A List of Analytical Essay Topics for University Students

  • The Chronicles of Narnia collection
  • C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia rather hurriedly, why did he do so? What was his reason behind writing A Horse and His Boy? Does the fifth volume of the Chronicles of Narnia collection make sense or did Lewis simply want to have a seven book set? Does removing A Horse and His Boy from the set affect the collection at all?

  • Why the government wants small/family businesses to go out
  • Small and family owned businesses are finding it harder to keep open due to restrictions posted on them by the government. Why does the government act this way? Are they simply catering to the big corporations or do they have ulterior motives?

  • The Last Judgment Mural by Michelangelo
  • Michelangelo’s the Last Judgment in the Sistine chapel is quite famous. Study the painting and discuss its meaning, going over the various scenes in the mural and talk about the despair and hope that is depicted. Is there more hidden in the painting than what is shown, or is there nothing more to be seen than what is already in front of us?

  • Why World War I really started
  • World War I led to some devastating losses and dangerous political turmoil in the European countries. Why did the war really start? Research the time leading to the First World War and ponder if it was all a set-up or just the roll of the dice.

  • El Cid: Man or Myth?
  • Was El Cid a real man or is he only a myth? Read his life story and research the time period to see if El Cid was a real man, or just a fictional character. El Cid, or Rodrigo Diaz, has many different media sites depicting his story. There is the Poem of the Cid, and a movie with Charlton Heston, both of these famous works do have elements that blur the lines between fact and imagination, so which is real and what is fake?

  • Jane Austen or Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell both wrote several novels that have become enjoyable to men and women. Are either better than the other or are they equally as entertaining? Although these two women authors come from different time periods they can be compared, as far as writing style, topic and character depiction goes. If you had Pride and Prejudice and North and South sitting in front of you, which one would you choose?



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