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I recommend dividing your analysis into sections because this helps
avoid a lack of balance in your essay, where one point is illustrated and
expounded upon but the others suffer….because the writer became tired, decided
he/she had written enough….Also, creating sections will help you keep the focus
on y our thesis, and organize your paper. But a great paper can be written
without defined sections, so if you are super-confident of your writing purpose
and/or abilities you may skip this.
AND: YOU DON”T HAVE TO HAVE FOUR SECTIONS THIS TIME. YOU MAY HAVE THREE,
OR SEVEN, or whatever suits your purposes.
This essay lends itself to division because there are specific aspects you need to cover:
| Background/History/Evolution of object |
| Description/explanation of object |
| Object’s Role/Function/image in our society |
| What object “says” about the society that uses it |
| Your interpretation of object’s significance |
However, it should be clear that some of these headings don’t apply to all objects, are not equally compelling for all objects, and are not necessarily separate for all objects. So, for example, if your object is “underpants” (a terrific topic, by the way) you might choose to divide your essay chronologically:
Underpants to 1750
Underpants after the beginning of the industrial age-1900
Twentieth century underpants
Contemporary underpants as status identifiers
Then, within each category, you must touch on description, who used it, why, and its role in the society of that time. The focus of your analysis of underpants’ societal significance would come in the last section.