How to Write a Great Interpretive Essay: 8 Key Tips

Discover the top eight most effective interpretive essay tips that will allow you to write a great expository essay with ease and get a high grade for your essay assignment.

Top 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Interpretive Essay

Writing an interpretive essay may not be an easy task for everyone. This is because not everyone knows the right tips for accomplishing this kind of assignment successfully. However, today things are going to change. In this article, you will learn the most effective tips for composing a great interpretive essay that will surely deserve a high grade.

What Is an Interpretive Essay and How to Write a Great One?

An interpretive essay assignment requires a student to analyze and interpret a specific piece of literature such as a poem, novel, play, etc. Usually, the task is to focus on a particular aspect or element of a literary work. This may be the romantic relationship between the main protagonists, the personal tragedy of the protagonist, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist, etc.

However, some students find it difficult to conduct this kind of literary analysis and purchase a custom written interpretive essay cheap instead of doing all the hard work themselves. Nevertheless, whatever the object of your analysis is, our effective tips will help you to compose a successful interpretive essay with ease. So here you go:

  • An interpretive essay is not a summary of a literary work
  • Choose a topic or literary work you are enthusiastic about
  • Don’t make your topic too broad
  • Create an outline of your interpretive essay
  • Support your thesis and claims with sound arguments and evidence
  • Cite the original text
  • Keep the right structure
  • Proofread and edit your text

An Interpretive Essay Is Not a Summary of a Literary Work

This is perhaps the most important lesson that everyone should know when it comes to writing an interpretive essay. Many students seem to think that this kind of a paper is basically just a summary of the piece of literature that is being analyzed. This is a very big misconception.

Your task is not to just summarize the story and list all the important facts. Your job is to connect the dots, formulate your original thesis and ideas and explain why they are valid and correct. Therefore, avoid writing a summary instead of a deep analysis of a literary work.

Choose a Topic or Literary Work You Are Enthusiastic About

If your goal is to compose great paper, you had better be passionate about it. Thus the topic you choose and the object analyzed has to be interesting for you to work upon. If you are given an option to select the work and the topic to be analyzed, then make sure it is something you find interesting to work upon. This will make your work much easier. Writing a paper, you are passionate about will not even seem like work.

Don’t Make Your Topic Too Broad

This is a very important point. Too many students try to analyze the entire literary work of their choice. What you should do instead is focus on a specific idea, aspect or element of the literary work you are analyzing and conduct a deep analysis of it. You want to go deep, not wide.

Create an Outline of Your Interpretive Essay

It is always better to have a clear plan before you start writing. This makes the whole writing process easier. Create a simple outline of your paper, start with the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Then you can add headings and subheadings and break down your text into smaller parts. Once you have your outline in place, you can finally start writing your paper.

Support Your Thesis and Claims with Sound Arguments and Evidence

This is mandatory for anyone who wants to write a great essay or any other kind of academic paper. If your thesis and statements are not supported by strong facts and arguments, you are unlikely to get a high grade for your assignment. Therefore, always make sure to support every claim and statement that you make with sound evidence and arguments.

Cite the Original Text

The best source of arguments in favor of your thesis and claims is the original work you are analyzing. In fact, it is mandatory that you use the original work as your main source. However, ensure that you paraphrase and cite all your sources correctly and in correspondence with the required formatting style.

Keep the Right Structure

Always remember to keep the right structure in your text. Every essay requires the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. An interpretive essay is not an exception. That’s why you should always keep the right structure in your paper.

Proofread and Edit Your Text

Once you are done writing, you still have to do some proofreading and editing. Firstly, read your text carefully a few times to see if there are any serious mistakes in the structure and if all of your writing makes sense. Secondly, do some proofreading and or have someone experienced to do it for you. Thirdly, edit your paper for the last time. Finally, read it once again for the last few times and only then should you submit it.

Conclusion

Writing an interpretive essay doesn’t have to be difficult if you know the right tips. Today you have discovered those tips. All you have to do now is use them, and soon you will end up with a brilliant interpretive essay.