need analysis thesis

Module 8: Analysis and Synthesis

Analytical thesis statements, learning objective.

• Describe strategies for writing analytical thesis statements
• Identify analytical thesis statements

In order to write an analysis, you want to first have a solid understanding of the thing you are analyzing. Remember, when you are analyzing as a writer, you are:

• Breaking down information or artifacts into component parts
• Uncovering relationships among those parts
• Determining motives, causes, and underlying assumptions
• Making inferences and finding evidence to support generalizations

You may be asked to analyze a book, an essay, a poem, a movie, or even a song. For example, let’s suppose you want to analyze the lyrics to a popular song. Pretend that a rapper called Escalade has the biggest hit of the summer with a song titled “Missing You.” You listen to the song and determine that it is about the pain people feel when a loved one dies. You have already done analysis at a surface level and you want to begin writing your analysis. You start with the following thesis statement:

Escalade’s hit song “Missing You” is about grieving after a loved one dies.

There isn’t much depth or complexity to such a claim because the thesis doesn’t give much information. In order to write a better thesis statement, we need to dig deeper into the song. What is the importance of the lyrics? What are they really about? Why is the song about grieving? Why did he present it this way? Why is it a powerful song? Ask questions to lead you to further investigation. Doing so will help you better understand the work, but also help you develop a better thesis statement and stronger analytical essay.

Formulating an Analytical Thesis Statement

When formulating an analytical thesis statement in college, here are some helpful words and phrases to remember:

• What? What is the claim?
• How? How is this claim supported?
• So what? In other words, “What does this mean, what are the implications, or why is this important?”

Telling readers what the lyrics are might be a useful way to let them see what you are analyzing and/or to isolate specific parts where you are focusing your analysis. However, you need to move far beyond “what.” Instructors at the college level want to see your ability to break down material and demonstrate deep thinking. The claim in the thesis statement above said that Escalade’s song was about loss, but what evidence do we have for that, and why does that matter?

Effective analytical thesis statements require digging deeper and perhaps examining the larger context. Let’s say you do some research and learn that the rapper’s mother died not long ago, and when you examine the lyrics more closely, you see that a few of the lines seem to be specifically about a mother rather than a loved one in general.

Then you also read a recent interview with Escalade in which he mentions that he’s staying away from hardcore rap lyrics on his new album in an effort to be more mainstream and reach more potential fans. Finally, you notice that some of the lyrics in the song focus on not taking full advantage of the time we have with our loved ones.   All of these pieces give you material to write a more complex thesis statement, maybe something like this:

In the hit song “Missing You,” Escalade draws on his experience of losing his mother and raps about the importance of not taking time with family for granted in order to connect with his audience.

Such a thesis statement is focused while still allowing plenty of room for support in the body of your paper. It addresses the questions posed above:

• The claim is that Escalade connects with a broader audience by rapping about the importance of not taking time with family for granted in his hit song, “Missing You.”
• This claim is supported in the lyrics of the song and through the “experience of losing his mother.”
• The implications are that we should not take the time we have with people for granted.

Certainly, there may be many ways for you to address “what,” “how,” and “so what,” and you may want to explore other ideas, but the above example is just one way to more fully analyze the material. Note that the example above is not formulaic, but if you need help getting started, you could use this template format to help develop your thesis statement.

Through ________________(how?), we can see that __________________(what?), which is important because ___________________(so what?). [1]

Just remember to think about these questions (what? how? and so what?) as you try to determine why something is what it is or why something means what it means. Asking these questions can help you analyze a song, story, or work of art, and can also help you construct meaningful thesis sentences when you write an analytical paper.

Key Takeaways for analytical theses

Don’t be afraid to let your claim evolve organically . If you find that your thinking and writing don’t stick exactly to the thesis statement you have constructed, your options are to scrap the writing and start again to make it fit your claim (which might not always be possible) or to modify your thesis statement. The latter option can be much easier if you are okay with the changes. As with many projects in life, writing doesn’t always go in the direction we plan, and strong analysis may mean thinking about and making changes as you look more closely at your topic. Be flexible.

Use analysis to get you to the main claim. You may have heard the simile that analysis is like peeling an onion because you have to go through layers to complete your work. You can start the process of breaking down an idea or an artifact without knowing where it will lead you or without a main claim or idea to guide you. Often, careful assessment of the pieces will bring you to an interesting interpretation of the whole. In their text Writing Analytically , authors David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen posit that being analytical doesn’t mean just breaking something down. It also means constructing understandings. Don’t assume you need to have deeper interpretations all figured out as you start your work.

When you decide upon the main claim, make sure it is reasoned . In other words, if it is very unlikely anyone else would reach the same interpretation you are making, it might be off base. Not everyone needs to see an idea the same way you do, but a reasonable person should be able to understand, if not agree, with your analysis.

Look for analytical thesis statements in the following activity.

Using Evidence

An effective analytical thesis statement (or claim) may sound smart or slick, but it requires evidence to be fully realized. Consider movie trailers and the actual full-length movies they advertise as an analogy. If you see an exciting one-minute movie trailer online and then go see the film only to leave disappointed because all the good parts were in the trailer, you feel cheated, right? You think you were promised something that didn’t deliver in its execution. A paper with a strong thesis statement but lackluster evidence feels the same way to readers.

So what does strong analytical evidence look like? Think again about “what,” “how,” and “so what.” A claim introduces these interpretations, and evidence lets you show them. Keep in mind that evidence used in writing analytically will build on itself as the piece progresses, much like a good movie builds to an interesting climax.

Key Takeaways about evidence

Be selective about evidence. Having a narrow thesis statement will help you be selective with evidence, but even then, you don’t need to include any and every piece of information related to your main claim. Consider the best points to back up your analytic thesis statement and go deeply into them. (Also, remember that you may modify your thesis statement as you think and write, so being selective about what evidence you use in an analysis may actually help you narrow down what was a broad main claim as you work.) Refer back to our movie theme in this section: You have probably seen plenty of films that would have been better with some parts cut out and more attention paid to intriguing but underdeveloped characters and/or ideas.

Be clear and explicit with your evidence. Don’t assume that readers know exactly what you are thinking. Make your points and explain them in detail, providing information and context for readers, where necessary. Remember that analysis is critical examination and interpretation, but you can’t just assume that others always share or intuit your line of thinking. Need a movie analogy? Think back on all the times you or someone you know has said something like “I’m not sure what is going on in this movie.”

Move past obvious interpretations. Analyzing requires brainpower. Writing analytically is even more difficult. Don’t, however, try to take the easy way out by using obvious evidence (or working from an obvious claim). Many times writers have a couple of great pieces of evidence to support an interesting interpretation, but they feel the need to tack on an obvious idea—often more of an observation than analysis—somewhere in their work. This tendency may stem from the conventions of the five-paragraph essay, which features three points of support. Writing analytically, though, does not mean writing a five-paragraph essay (not much writing in college does). Develop your other evidence further or modify your main idea to allow room for additional strong evidence, but avoid obvious observations as support for your main claim. One last movie comparison? Go take a look at some of the debate on predictable Hollywood scripts. Have you ever watched a movie and felt like you have seen it before? You have, in one way or another. A sharp reader will be about as interested in obvious evidence as he or she will be in seeing a tired script reworked for the thousandth time.

One type of analysis you may be asked to write is a literary analysis, in which you examine a piece of text by breaking it down and looking for common literary elements, such as character, symbolism, plot, setting, imagery, and tone.

The video below compares writing a literary analysis to analyzing a team’s chances of winning a game—just as you would look at various factors like the weather, coaching, players, their record, and their motivation for playing. Similarly, when analyzing a literary text you want to look at all of the literary elements that contribute to the work.

The video takes you through the story of Cinderalla as an example, following the simplest possible angle (or thesis statement), that “Dreams can come true if you don’t give up.” (Note that if you were really asked to analyze Cinderella for a college class, you would want to dig deeper to find a more nuanced and interesting theme, but it works well for this example.) To analyze the story with this theme in mind, you’d want to consider the literary elements such as imagery, characters, dialogue, symbolism, the setting, plot, and tone, and consider how each of these contribute to the message that “Dreams can come true if you don’t give up.”

You can view the transcript for “How to Analyze Literature” here (opens in new window) .

• UCLA Undergraduate Writing Center. "What, How and So What?" Approaching the Thesis as a Process. https://wp.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/UWC_handouts_What-How-So-What-Thesis-revised-5-4-15-RZ.pdf ↵
• Keys to Successful Analysis. Authored by : Guy Krueger. Provided by : University of Mississippi. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Thesis Statement Activity. Authored by : Excelsior OWL. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/research/thesis-or-focus/thesis-or-focus-thesis-statement-activity/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• What is Analysis?. Authored by : Karen Forgette. Provided by : University of Mississippi. License : CC BY: Attribution
• How to Analyze Literature. Provided by : HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr4BjZkQ5Nc . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS ANALYSIS OF HOSPITALITY STUDENTS OF A VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY

Ariel Nuresa Budhitama, - (2021) ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS ANALYSIS OF HOSPITALITY STUDENTS OF A VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY. S1 thesis, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia.

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Hospitality is a field where communication skill is one of the most crucial aspects to be mastered since interactions with other people occur on a daily basis for anyone who works in that area. As the hospitality field deals with not only local tourists, but also foreign tourists, English has become a highly demanded language since English is a global language. However, English that is needed in the hospitality field is not as simple as English for general communication. Some attributes are specifically needed in English for the hospitality field. Therefore, as the students should be taught English is needed in the hospitality field, English for Specific Purposes will be an appropriate English to be taught to hospitality students because as has been defined by many ESP scholars, it is designed to fulfill the needs of the students. The current study seeks to find out English needs using target-situation analysis, and present-situation analysis, a framework proposed by Hutchinson & Waters (1987), for the students in the hospitality field. The study employed a case study method. The data were collected from the thirty-four 12th grade hospitality students by distributing the questionnaire, and from a teacher and hoteliers by conducting an interview. The result of the study revealed that all basic language skills, including vocabulary knowledge and grammar, have their extent in how they are needed by hospitality students. Listening and speaking are the most needed skills as they are involved in many tasks in the hospitality field. Reading and writing is the least needed skill as there are not many tasks that involve these skills. Vocabulary and grammar are needed as a foundation for other skills. The study also found that some skills need to be improved. Students need to improve their language skills, particularly speaking and listening skills, not only to be able to face some difficult tasks in the hospitality field but also to get a job in the hospitality field. students will find some difficult tasks in the hospitality field that require their language skills to be on a higher level. This study hopefully can become a reference for teachers in designing an English course for hospitality students.

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Home » What Is Needs Analysis? Definition, Steps and Tools

What Is Needs Analysis? Definition, Steps and Tools

June 16, 2023 max 5min read.

This article covers:

What Is a Needs Analysis?

Types of needs analysis, steps in a needs analysis, benefits of needs analysis, tools and techniques for needs analysis.

In our dynamic and ever-evolving world, understanding the needs of individuals, organizations, and communities has become essential for success. Enter the fascinating realm of needs analysis, a tricky process that uncovers the intricate tapestry of desires, requirements, and aspirations that drive us forward.

Needs analysis is a systematic approach akin to peering through a magnifying glass. It allows us to delve deep into what people truly crave. It goes beyond surface-level assumptions, piercing through the noise. After which, it reveals the core necessities that underpin personal growth, organizational effectiveness, and societal progress.

Needs Analysis Definition:

A needs analysis is a systematic process of determining and evaluating the requirements, gaps, and objectives of individuals, organizations, or communities. It involves gathering and analyzing information. This information will then help identify the current and desired future states and the steps required to bridge the gap between them.

Needs analysis is sometimes referred to as the gap analysis and needs assessment. 

A needs analysis aims to understand the specific needs, challenges, and opportunities. These then help to develop effective strategies, interventions, or solutions to address them.

Needs analysis is crucial for evaluating employees and identifying their training requirements. It plays a significant role in bridging performance gaps. This ensures that training initiatives are effective and targeted. 

User Needs Analysis

User needs analysis focuses on understanding the requirements, preferences, and expectations of the end users or customers. It is about gathering and analyzing data to identify user needs, desires, and pain points . This analysis helps design products, services, or systems that meet user expectations and provide a satisfactory user experience. User needs analysis often involves surveys, interviews, user testing, and observation. All these help to gather insights directly from the users.

System Needs Analysis

The system needs analysis concentrates on determining the functional and technical requirements of a system or software application. It involves examining the existing system or analyzing the business processes. This helps identify improvement areas, define system functionalities, and specify technical specifications. 

The system needs analysis to help align the system with the organization’s goals and objectives. It also enhances system performance and ensures compatibility with other systems. Techniques used in system needs analysis include:

• Documentation review
• Stakeholder interviews
• Process mapping
• Feasibility studies

Organizational Needs Analysis

Organizational needs analysis involves assessing and understanding the needs and objectives of an organization as a whole. It aims to identify gaps between the current state and the organization’s desired state. It considers factors such as structure, resources, processes, and culture to do all that. 

Organizational needs analysis helps determine:

• Strategic initiatives
• Develop training programs
• Optimize workflows
• Implement organizational changes

It often involves analyzing financial data, conducting interviews with key stakeholders, and utilizing tools like SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis.

Understand Long and Short-Term Business Goals

In this step, you must clearly understand the organization’s long-term and short-term business objectives. This includes identifying the strategic direction, key priorities, and goals the organization wants to achieve. Understanding these goals can align the needs analysis process with the overall business objectives.

Identify the Desired Performance Results

Once you grasp the business goals, the next step is determining the specific performance outcomes or results necessary to achieve those goals. This involves identifying the knowledge, skills, competencies, or behaviors that individuals or teams need to exhibit. These contribute effectively to the organization’s success.

Examine the Current Performance

In this step, you evaluate the existing performance of individuals or teams against the desired performance results identified in the previous step. This may involve gathering data, conducting surveys, observations, interviews, or performance reviews to assess the current state. You can pinpoint areas where improvements are needed by identifying the performance gaps.

Establish Solutions

Based on the performance gaps identified, you can now determine appropriate solutions or interventions. These can help you to address those gaps and bridge the difference between the current and desired performance levels. This may involve the following:

• Designing training programs
• Developing resources
• Implementing new processes
• Modifying existing systems
• Any other actions required to support performance improvement

Needs analysis is an iterative process. As you implement solutions, you may need to revisit the analysis. This can be to refine and adjust your approach based on feedback and new information.

• Needs analysis helps organizations and individuals identify areas for improvement and development. Assessing the current state of knowledge, skills, and competencies is vital. It becomes easier to identify gaps and determine the specific areas where growth and learning are needed. 
• It helps align training and development efforts with individual and organizational goals. 
• Needs analysis allows organizations to prioritize training initiatives based on the identified needs and their importance. 
• It identifies individuals or groups within an organization who require additional training or development. This targeted approach ensures that training resources are utilized efficiently. It also ensures that individuals receive the support they need to enhance their performance.
• Needs analysis finds the specific type of training required to address the identified needs. It provides insights into the knowledge, skills, and competencies that must be developed or improved. 

Surveys and Questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are commonly used for conducting needs analysis. They allow researchers to gather data from many individuals. It also helps them to obtain quantitative information about their needs, preferences, and opinions.

Interviews and Focus Groups

Interviews and focus groups involve direct interaction with individuals or groups to gather qualitative data. They allow one to delve deeper into participants’ experiences, perspectives, and specific needs. This results in a more detailed analysis.

Observation and Shadowing

Observation involves observing individuals or groups in their natural environment. This helps them to understand their needs and behaviors. Shadowing goes further by following individuals closely and observing their activities firsthand. 

Document Analysis

Document analysis involves reviewing existing reports, policies, or records. It assists them in extracting relevant information about needs, gaps, and requirements. It helps identify patterns, trends, and areas that require improvement.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis is a technique that assesses an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses. It also looks at the external opportunities and threats. 

Gap Analysis

Gap analysis involves comparing current affairs with the desired state or established benchmarks.

These tools and techniques are often combined to gather comprehensive data and insights during a needs analysis process. The selection of specific tools depends on the following:

• The nature of the analysis
• The target audience
• The available resources
• The research objectives

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Examples of needs analysis can include:

• Training Needs Analysis: Assessing the skills and knowledge gaps within an organization to determine the training requirements of employees.
• Customer Needs Analysis: Gathering information from customers to understand their preferences, expectations, and requirements for a product or service.
• Performance Needs Analysis: Evaluating the performance of individuals or teams to identify areas where improvement is needed and determine the necessary resources or support.

The three major components of a needs analysis are:

Identification of Needs: Understand and pinpoint the current needs or problems.

Analysis of Needs: Assess the identified needs’ causes, patterns, and significance.

Development of Solutions: Create appropriate strategies and interventions to address the needs.

The most important part of needs analysis is accurately identifying and understanding the specific needs and requirements of the individual or group for whom the analysis is being conducted. This involves gathering comprehensive information about their current situation, desired outcomes, constraints, and challenges.

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An Examination of Needs Analysis Research in the Language Education Process

• International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies 7(1)

• Mus Alparslan University

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• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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McCombes, S. (2023, August 15). How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/thesis-statement/

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