What is the difference between analysis and description

Once you have discerned the difference between describing and analyzing, and how to write arguments, you should be able to identify key ideas within paragraphs more easily […]. Name required. Email required, but never shared.

Proudly powered by WordPress and Carrington. Carrington Theme by Crowd Favorite. Distinguishing between description and analysis in academic writing When I switched from chemical engineering my undergraduate degree to political science and human geography my doctoral degree , I went through economics of technical change and international marketing my Masters.

Political Scientists The Craft of Research. They Say, I Say. Omar Wasow recommended this book, seconded by Jackie Gehring. Summary vs. Description vs. Analysis vs. One handout I found clearly describes the differences between summary, description, analysis and argument. This one is an anthropology-focused one. This checklist tells the reader how to distinguish between description telling things how they are, detailed accounts of facts and data and analysis explaining the implications, tying theory and empirical evidence to the description.

This short guide from the University of Birmingham Writing Centre on critical thinking and the differences between analytical and descriptive writing really outlines when you use description, when you should be analyzing and how to differentiate between both. Thank you kindly. I was struggling to differentiate between descriptive and analytical writing.

I googled and found this as it is so helpful. Thank you for sharing. I am glad to see this differences of descriptive against analytical writing. This is going to improve my masters dissertation. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. By: Derek Jansen April How about a practical example. Descriptive Writing Analytical writing States what happened the event.

Explains what a theory says. Explains how this is relevant to the key issue s and research question s. Notes the methods used. Explains whether these methods were relevant or not. Explains how something works. Explains whether and why this is positive or negative. Provides various pieces of information. Draws a conclusion in relation to the various pieces of information.

Should I avoid description altogether? So, the key takeaways for this post are as follows: Understand the difference between the what descriptive and the so what analytical. Some students make the mistake of thinking that reflective writing simply requires you to recount an event or describe a scenario.

Reflection within university assignments pushes beyond this. It requires you not only to narrate or describe, but also to analyse. Consider the differences in the following examples between describing what happened, and analysing what happened. One simply recounts what took place, while the other explores why events unfolded as they did.

It considers theories that help explain what happened, and the significance of these things for your teaching and learning. In the following activity there are two pieces of writing: for each, select the option below that best describes the kind of writing in the passage. Home Courses Library Donate. Previous menu Toggle navigation.