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Analysis vs description in academic writing

AcademicCheck Editorial · 2026-09-07 · 6 min read

A fast test

After a factual sentence, ask so what? If the next sentence does not answer that for the question, you are still describing.

Upgrade a descriptive sentence

Description: Keynes argued for government spending in downturns.

Analysis: Keynes’s case for counter-cyclical spending matters here because it challenges austerity assumptions that treat deficits as always harmful — an assumption the question asks you to evaluate.

Practice

Highlight every paragraph. If more than half is description on an evaluate brief, revise. Check the draft afterward.