All you need is access to the appropriate sources.

Focusing on words or phrases in isolation can sometimes be overly reductive, disregarding context, nuance, and ambiguous meanings.

Content analysis almost always involves some level of subjective interpretation, which can affect the reliability and validity of the results and conclusions.

  • Time intensive

Manually coding large volumes of text is extremely time-consuming, and it can be difficult to automate effectively.

If you want to use content analysis in your research, you need to start with a clear, direct  research question .

Next, you follow these five steps.

Step 1: Select the content you will analyse

Based on your research question, choose the texts that you will analyse. You need to decide:

  • The medium (e.g., newspapers, speeches, or websites) and genre (e.g., opinion pieces, political campaign speeches, or marketing copy)
  • The criteria for inclusion (e.g., newspaper articles that mention a particular event, speeches by a certain politician, or websites selling a specific type of product)
  • The parameters in terms of date range, location, etc.

If there are only a small number of texts that meet your criteria, you might analyse all of them. If there is a large volume of texts, you can select a sample .

Step 2: Define the units and categories of analysis

Next, you need to determine the level at which you will analyse your chosen texts. This means defining:

  • The unit(s) of meaning that will be coded. For example, are you going to record the frequency of individual words and phrases, the characteristics of people who produced or appear in the texts, the presence and positioning of images, or the treatment of themes and concepts?
  • The set of categories that you will use for coding. Categories can be objective characteristics (e.g., aged 30–40, lawyer, parent) or more conceptual (e.g., trustworthy, corrupt, conservative, family-oriented).

Step 3: Develop a set of rules for coding

Coding involves organising the units of meaning into the previously defined categories. Especially with more conceptual categories, it’s important to clearly define the rules for what will and won’t be included to ensure that all texts are coded consistently.

Coding rules are especially important if multiple researchers are involved, but even if you’re coding all of the text by yourself, recording the rules makes your method more transparent and reliable.

Step 4: Code the text according to the rules

You go through each text and record all relevant data in the appropriate categories. This can be done manually or aided with computer programs, such as QSR NVivo , Atlas.ti , and Diction , which can help speed up the process of counting and categorising words and phrases.

Step 5: Analyse the results and draw conclusions

Once coding is complete, the collected data is examined to find patterns and draw conclusions in response to your research question. You might use statistical analysis to find correlations or trends, discuss your interpretations of what the results mean, and make inferences about the creators, context, and audience of the texts.

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Writing a Critical Analysis

What is in this guide, definitions, putting it together, tips and examples of critques.

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This guide is meant to help you understand the basics of writing a critical analysis. A critical analysis is an argument about a particular piece of media. There are typically two parts: (1) identify and explain the argument the author is making, and (2), provide your own argument about that argument. Your instructor may have very specific requirements on how you are to write your critical analysis, so make sure you read your assignment carefully.

how to write a media analysis paper

Critical Analysis

A deep approach to your understanding of a piece of media by relating new knowledge to what you already know.

Part 1: Introduction

  • Identify the work being criticized.
  • Present thesis - argument about the work.
  • Preview your argument - what are the steps you will take to prove your argument.

Part 2: Summarize

  • Provide a short summary of the work.
  • Present only what is needed to know to understand your argument.

Part 3: Your Argument

  • This is the bulk of your paper.
  • Provide "sub-arguments" to prove your main argument.
  • Use scholarly articles to back up your argument(s).

Part 4: Conclusion

  • Reflect on  how  you have proven your argument.
  • Point out the  importance  of your argument.
  • Comment on the potential for further research or analysis.
  • Cornell University Library Tips for writing a critical appraisal and analysis of a scholarly article.
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  • University of Illinois, Springfield An example of a summary and an evaluation of a research article. This extended example shows the different ways a student can critique and write about an article
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How to Research Online Newspaper Articles to Conduct a Qualitative Media Content Analysis

  • By: Maria Pournara
  • Product: Sage Research Methods: Doing Research Online
  • Publisher: SAGE Publications, Ltd.
  • Publication year: 2022
  • Online pub date: July 12, 2022
  • Discipline: Sociology , Education , Psychology , Health , Anthropology , Social Policy and Public Policy , Social Work , Political Science and International Relations , Geography , Criminology and Criminal Justice , Nursing , Business and Management , Communication and Media Studies , Counseling and Psychotherapy , History , Economics , Marketing
  • Methods: Ethnography , Internet research , Qualitative data analysis
  • DOI: https:// doi. org/10.4135/9781529611311
  • Keywords: crime , information sources , news , newspapers , publications Show all Show less
  • Online ISBN: 9781529611311 More information Less information

This How-to Guide describes what qualitative media analysis is, when and how it can be used to research online newspaper articles and shows how to draft a protocol to address the research problem under investigation. The guide also discusses similarities and differences between the more traditional quantitative content analysis often used in media research and the more recent qualitative content analysis which is far less rigid and puts emphasis on the researcher’s reflexivity and ability to interact with the materials to arrive at more meaningful conclusions with regard to the communication of messages. Furthermore, an overview of the 12 stages of the qualitative content analysis process is presented and a specific focus is placed on studying online newspaper articles. The 12 stages of the process include steps such as identifying a theoretical problem, finding documents, developing a protocol, collecting, coding, organising data, data analysis, and creating a final report. A more specific focus is then placed on how to develop a protocol which can meaningfully address the research question(s) and help categorise the data. The guide finishes with an example of a protocol used in a research project on organised crime representations in British national newspapers and a brief discussion on some of the research decisions and choices that guided its drafting, examination, and revision.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this guide, readers should be able to:

  • Explain when and how they might use qualitative content analysis to research online media sources such as newspaper articles
  • Describe the 12-step process of qualitative media analysis
  • Draft their own protocol according to their topic or research question

Introduction

Qualitative approaches to researching documents in general and mass media, in particular, have been developing gradually and consistently in the past few decades, moving news research away from exclusively positivist understandings of ‘objective’ analysis of media messages. First, it is worth noting that media sources, from newspaper articles to news broadcasts or social media posts, are all forms of documents. A document can be defined as any symbolic representation that can be recorded or retrieved for analysis. Document analysis refers to an integrated and conceptually informed method, procedure, and technique for locating, identifying, retrieving, and analysing documents for their relevance, significance, and meaning ( Altheide & Schneider, 2013 ; Grant, 2018 ). Electronic documents have become extremely important in various domains of social life from international affairs to everyday communication of messages. The importance of technology in constructing, saving, retrieving, and investigating massive amounts of information cannot be overstated especially in news research.

There are many methods of data analysis that can be useful for researching online news (quantitative content analysis, thematic analysis, etc.), but this guide focuses on qualitative content analysis as a technique which can categorise and classify large amounts of information with a specific 12-step process and the use of protocols and at the same time help generate new categories and variables due to the reflexivity and adaptability inherent in this approach. Both of these traits can be invaluable, especially when conducting online news research where researchers are often concerned with exploring both manifest and latent content and discovering the different meanings and consequent representations of social phenomena in media sources such as news articles.

Defining and Using Qualitative Content Analysis in Media Research

Content analysis is a prominent method for the analysis of message content. Historically, content analysis has been linked to a positivist paradigm with primarily quantitative techniques used ( Neuendorf, 2002 ; Smith, 2000 ). More recent research, however, has introduced ‘qualitative content analysis’ ( Altheide & Schneider, 2013 ; Mayring, 2014 ) which has more similarities with methods such as thematic analysis. Traditional quantitative content analysis originates in positivistic assumptions about objectivity and, therefore, aims at obtaining data to measure the frequency, extent, and sometimes even meaning of messages ( Krippendorf, 1980 ; Krippendorff, 2004 ). Qualitative content analysis (often also described as ethnographic content analysis) is also interested in identifying and understanding the communication of meaning.

However, the main difference between the two methods lies in the highly reflexive and interactive nature of the researcher during the process of collecting, observing, and analysing concepts and data in qualitative content analysis ( Altheide & Schneider, 2013 ). In this method of data analysis, the researcher gathers both numerical and narrative data not only to force them into predefined categories necessarily – although these can exist, of course – but to also allow a process of constant discovery and comparison ( van den Berg & van der Veer, 1989 ) where other categories or variables can be generated from the data. When researching online news using qualitative content analysis, therefore, the aim is to be systematic and analytic, yet not rigid.

Altheide and Schneider (2013) have introduced a 12-step process of qualitative document analysis which, although can be applied to a wide range of documentary analysis, is very useful to apply to media research.

These 12 steps are now presented alongside an application on specifically researching online news articles.

  • 1. Topic: pursue a specific problem to investigate . Identifying a research problem is crucial as it helps inform not only the type of the research question(s) but also the unit of analysis, including what specific type or portion of documents would be chosen for the sample and analysed. For example, a researcher might choose to investigate articles published only in national newspapers or exclude broadsheet publications. This is also interlinked with the articles’ relevance to the research questions asked. For example, an investigation of the representation of a major international incident may be more suitably explored through a sample of articles published in national newspapers (i.e., ‘How was the Russian invasion in Ukraine presented in the British press?). Articles published in regional newspapers may be selected for exploring issues with more localised effects and manifestations (i.e., ‘What is the representation of the problem of county lines in South Wales?’).
  • 2. Literature review: explore possible sources of information and become familiar with the process of collecting them . Once a research problem has been identified, it is essential for the researcher to familiarise themselves with the process of identifying and collecting appropriate sources of information. In online news research, this often leads to an exploration of various databases. Lexis Library News (Lexis®) is a very well-known database which offers free access to local and global news sources and is a tool that can be used to gather media data. Alternatively, newspapers’ websites can be used to collect articles as well, especially if the researcher has selected only one or two publications to focus on. For new media researchers, this stage should also include a process of familiarisation with news production, collection, and dissemination processes. It is invaluable to gain an understanding of how media outlets gather and present information. For example, newspapers often choose to publish important and timely articles on the front pages and allocate them more words as well. That would mean that by contrast smaller articles usually represent minor issues. Therefore, the position and length of news articles could be important elements to consider and add to the protocol for analysis.
  • 3. A few documents: select a small sample of newspaper articles (6–10) and select a unit of analysis (i.e., each article ). Selecting a small sample of newspaper articles to read and analyse first, before making final sampling decisions is a crucial step in qualitative media analysis. It allows the researcher to test their hypotheses on the type of information they will be getting and the format of their units of analysis. Moreover, it facilitates the process of reflexivity and interaction with the data that distinguish qualitative from quantitative media analysis, as the researcher is able to get some initial impressions and interact with them to create some first-level codes or even to exclude some more sources of information (i.e., types of articles), if necessary. In the study of online newspapers, admittedly in most cases, the unit of analysis is the individual news article because of the way they are presented in databases – not as part of a newspaper, but rather as individual news reports. However, in some cases, the unit of analysis could be a particular page, individual articles, or perhaps even paragraphs if that is consistent with the research question(s).
  • 4. Draft protocol: List several items or categories (variables) to guide data collection and draft a protocol . Drafting a protocol for the qualitative content analysis of any type of document is the researcher’s way of asking the questions they need answers to from the documents. Therefore, a protocol is ‘a list of questions, items, categories, or variables that guide data collection from documents’ ( Altheide & Schneider, 2013 ). Some categories in protocols can be ‘precoded’ which means that they were already determined before the research process began, but some others are generated from the data inductively.
  • 5. Examine documents: Test the protocol by collecting data from several documents . Qualitative media analysis protocols usually have far less categories than their quantitative counterparts. Typically, most protocols have between 8 and 14 categories. To examine if a protocol works in the context of a specific research project, the researcher must determine whether the identified conceptual problem is adequately addressed by the categories in the protocol.
  • 6. Revise protocol: Revise the protocol and select several additional cases to further refine it . This is the final step before the sampling and another chance to be reflexive about the choices made with regard to collecting newspaper articles and forming the categories for the protocol.
  • 7. Theoretical sample: Arrive at a sampling rationale and strategy . This stage is crucial. It requires that the widest range of relevant messages is included in the sample mainly because a major emphasis in qualitative media analysis is to capture the meanings and themes of messages and to understand the organisation and process of how they are presented ( Glaser & Strauss, 2012 ). Although there are many sampling strategies that could be followed (including theoretical, opportunistic, cluster, and stratified), in media analysis, theoretical sampling (i.e., the process of selecting materials for conceptual and theoretically relevant reasons rather than following a more rigid sampling strategy) is usually followed. This is mainly because progressive theoretical sampling facilitates the selection of articles based on emerging and evolving understanding of the research topic that is consistent with the principles of reflexivity and interaction.
  • 8. Collect data: Collect data using preset codes if appropriate and many descriptive examples . In online media research, preset codes can be relevant to the format, source and style of articles. These can, for example, include the year of publication, name of newspaper, page of publication or length of the article. Descriptive examples are more conceptual and relevant to the problem under investigation. They can be as generic as the subject matter of each article or more specific to the research question(s). For larger samples, it is always a good idea to use a computer software programme such as NVivo or ATLAS to import data for easier search and coding of text. Reflexivity at this stage is also very important; about halfway to two-thirds into the process of data collection, taking a step back and examining the data could allow for the emergence, refinement, or merging of categories which is very important to decide before moving on to full-scale coding and data analysis.
  • 9. Code data: Perform data analysis, including conceptual refinement and data coding . Data analysis generally consists of extensively reading, sorting, and searching through materials. As previously mentioned, most researchers conducting online media research tend to use some type of qualitative analysis software, especially for the stage of coding data. While this is recommended for many reasons (better organisation, visual depiction and understanding of code relationships, and identification of overlaps), it is also important to note that researchers should oversee the coding process and always interact reflexively with their materials. In qualitative media analysis, it is up to them to think and decide the best way to integrate and code data using the most meaningful codes relevant to their research question(s).
  • 10. Compare data: Compare and contrast data within each category to help identify potential differences . At this stage, it is recommended to go record by record, in other words, article by article in order to search, find, sort, and compare. Making textual notes and writing brief summaries for data in each category could help with this process. Comparing categories across the units of analysis is invaluable in identifying different use of language which is crucial in qualitative media analysis especially when the goal is to explore different ways in which the media represent social phenomena.
  • 11. Case studies: Combine the brief summaries with examples of typical cases . This stage is often combined with stage 10 but may also be separate as it requires careful reading of the materials to compare categories within the data and identify the typical cases which share common thematic and presentational characteristics. It is very useful to be consistent with brief summaries here too; two or three sentences which can summarise the range of the use of a specific term, for example, the extremes and the most typical, and what this may mean at this stage of analysis for the problem under investigation.
  • 12. Report: Integrate the findings with your interpretation and key concepts in another draft . The final stage of qualitative content analysis involves presenting your findings and making final interpretations in a meaningful way. Here it is advised to use the categories in your protocol to help guide the presentation and structure the report. For example, for a 12-category protocol, approximately 12 paragraphs or sections can be created to present categories, findings, descriptions, and quotations. It is also very important to read these sections and focus on the variations of themes (for a sample of 100 articles, you may have 5–10 or even more) so these can be presented in a meaningful way as well, to show for example how many articles can fit into each theme created, which ones do not fit and what, if anything, has been surprising or odd about them.

Section Summary

  • In contrast to traditional quantitative approaches to media research, the qualitative content analysis focuses on the communication of meaning through constant reflection and interaction in the process of collecting, observing, and analysing concepts and data.
  • There are 12 stages of qualitative content analysis which can be followed in online media research of newspaper articles.
  • These stages involve identifying a research problem, finding documents, protocol development and data collection, data coding and organisation, data analysis, and report.

Developing a Protocol for Studying Online Newspaper Articles

This section focuses on how to develop a protocol specifically for researching online newspaper articles.

The development of the protocol, although presented as a specific stage (4) in the qualitative content analysis process, is a fundamental and integral part of the research process which can evolve over several drafts. Categories should be kept to a minimum at first, to allow for more to be generated as the researcher interacts with the articles in relation to the research problem. These categories should showcase meaningful relationships to one another as well as to the research problem. In other words, they should form a coherent list which addresses the theoretical issue at hand, rather than being included purely because they are interesting. Moreover, the protocol categories can be numbers, letters, or even descriptions and should have more than one possible value to them, for example, ‘newspaper title’ or ‘length of article’ can have many different outcomes. Finally, protocols should have a reflective segment – usually, this is the last category – in which the researcher can make notes and comments about how this case was similar to or different from others.

These general points on how to develop a protocol could be further illustrated by a specific example of a protocol from a research project on exploring representations of organised crime in British national newspapers ( Pournara, 2020 ). In this research, the main theoretical question was ‘How is organised crime presented in British online newspapers?’

Protocol for researching the representation of organised crime in the British national press

* Timeframe: January 1, 1993 to January 1, 2018*

  • 1. Newspaper title
  • 2. Article Title/Headline
  • 3. Date of publication
  • 4. Location of the article (page and section, if applicable)
  • a. Under 500 words
  • b. 501 to 1000 words
  • c. 1000+ words
  • a. Organised criminal(s)
  • b. Organised crime activity/event/phenomenon
  • c. Politician(s)/government
  • d. Law enforcement agency
  • b. International crime groups
  • d. Loose networks/lone offenders
  • a. Policing/arrests
  • b. Harm reduction
  • c. National security
  • d. Victim-focused
  • 11. Article summary

These categories were developed over a period of 2–3 months, while the researcher followed the steps mentioned in stages 4, 5, and 6 of the qualitative content analysis process to draft, examine, and revise the protocol, adding and merging categories as needed. Some of these categories are easier to construct than others. The newspaper title or year of publication, for example, is rather straightforward to set. However, the construction of subcategories for the length of articles required some thinking; why would the upper limit be 500 words for a small article for example? This was partly based on previous research ( Young & Allum, 2012 ) and partly on the fact that as more articles were gathered, it became evident that this was a logical cut-off point for the type of articles published in national British newspapers as the majority of smaller articles tended to come up to 500 words. Also, it is important to note that whereas most categories in this protocol were pre-set, categories 7, 8, 9, and 10 were added later as they were generated from the data during the initial stages of protocol drafting.

Finally, the importance of choosing appropriate keywords to search for relevant articles cannot be overstated. In this example, searching for ‘organised crime’ would be the obvious option but upon gathering a few online articles and reading them, it became apparent that they only covered a small proportion of what the researcher was interested in. For example, ‘organised crime’ in newspapers seemed to refer more to gang activity, drugs, and human trafficking but left out some important activities such as fraud and cybercrime which undoubtedly fall under the definition in academic terms. Whereas this was a very interesting finding on its own, it also prevented the researcher from omitting a number of important articles which referred to other organised crime types had they only used the search term ‘organised crime’. With repeated reading, familiarisation with the information source materials allowed for use of more diverse keywords which in turn ensured a more meaningful sampling strategy and a more accurate protocol which addressed the research question more appropriately.

  • Drafting, examining, and revising a protocol are arguably the most important stages in qualitative content analysis.
  • Protocols develop over several drafts and can be adapted throughout the research process.
  • Use of meaningful search terms is crucial when researching online newspaper articles.

This guide explains what qualitative content analysis is and what are the main similarities and differences with its more traditional quantitative counterpart which has been predominantly used in media research in the past. It then describes the step-by-step process of analysing newspaper articles using qualitative content analysis while providing specific instructions for each step, as well as insights on the particularities of this method, especially the ideas of reflexivity and constant interaction with the data. The 12 stages presented in this guide all play an important role in identifying appropriate and reliable source information materials, drafting a meaningful and robust protocol which can be used for data collection, coding, organisation, and finally creating a report which meaningfully addresses the theoretical research problem.

Multiple Choice Quiz Questions

1. Which aspect of qualitative content analysis differentiates it from the more traditional quantitative content analysis in media research?

Incorrect Answer

Feedback: This is not the correct answer. The correct answer is B.

Correct Answer

Feedback: Well done, correct answer.

2. When researching online newspapers, what is typically the unit of analysis?

Feedback: This is not the correct answer. The correct answer is A.

3. What is important to include in a qualitative media analysis protocol?

Feedback: This is not the correct answer. The correct answer is C.

Further Reading

Drisko , J. W. & Maschi T. ( 2016 ). Content analysis . Pocket guide to social work research methods. Oxford University Press .

Graneheim , U. H. , Lindgren , B.-M. , & Lundman , B. ( 2017 ). Methodological challenges in qualitative content analysis: A discussion paper . Nurse Education Today , 56 ( June ), 29 – 34 . 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.06.002

Hsieh , H.-F. , & Shannon , S. E. ( 2005 ). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis . Qualitative Health Research , 15 ( 9 ), 1277 – 1288 . 10.1177/1049732305276687

Kaefer , F. , Roper , J. , & Sinha , P. ( 2015 ). A software-assisted qualitative content analysis of news articles: Example and reflections . Forum: Qualitative Social Research , 16 ( 2 ), 1 – 20 .

Patterson , C. , Emslie , C. , Mason , O. , Fergie , G. , & Hilton , S. ( 2016 ). Content analysis of UK newspaper and online news representations of women’s and men’s “binge” drinking: A challenge for communicating evidence-based messages about single-episodic drinking? BMJ Open , 6 ( 12 ), 1 – 9 . 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013124

Web Resources

Lexis Library News: https://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/legal/news?sourceid=1061905

NewspapersArchive®: https://newspaperarchive.com/

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Film Analysis

What this handout is about.

This handout introduces film analysis and and offers strategies and resources for approaching film analysis assignments.

Writing the film analysis essay

Writing a film analysis requires you to consider the composition of the film—the individual parts and choices made that come together to create the finished piece. Film analysis goes beyond the analysis of the film as literature to include camera angles, lighting, set design, sound elements, costume choices, editing, etc. in making an argument. The first step to analyzing the film is to watch it with a plan.

Watching the film

First it’s important to watch the film carefully with a critical eye. Consider why you’ve been assigned to watch a film and write an analysis. How does this activity fit into the course? Why have you been assigned this particular film? What are you looking for in connection to the course content? Let’s practice with this clip from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958). Here are some tips on how to watch the clip critically, just as you would an entire film:

  • Give the clip your undivided attention at least once. Pay close attention to details and make observations that might start leading to bigger questions.
  • Watch the clip a second time. For this viewing, you will want to focus specifically on those elements of film analysis that your class has focused on, so review your course notes. For example, from whose perspective is this clip shot? What choices help convey that perspective? What is the overall tone, theme, or effect of this clip?
  • Take notes while you watch for the second time. Notes will help you keep track of what you noticed and when, if you include timestamps in your notes. Timestamps are vital for citing scenes from a film!

For more information on watching a film, check out the Learning Center’s handout on watching film analytically . For more resources on researching film, including glossaries of film terms, see UNC Library’s research guide on film & cinema .

Brainstorming ideas

Once you’ve watched the film twice, it’s time to brainstorm some ideas based on your notes. Brainstorming is a major step that helps develop and explore ideas. As you brainstorm, you may want to cluster your ideas around central topics or themes that emerge as you review your notes. Did you ask several questions about color? Were you curious about repeated images? Perhaps these are directions you can pursue.

If you’re writing an argumentative essay, you can use the connections that you develop while brainstorming to draft a thesis statement . Consider the assignment and prompt when formulating a thesis, as well as what kind of evidence you will present to support your claims. Your evidence could be dialogue, sound edits, cinematography decisions, etc. Much of how you make these decisions will depend on the type of film analysis you are conducting, an important decision covered in the next section.

After brainstorming, you can draft an outline of your film analysis using the same strategies that you would for other writing assignments. Here are a few more tips to keep in mind as you prepare for this stage of the assignment:

  • Make sure you understand the prompt and what you are being asked to do. Remember that this is ultimately an assignment, so your thesis should answer what the prompt asks. Check with your professor if you are unsure.
  • In most cases, the director’s name is used to talk about the film as a whole, for instance, “Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo .” However, some writers may want to include the names of other persons who helped to create the film, including the actors, the cinematographer, and the sound editor, among others.
  • When describing a sequence in a film, use the literary present. An example could be, “In Vertigo , Hitchcock employs techniques of observation to dramatize the act of detection.”
  • Finding a screenplay/script of the movie may be helpful and save you time when compiling citations. But keep in mind that there may be differences between the screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of discussion!).
  • Go beyond describing basic film elements by articulating the significance of these elements in support of your particular position. For example, you may have an interpretation of the striking color green in Vertigo , but you would only mention this if it was relevant to your argument. For more help on using evidence effectively, see the section on “using evidence” in our evidence handout .

Also be sure to avoid confusing the terms shot, scene, and sequence. Remember, a shot ends every time the camera cuts; a scene can be composed of several related shots; and a sequence is a set of related scenes.

Different types of film analysis

As you consider your notes, outline, and general thesis about a film, the majority of your assignment will depend on what type of film analysis you are conducting. This section explores some of the different types of film analyses you may have been assigned to write.

Semiotic analysis

Semiotic analysis is the interpretation of signs and symbols, typically involving metaphors and analogies to both inanimate objects and characters within a film. Because symbols have several meanings, writers often need to determine what a particular symbol means in the film and in a broader cultural or historical context.

For instance, a writer could explore the symbolism of the flowers in Vertigo by connecting the images of them falling apart to the vulnerability of the heroine.

Here are a few other questions to consider for this type of analysis:

  • What objects or images are repeated throughout the film?
  • How does the director associate a character with small signs, such as certain colors, clothing, food, or language use?
  • How does a symbol or object relate to other symbols and objects, that is, what is the relationship between the film’s signs?

Many films are rich with symbolism, and it can be easy to get lost in the details. Remember to bring a semiotic analysis back around to answering the question “So what?” in your thesis.

Narrative analysis

Narrative analysis is an examination of the story elements, including narrative structure, character, and plot. This type of analysis considers the entirety of the film and the story it seeks to tell.

For example, you could take the same object from the previous example—the flowers—which meant one thing in a semiotic analysis, and ask instead about their narrative role. That is, you might analyze how Hitchcock introduces the flowers at the beginning of the film in order to return to them later to draw out the completion of the heroine’s character arc.

To create this type of analysis, you could consider questions like:

  • How does the film correspond to the Three-Act Structure: Act One: Setup; Act Two: Confrontation; and Act Three: Resolution?
  • What is the plot of the film? How does this plot differ from the narrative, that is, how the story is told? For example, are events presented out of order and to what effect?
  • Does the plot revolve around one character? Does the plot revolve around multiple characters? How do these characters develop across the film?

When writing a narrative analysis, take care not to spend too time on summarizing at the expense of your argument. See our handout on summarizing for more tips on making summary serve analysis.

Cultural/historical analysis

One of the most common types of analysis is the examination of a film’s relationship to its broader cultural, historical, or theoretical contexts. Whether films intentionally comment on their context or not, they are always a product of the culture or period in which they were created. By placing the film in a particular context, this type of analysis asks how the film models, challenges, or subverts different types of relations, whether historical, social, or even theoretical.

For example, the clip from Vertigo depicts a man observing a woman without her knowing it. You could examine how this aspect of the film addresses a midcentury social concern about observation, such as the sexual policing of women, or a political one, such as Cold War-era McCarthyism.

A few of the many questions you could ask in this vein include:

  • How does the film comment on, reinforce, or even critique social and political issues at the time it was released, including questions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality?
  • How might a biographical understanding of the film’s creators and their historical moment affect the way you view the film?
  • How might a specific film theory, such as Queer Theory, Structuralist Theory, or Marxist Film Theory, provide a language or set of terms for articulating the attributes of the film?

Take advantage of class resources to explore possible approaches to cultural/historical film analyses, and find out whether you will be expected to do additional research into the film’s context.

Mise-en-scène analysis

A mise-en-scène analysis attends to how the filmmakers have arranged compositional elements in a film and specifically within a scene or even a single shot. This type of analysis organizes the individual elements of a scene to explore how they come together to produce meaning. You may focus on anything that adds meaning to the formal effect produced by a given scene, including: blocking, lighting, design, color, costume, as well as how these attributes work in conjunction with decisions related to sound, cinematography, and editing. For example, in the clip from Vertigo , a mise-en-scène analysis might ask how numerous elements, from lighting to camera angles, work together to present the viewer with the perspective of Jimmy Stewart’s character.

To conduct this type of analysis, you could ask:

  • What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose?
  • How does this scene represent the theme of the movie?
  • How does a scene work to express a broader point to the film’s plot?

This detailed approach to analyzing the formal elements of film can help you come up with concrete evidence for more general film analysis assignments.

Reviewing your draft

Once you have a draft, it’s helpful to get feedback on what you’ve written to see if your analysis holds together and you’ve conveyed your point. You may not necessarily need to find someone who has seen the film! Ask a writing coach, roommate, or family member to read over your draft and share key takeaways from what you have written so far.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Aumont, Jacques, and Michel Marie. 1988. L’analyse Des Films . Paris: Nathan.

Media & Design Center. n.d. “Film and Cinema Research.” UNC University Libraries. Last updated February 10, 2021. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/filmresearch .

Oxford Royale Academy. n.d. “7 Ways to Watch Film.” Oxford Royale Academy. Accessed April 2021. https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/7-ways-watch-films-critically/ .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to Write Media Analysis Papers

Media analysis papers examine how media portrays people, products or issues. They're especially helpful to nonprofit organizations and businesses that work with stereotyped groups or issues. Understanding how the media reflects your products or customers helps you improve your marketing and public relations.

Identify your core group or issue. Make this as specific as possible.

Gather different examples of media presentations of that group or issue from a variety of different media sources. Unless you desire to examine a specific type of media such as radio, TV, film or Internet, include examples from several different types.

Examine each media source, looking for similar ideas or keywords used by the different sources. Listen for buzzwords such as "alarming," "incredible" or "gravitas." If you research a specific person, watch for similar portrayals of the person's character throughout the examples.

Consider the portrayal of the persons or issues by the media, whether positive or negative, and determine the overall impression the media conveys to the audience pertaining to them. Consider the person or people reporting and their bias towards the subject matter. Consider the placement of the coverage of the issue presented--as a cover story, as a side article or at the beginning of a news program or in the middle.

Collect research about the group or issue from other writers. Several journals publish information about media issues, or you can find information online at the Public Relations Society of America (see Resources below).

Write a first draft of your analysis presenting your methodology, analytical process and conclusions. Document your sources properly.

Read your analysis. Verify that it says what you intend and correct any errors.

Ask a friend or coworker to peer edit your analysis. A fresh pair of eyes catches common errors.

  • Public Relations Society of America publications.

This article was written by the CareerTrend team, copy edited and fact checked through a multi-point auditing system, in efforts to ensure our readers only receive the best information. To submit your questions or ideas, or to simply learn more about CareerTrend, contact us [here](http://careertrend.com/about-us).

98 Media Analysis Essay Topics & Examples

Welcome to our list of media analysis essay topics! Here, you will find plenty of content analysis topic ideas. Use them to write a critical paper, a literary analysis, or a mass-media related project. As a bonus, we’ve included media analysis example essays!

🔝 Top 10 Media Analysis Topics for 2024

🏆 best media analysis topic ideas & essay examples, ⭐ interesting topics to write about media analysis, ✅ simple & easy media analysis essay titles, 🔥 content analysis topic ideas.

  • Portrayal of Women in Ads
  • Media Bias in Political Reporting
  • Representation and Diversity on TV
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Media Analysis Essay, Writing Guide

How to write a media analysis essay, introduction example, thesis statement, organising body paragraphs, how to conclude.

Media analysis essay requires one to understand the landscape of the media that guides them in the presentation of certain critical issues. The media analysis essay can work to identify messages, framing of messages, and also improving an existing issue. The essay should take into consideration pieces of media coverage over a certain period of time. These pieces of coverage are often in major daily newspapers, broadcasting outlets, and magazines. There are various steps to write a good media analysis essay. The first stage of writing a media analysis essay is to develop certain search terms. One identifies a list of search terms that help to zero in only articles that discussed a certain topic. The irrelevant topics are therefore excluded from the essay. For instance, if the media coverage was about the Government not concerned with Low-Wage Workers, the first search term would be ‘Low-Wage Workers.’ This will direct one to various news outlets that have the information about Low-Wage Workers in the country. During the search process, the media coverage on the topic might be varied. The writer, therefore, samples out the most suitable and relevant information to use for the analysis. The student then establishes the top sources of news which have credible information for use in the essay writing. It is important to have an introduction of an essay that lets the reader understand the main discussion covered in the essay. This includes giving detailed and background information about the topic of discussion. In the analysis of coverage on Low-wage workers, the essay can have the following introduction.

“The media broadcast has largely failed to cover the information on Low-Wage Workers even when the government of the day is not concerned. Consequently, most people who access news via television and newspapers are not aware of challenges facing the low-paid workers in the economy. In addition, most organisations that are ready to help the employees do not have sufficient information on certain specific things to offer. This essay will analyse media broadcast of information about employees who receive the lowest income.”

Still under introduction is the thesis statement. The student should have a complete thesis statement at the end of introduction for the media analysis essay. The statement guides any reader on the information covered in main body of the piece of writing. For instance, the thesis statement can be:

“Close analysis of media coverage on Low-Wage Workers is necessary to supply information to various organisations and individuals of concern for the benefit of all employees.”

There are different ways of structuring the paragraphs depending on genre and size of analysis document. However, the main objective of the information in the paragraphs is to present sections of the essay, analysis of the functioning of the sections and how the various parts constitute the thesis statement. One way is by the chronological structure which is the most straightforward technique. This technique should be used with reason to make the essay more effective. For instance, in the analysis of a photo in a newspaper, the chronological approach enables the writer to give insights in an order similar to the viewer of the image. The author should be careful in dealing with a document having a narrative by use of the chronological technique. This is because the writer can easily make a plot summary which is not the main objective of the analysis essay. Another way of structuring body paragraphs is by the use of the spatial technique. This approach covers sections of the essay in an easy way the eye can scan through. The guidelines to spatial approach include left to right and top to down structuring which is the natural way of reading and scanning in countries that use English as a language of communication. Another guideline is by the use of lines which give directions of the eye to follow in the process of scanning. In addition to the above techniques, another approach is by use of persuasive appeals in structuring the essay such as logos, ethos, and others. This technique enables the essay writer to persuade readers through logic and emotions. The student should only use persuasive appeals approach if they understand how it functions since there is a challenge of deviating from the main objective of the essay.

The conclusion of media analysis essay should restate the main ideas and issues covered in the body paragraphs and their importance, restate the thesis statement and also highlight further research necessary in completing efforts given in the analysis. For example in the analysis of low-wage workers, the conclusion can be as follows:

“It is a challenge when lowly-paid employees do not get full coverage in daily media broadcast because this is a platform where most people access news. Individuals and organisations wishing to assist the employees should make more efforts in ensuring the stories receive full media attention. There will be more motivation among the people to take action and change some factors if the media changes the style of covering the topic under discussion.”

how to write a media analysis paper

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How to Write an Analysis

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 283,631 times.

An analysis is a piece of writing that looks at some aspect of a document in detail. To write a good analysis, you’ll need to ask yourself questions that focus on how and why the document works the way it does. You can start the process by gathering information about the subject of your analysis and defining the questions your analysis will answer. Once you’ve outlined your main arguments, look for specific evidence to support them. You can then work on putting your analysis together into a coherent piece of writing.

Gathering Information and Building Your Argument

Step 1 Review your assignment carefully.

  • If your analysis is supposed to answer a specific question or focus on a particular aspect of the document you are analyzing.
  • If there are any length or formatting requirements for the analysis.
  • The citation style your instructor wants you to use.
  • On what criteria your instructor will evaluate your analysis (e.g., organization, originality, good use of references and quotations, or correct spelling and grammar).

Step 2 Gather basic information about the subject of your analysis.

  • The title of the document (if it has one).
  • The name of the creator of the document. For example, depending on the type of document you’re working with, this could be the author, artist, director, performer, or photographer.
  • The form and medium of the document (e.g., “Painting, oil on canvas”).
  • When and where the document was created.
  • The historical and cultural context of the work.

Step 3 Do a close reading of the document and take notes.

  • Who you believe the intended audience is for the advertisement.
  • What rhetorical choices the author made to persuade the audience of their main point.
  • What product is being advertised.
  • How the poster uses images to make the product look appealing.
  • Whether there is any text in the poster, and, if so, how it works together with the images to reinforce the message of the ad.
  • What the purpose of the ad is or what its main point is.

Step 4 Determine which question(s) you would like to answer with your analysis.

  • For example, if you’re analyzing an advertisement poster, you might focus on the question: “How does this poster use colors to symbolize the problem that the product is intended to fix? Does it also use color to represent the beneficial results of using the product?”

Step 5 Make a list of your main arguments.

  • For example, you might write, “This poster uses the color red to symbolize the pain of a headache. The blue elements in the design represent the relief brought by the product.”
  • You could develop the argument further by saying, “The colors used in the text reinforce the use of colors in the graphic elements of the poster, helping the viewer make a direct connection between the words and images.”

Step 6 Gather evidence and examples to support your arguments.

  • For example, if you’re arguing that the advertisement poster uses red to represent pain, you might point out that the figure of the headache sufferer is red, while everyone around them is blue. Another piece of evidence might be the use of red lettering for the words “HEADACHE” and “PAIN” in the text of the poster.
  • You could also draw on outside evidence to support your claims. For example, you might point out that in the country where the advertisement was produced, the color red is often symbolically associated with warnings or danger.

Tip: If you’re analyzing a text, make sure to properly cite any quotations that you use to support your arguments. Put any direct quotations in quotation marks (“”) and be sure to give location information, such as the page number where the quote appears. Additionally, follow the citation requirements for the style guide assigned by your instructor or one that's commonly used for the subject matter you're writing about.

Organizing and Drafting Your Analysis

Step 1 Write a brief...

  • For example, “The poster ‘Say! What a relief,’ created in 1932 by designer Dorothy Plotzky, uses contrasting colors to symbolize the pain of a headache and the relief brought by Miss Burnham’s Pep-Em-Up Pills. The red elements denote pain, while blue ones indicate soothing relief.”

Tip: Your instructor might have specific directions about which information to include in your thesis statement (e.g., the title, author, and date of the document you are analyzing). If you’re not sure how to format your thesis statement or topic sentence, don’t hesitate to ask.

Step 2 Create an outline...

  • a. Background
  • ii. Analysis/Explanation
  • iii. Example
  • iv. Analysis/Explanation
  • III. Conclusion

Step 3 Draft an introductory paragraph.

  • For example, “In the late 1920s, Kansas City schoolteacher Ethel Burnham developed a patent headache medication that quickly achieved commercial success throughout the American Midwest. The popularity of the medicine was largely due to a series of simple but eye-catching advertising posters that were created over the next decade. The poster ‘Say! What a relief,’ created in 1932 by designer Dorothy Plotzky, uses contrasting colors to symbolize the pain of a headache and the relief brought by Miss Burnham’s Pep-Em-Up Pills.”

Step 4 Use the body of the essay to present your main arguments.

  • Make sure to include clear transitions between each argument and each paragraph. Use transitional words and phrases, such as “Furthermore,” “Additionally,” “For example,” “Likewise,” or “In contrast . . .”
  • The best way to organize your arguments will vary based on the individual topic and the specific points you are trying to make. For example, in your analysis of the poster, you might start with arguments about the red visual elements and then move on to a discussion about how the red text fits in.

Step 5 Compose a conclusion...

  • For example, you might end your essay with a few sentences about how other advertisements at the time might have been influenced by Dorothy Plotzky’s use of colors.

Step 6 Avoid presenting your personal opinions on the document.

  • For example, in your discussion of the advertisement, avoid stating that you think the art is “beautiful” or that the advertisement is “boring.” Instead, focus on what the poster was supposed to accomplish and how the designer attempted to achieve those goals.

Polishing Your Analysis

Step 1 Check that the organization of your analysis makes sense.

  • For example, if your essay currently skips around between discussions of the red and blue elements of the poster, consider reorganizing it so that you discuss all the red elements first, then focus on the blue ones.

Step 2 Look for areas where you might clarify your writing or add details.

  • For example, you might look for places where you could provide additional examples to support one of your major arguments.

Step 3 Cut out any irrelevant passages.

  • For example, if you included a paragraph about Dorothy Plotzky’s previous work as a children’s book illustrator, you may want to cut it if it doesn’t somehow relate to her use of color in advertising.
  • Cutting material out of your analysis may be difficult, especially if you put a lot of thought into each sentence or found the additional material really interesting. Your analysis will be stronger if you keep it concise and to the point, however.

Step 4 Proofread your writing and fix any errors.

  • You may find it helpful to have someone else go over your essay and look for any mistakes you might have missed.

Tip: When you’re reading silently, it’s easy to miss typos and other small errors because your brain corrects them automatically. Reading your work out loud can make problems easier to spot.

Sample Analysis Outline and Conclusion

how to write a media analysis paper

Expert Q&A

Christopher Taylor, PhD

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Write

  • ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-make-sure-i-understand-an-assignment-.html
  • ↑ https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/pdf/HOWTOWRITEALITERARYANALYSISESSAY_10.15.07_001.pdf
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/visual_rhetoric/analyzing_visual_documents/elements_of_analysis.html
  • ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-can-i-create-stronger-analysis-.html
  • ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-decide-what-i-should-argue-.html
  • ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-effectively-integrate-textual-evidence-.html
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/writing-a-thesis
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/visual_rhetoric/analyzing_visual_documents/organizing_your_analysis.html
  • ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-write-an-intro--conclusion----body-paragraph.html
  • ↑ http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310/Textanalysis.htm
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/graduate_writing/graduate_writing_topics/graduate_writing_organization_structure_new.html
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/sentence_clarity.html
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conciseness-handout/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

Christopher Taylor, PhD

If you need to write an analysis, first look closely at your assignment to make sure you understand the requirements. Then, gather background information about the document you’ll be analyzing and do a close read so that you’re thoroughly familiar with the subject matter. If it’s not already specified in your assignment, come up with one or more specific question’s you’d like your analysis to answer, then outline your main arguments. Finally, gather evidence and examples to support your arguments. Read on to learn how to organize, draft, and polish your analysis! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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  • How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis | Key Concepts & Examples

Published on August 28, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay  that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience.

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Table of contents

Key concepts in rhetoric, analyzing the text, introducing your rhetorical analysis, the body: doing the analysis, concluding a rhetorical analysis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about rhetorical analysis.

Rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing, is a subject that trains you to look at texts, arguments and speeches in terms of how they are designed to persuade the audience. This section introduces a few of the key concepts of this field.

Appeals: Logos, ethos, pathos

Appeals are how the author convinces their audience. Three central appeals are discussed in rhetoric, established by the philosopher Aristotle and sometimes called the rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

Logos , or the logical appeal, refers to the use of reasoned argument to persuade. This is the dominant approach in academic writing , where arguments are built up using reasoning and evidence.

Ethos , or the ethical appeal, involves the author presenting themselves as an authority on their subject. For example, someone making a moral argument might highlight their own morally admirable behavior; someone speaking about a technical subject might present themselves as an expert by mentioning their qualifications.

Pathos , or the pathetic appeal, evokes the audience’s emotions. This might involve speaking in a passionate way, employing vivid imagery, or trying to provoke anger, sympathy, or any other emotional response in the audience.

These three appeals are all treated as integral parts of rhetoric, and a given author may combine all three of them to convince their audience.

Text and context

In rhetoric, a text is not necessarily a piece of writing (though it may be this). A text is whatever piece of communication you are analyzing. This could be, for example, a speech, an advertisement, or a satirical image.

In these cases, your analysis would focus on more than just language—you might look at visual or sonic elements of the text too.

The context is everything surrounding the text: Who is the author (or speaker, designer, etc.)? Who is their (intended or actual) audience? When and where was the text produced, and for what purpose?

Looking at the context can help to inform your rhetorical analysis. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has universal power, but the context of the civil rights movement is an important part of understanding why.

Claims, supports, and warrants

A piece of rhetoric is always making some sort of argument, whether it’s a very clearly defined and logical one (e.g. in a philosophy essay) or one that the reader has to infer (e.g. in a satirical article). These arguments are built up with claims, supports, and warrants.

A claim is the fact or idea the author wants to convince the reader of. An argument might center on a single claim, or be built up out of many. Claims are usually explicitly stated, but they may also just be implied in some kinds of text.

The author uses supports to back up each claim they make. These might range from hard evidence to emotional appeals—anything that is used to convince the reader to accept a claim.

The warrant is the logic or assumption that connects a support with a claim. Outside of quite formal argumentation, the warrant is often unstated—the author assumes their audience will understand the connection without it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still explore the implicit warrant in these cases.

For example, look at the following statement:

We can see a claim and a support here, but the warrant is implicit. Here, the warrant is the assumption that more likeable candidates would have inspired greater turnout. We might be more or less convinced by the argument depending on whether we think this is a fair assumption.

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Rhetorical analysis isn’t a matter of choosing concepts in advance and applying them to a text. Instead, it starts with looking at the text in detail and asking the appropriate questions about how it works:

  • What is the author’s purpose?
  • Do they focus closely on their key claims, or do they discuss various topics?
  • What tone do they take—angry or sympathetic? Personal or authoritative? Formal or informal?
  • Who seems to be the intended audience? Is this audience likely to be successfully reached and convinced?
  • What kinds of evidence are presented?

By asking these questions, you’ll discover the various rhetorical devices the text uses. Don’t feel that you have to cram in every rhetorical term you know—focus on those that are most important to the text.

The following sections show how to write the different parts of a rhetorical analysis.

Like all essays, a rhetorical analysis begins with an introduction . The introduction tells readers what text you’ll be discussing, provides relevant background information, and presents your thesis statement .

Hover over different parts of the example below to see how an introduction works.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights movement and even to function as a major part of the American national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has retained its inspirational power over the years.

The body of your rhetorical analysis is where you’ll tackle the text directly. It’s often divided into three paragraphs, although it may be more in a longer essay.

Each paragraph should focus on a different element of the text, and they should all contribute to your overall argument for your thesis statement.

Hover over the example to explore how a typical body paragraph is constructed.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

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The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis. It may also try to link the text, and your analysis of it, with broader concerns.

Explore the example below to get a sense of the conclusion.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully constructs to give force to his statements. By framing contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting us on the path toward it.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to explain the effect a piece of writing or oratory has on its audience, how successful it is, and the devices and appeals it uses to achieve its goals.

Unlike a standard argumentative essay , it’s less about taking a position on the arguments presented, and more about exploring how they are constructed.

The term “text” in a rhetorical analysis essay refers to whatever object you’re analyzing. It’s frequently a piece of writing or a speech, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, you could also treat an advertisement or political cartoon as a text.

Logos appeals to the audience’s reason, building up logical arguments . Ethos appeals to the speaker’s status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Collectively, these three appeals are sometimes called the rhetorical triangle . They are central to rhetorical analysis , though a piece of rhetoric might not necessarily use all of them.

In rhetorical analysis , a claim is something the author wants the audience to believe. A support is the evidence or appeal they use to convince the reader to believe the claim. A warrant is the (often implicit) assumption that links the support with the claim.

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how to write a media analysis paper

Example prompts to try with Microsoft Copilot with Graph-grounded chat

Experience the power of Get started with Microsoft Copilot with Graph-grounded chat  (formerly named Microsoft 365 Chat). See how much time you can save and how much more you can get done. Use Microsoft Copilot to catch up, create content, and ask questions. This article provides several example prompts you can try.

Tip:  When you’re giving Copilot instructions, you can direct it to specific work content by using the forward slash key (“/”), then typing the name of a file, person, or meeting.  If you write a prompt and don’t reference a specific file, person, or meeting, Copilot will determine the best source of data for its response, including all your work content.

Synthesize large amounts of data into simple, consumable responses and catch up on things quickly. Here are some examples:

You've been on vacation now you're back. You need to find out what's going on with Project X. Find the latest about Project X. What's the current timeline? When are deliverables due?

You've just joined a new team and you're trying to ramp up on recent activities. Summarize team communications over the last 30 days. What are the team's priorities? 

There's been a recent change in how your team is tracking work. Find information about the new way our team is tracking work. Include email communications and points of contact for questions.

Create content

Brainstorm ideas and draft new content based on information at work. Here are some examples:

You want to draft a one-page description of a new project (let's call it Project Foo) that's just about to kick off at work. Using information in file1, file2, and file3, write a one-page description of Project Foo. Write it so non-technical people can understand what the project is about and when it's scheduled to be completed.

You're preparing an email to invite customers to attend an upcoming conference and visit your company's booth. Using information in Document Z, write a fun, catchy email inviting our customers to come see us at our booth during next month's conference.

You want to plan a morale event for your team. List 3-5 ideas for group activities in the Seattle area that would be suitable for my team. Include approximate cost and time estimates. 

Ask questions

Find information and get answers quickly, even if you can't remember where the information you need is or how it was shared. Here are some examples:

You need to know what's left in the budget for supplies. How much did we spend on supplies for Project Foo?  How much budget do we have left for Project Foo?

Your team received customer feedback. You want to identify the top things your team should address. Review the feedback we received from customers via email last week. What are the top three issues we should address?

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EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence in the EU will be regulated by the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law. Find out how it will protect you.

A man faces a computer generated figure with programming language in the background

As part of its digital strategy , the EU wants to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure better conditions for the development and use of this innovative technology. AI can create many benefits , such as better healthcare; safer and cleaner transport; more efficient manufacturing; and cheaper and more sustainable energy.

In April 2021, the European Commission proposed the first EU regulatory framework for AI. It says that AI systems that can be used in different applications are analysed and classified according to the risk they pose to users. The different risk levels will mean more or less regulation. Once approved, these will be the world’s first rules on AI.

Learn more about what artificial intelligence is and how it is used

What Parliament wants in AI legislation

Parliament’s priority is to make sure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly. AI systems should be overseen by people, rather than by automation, to prevent harmful outcomes.

Parliament also wants to establish a technology-neutral, uniform definition for AI that could be applied to future AI systems.

Learn more about Parliament’s work on AI and its vision for AI’s future

AI Act: different rules for different risk levels

The new rules establish obligations for providers and users depending on the level of risk from artificial intelligence. While many AI systems pose minimal risk, they need to be assessed.

Unacceptable risk

Unacceptable risk AI systems are systems considered a threat to people and will be banned. They include:

  • Cognitive behavioural manipulation of people or specific vulnerable groups: for example voice-activated toys that encourage dangerous behaviour in children
  • Social scoring: classifying people based on behaviour, socio-economic status or personal characteristics
  • Biometric identification and categorisation of people
  • Real-time and remote biometric identification systems, such as facial recognition

Some exceptions may be allowed for law enforcement purposes. “Real-time” remote biometric identification systems will be allowed in a limited number of serious cases, while “post” remote biometric identification systems, where identification occurs after a significant delay, will be allowed to prosecute serious crimes and only after court approval.

AI systems that negatively affect safety or fundamental rights will be considered high risk and will be divided into two categories:

1) AI systems that are used in products falling under the EU’s product safety legislation . This includes toys, aviation, cars, medical devices and lifts.

2) AI systems falling into specific areas that will have to be registered in an EU database:

  • Management and operation of critical infrastructure
  • Education and vocational training
  • Employment, worker management and access to self-employment
  • Access to and enjoyment of essential private services and public services and benefits
  • Law enforcement
  • Migration, asylum and border control management
  • Assistance in legal interpretation and application of the law.

All high-risk AI systems will be assessed before being put on the market and also throughout their lifecycle.

General purpose and generative AI

Generative AI, like ChatGPT, would have to comply with transparency requirements:

  • Disclosing that the content was generated by AI
  • Designing the model to prevent it from generating illegal content
  • Publishing summaries of copyrighted data used for training

High-impact general-purpose AI models that might pose systemic risk, such as the more advanced AI model GPT-4, would have to undergo thorough evaluations and any serious incidents would have to be reported to the European Commission.

Limited risk

Limited risk AI systems should comply with minimal transparency requirements that would allow users to make informed decisions. After interacting with the applications, the user can then decide whether they want to continue using it. Users should be made aware when they are interacting with AI. This includes AI systems that generate or manipulate image, audio or video content, for example deepfakes.

On December 9 2023, Parliament reached a provisional agreement with the Council on the AI act . The agreed text will now have to be formally adopted by both Parliament and Council to become EU law. Before all MEPs have their say on the agreement, Parliament’s internal market and civil liberties committees will vote on it.

More on the EU’s digital measures

  • Cryptocurrency dangers and the benefits of EU legislation
  • Fighting cybercrime: new EU cybersecurity laws explained
  • Boosting data sharing in the EU: what are the benefits?
  • EU Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act
  • Five ways the European Parliament wants to protect online gamers
  • Artificial Intelligence Act

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: shallow synthesis of knowledge in gpt-generated texts: a case study in automatic related work composition.

Abstract: Numerous AI-assisted scholarly applications have been developed to aid different stages of the research process. We present an analysis of AI-assisted scholarly writing generated with ScholaCite, a tool we built that is designed for organizing literature and composing Related Work sections for academic papers. Our evaluation method focuses on the analysis of citation graphs to assess the structural complexity and inter-connectedness of citations in texts and involves a three-way comparison between (1) original human-written texts, (2) purely GPT-generated texts, and (3) human-AI collaborative texts. We find that GPT-4 can generate reasonable coarse-grained citation groupings to support human users in brainstorming, but fails to perform detailed synthesis of related works without human intervention. We suggest that future writing assistant tools should not be used to draft text independently of the human author.

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  1. How to Do a Media Analysis: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

    1 List all of the media outlets in your area. Include newspapers, news websites, radio stations, television news shows, and any other media outlets you want to include. Depending on the story you hope to share and its scope, you may also extend your search to include statewide and national media outlets. [1]

  2. Media Analysis

    1. Text The text is the thing you look at while conducting your analysis. Neuman (1997, p. 273) describes a text as: "anything written, visual, or spoken that serves as a medium for communication".

  3. PDF Writing a Media Analysis

    What messages are being used? One recent media analysis entitled "Between A Rock and a Hard Place: An Analysis of Low-Wage Workers in the Media" (available at www.economythatworks.org/reports.htm) was a crucial first step in building a

  4. Structuring a media analysis

    Quantitative or qualitative? There are two types of media analysis - quantitative and qualitative - and the difference between the two is immediately apparent in their names. Quantitative studies involve methodically selecting sources and counting words, phrases and names.

  5. Content Analysis

    How to conduct content analysis Other interesting articles What is content analysis used for? Researchers use content analysis to find out about the purposes, messages, and effects of communication content. They can also make inferences about the producers and audience of the texts they analyze.

  6. What Should You Include In Your Media Analysis Essay?

    A Conclusion. Last but not least, don't forget to include a conclusion in your media analysis essay. Your conclusion should briefly summarize the main points of your essay and reinforce your thesis statement. It's also a good idea to end with a call to action, or some food for thought, encouraging your readers to further engage with the ...

  7. Organizing Your Analysis

    1. Clearly narrow the focus of what your essay will cover. Ask yourself if one or two design aspects of the document is interesting and complex enough to warrant a full analytical treatment.

  8. Content Analysis

    Step 1: Select the content you will analyse. Based on your research question, choose the texts that you will analyse. You need to decide: The medium (e.g., newspapers, speeches, or websites) and genre (e.g., opinion pieces, political campaign speeches, or marketing copy)

  9. Writing a Critical Analysis

    This guide is meant to help you understand the basics of writing a critical analysis. A critical analysis is an argument about a particular piece of media. There are typically two parts: (1) identify and explain the argument the author is making, and (2), provide your own argument about that argument. ... This is the bulk of your paper. Provide ...

  10. How to Research Online Newspaper Articles to Conduct a Qualitative

    Furthermore, an overview of the 12 stages of the qualitative content analysis process is presented and a specific focus is placed on studying online newspaper articles. The 12 stages of the process include steps such as identifying a theoretical problem, finding documents, developing a protocol, collecting, coding, organising data, data ...

  11. Film Analysis

    Writing a film analysis requires you to consider the composition of the film—the individual parts and choices made that come together to create the finished piece. Film analysis goes beyond the analysis of the film as literature to include camera angles, lighting, set design, sound elements, costume choices, editing, etc. in making an argument.

  12. How to Write Media Analysis Papers

    Write a first draft of your analysis presenting your methodology, analytical process and conclusions. Document your sources properly. Read your analysis. Verify that it says what you intend and correct any errors. Note Ask a friend or coworker to peer edit your analysis. A fresh pair of eyes catches common errors. Resources Writer Bio

  13. Media Analysis Essay: Most Exciting Examples and Topics Ideas

    1 Rhetorical Analysis of AD 1 page / 527 words Advertising is a pervasive part of modern life, influencing the decisions and beliefs of consumers on a daily basis. In this essay, we will analyze a prominent advertisement to understand the rhetorical strategies used to persuade and influence the audience. By examining the ad's rhetorical...

  14. 98 Media Analysis Essay Topics & Examples

    98 Media Analysis Essay Topics & Examples. Updated: Dec 27th, 2023. 6 min. Welcome to our list of media analysis essay topics! Here, you will find plenty of content analysis topic ideas. Use them to write a critical paper, a literary analysis, or a mass-media related project.

  15. Textual Analysis

    Textual analysis in cultural and media studies. In the fields of cultural studies and media studies, textual analysis is a key component of research. Researchers in these fields take media and cultural objects - for example, music videos, social media content, billboard advertising - and treat them as texts to be analyzed.

  16. How To Write A Media Analysis Essay

    Introduction example Thesis Statement Organising Body Paragraphs How to conclude How To Write A Media Analysis Essay Media analysis essay requires one to understand the landscape of the media that guides them in the presentation of certain critical issues.

  17. How to Write an Analysis (with Pictures)

    1 Review your assignment carefully. Before you begin working on your analysis, make sure you have a clear understanding of what you are supposed to do. [1] If you're writing an analysis for a class, your instructor probably provided detailed instructions for completing the assignment.

  18. How to write a Media Essay

    As a rule, the media student is expected to produce high standard media essays and writing skills. The starting point to a good essay is finding a focus. If the subject matter is engaging to start off with, then the focus is already there, but it is still necessary to settle on a thesis. To start writing an essay without a thesis is to squander ...

  19. How to Write a Critical Analysis Essay

    1. Read Thoroughly and Carefully. You will need to accurately represent an author's point of view and techniques. Be sure you truly understand them before you begin the writing process. 2. Choose a Thesis Statement. Your thesis should make a claim about the author's point of view and writing style.

  20. PDF Strategies for Essay Writing

    provide when you are writing a paper. Here are some useful guidelines: o If you're writing a research paper, do not assume that your reader has read all the sources that you are writing about. You'll need to offer context about what those sources say so that your reader can understand why you have brought them into the conversation.

  21. How To Write an Analysis (With Examples and Tips)

    Writing an analysis requires a particular structure and key components to create a compelling argument. The following steps can help you format and write your analysis: Choose your argument. Define your thesis. Write the introduction. Write the body paragraphs. Add a conclusion. 1. Choose your argument.

  22. PDF HOW TO WRITE A LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY

    The Introduction The introduction to your literary analysis essay should try to capture your reader‟s interest. To bring immediate focus to your subject, you may want to use a quotation, a provocative question, a brief anecdote, a startling statement, or a combination of these.

  23. How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis

    A rhetorical analysis is a type of essay that looks at a text in terms of rhetoric. This means it is less concerned with what the author is saying than with how they say it: their goals, techniques, and appeals to the audience. A rhetorical analysis is structured similarly to other essays: an introduction presenting the thesis, a body analyzing ...

  24. How to Write an Analytical Essay in 6 Steps

    How to structure an analytical essay Although analytical essays tend to be more detailed, specific, or technical than other essays, they still follow the same loose essay structure as the rest: 1 Introduction 2 Body 3 Conclusion The introduction is where you present your thesis statement and prepare your reader for what follows.

  25. Example prompts to try with Microsoft Copilot with Graph-grounded chat

    Tip: When you're giving Copilot instructions, you can direct it to specific work content by using the forward slash key ("/"), then typing the name of a file, person, or meeting. If you write a prompt and don't reference a specific file, person, or meeting, Copilot will determine the best source of data for its response, including all your work content.

  26. EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence

    As part of its digital strategy, the EU wants to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure better conditions for the development and use of this innovative technology. AI can create many benefits, such as better healthcare; safer and cleaner transport; more efficient manufacturing; and cheaper and more sustainable energy.. In April 2021, the European Commission proposed the first EU ...

  27. [2402.12255] Shallow Synthesis of Knowledge in GPT-Generated Texts: A

    Numerous AI-assisted scholarly applications have been developed to aid different stages of the research process. We present an analysis of AI-assisted scholarly writing generated with ScholaCite, a tool we built that is designed for organizing literature and composing Related Work sections for academic papers. Our evaluation method focuses on the analysis of citation graphs to assess the ...