How to Make an Interpretive Essay

Back in the days where typewriters are slowly being discarded and computers are gently introduced in the schools and offices, essays are just simply called essays. Now, when you quit your old stressful office job and suddenly finds yourself in a more relaxing online writing job, you can’t help but wonder where did the old days’ go? Essays are not simply essays anymore as it is now being categorized as an analytical essay, a rhetorical essay, descriptive essay, interpretive essay and so on. For a newbie, it would really be confusing thus, helpful tips and guides can often be life-saving, or I mean job-saving tools to use in the writing world. Whether you need this for work or for school, here is a simple guide to writing an interpretive essay.

An interpretive essay is a type of essay that interprets or gives an analysis of a literary work (Sandra, W., 2013). A good interpretive essay cites the title and the author as well as give a brief summary of the literary work in its introduction. A clear thesis statement containing the interpretation of the literary work is also included in it. As similar to all other essays, the body of the essay is where you discussed the thesis statement further by providing evidence that will support it. Be sure to organize the discussions in a smooth flow where it can be clearly understood by the readers. This can be done by arranging the elements to be interpreted in order. Then make sure that the message and purpose of the author are clearly explained.  The conclusion should center on the main literary elements that were interpreted. Check the essay for coherence and grammar before submitting.

This guide is basically simple yet I hope you have picked up a few simple tips that will help you start the essay.


Sandra, W., (2013). How to Write an Interpretive Analysis Essay. Iwrite Essays. Retreived from

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