Difference between Analytical and Descriptive

Communication is one of the most essential skills that anyone can possess. It provides an opportunity to be successful in all walks of life. Both oral and written communications are crucial and one must pay attention to both. For a professional, the ability to write is of the utmost importance. The way you express yourself in writing is crucial as it can say a lot about who you are and what you are trying to say.

There are different kinds of writing that are done depending on the nature and purpose for which the process is taking place. The style and approach of writing can be adopted once the eventual purpose of the composition is determined.

Two of the oft used styles are descriptive and analytical. Sometimes these can be confused as being similar or even the same but that is pretty far from reality.

Descriptive writing deals with detailed descriptions of people, places, objects or events. The idea is to describe what is apparent to a keen observer and project an image so that the reader can literally see what it being described. Analytical writing meanwhile looks to analyse the person, place, object or an event and looks to draw some meaningful opinion that can be useful for future.

The purpose of the two writing styles is quite different as well. Descriptive writing is a way to get information of the subject matter. It explains things in detail for others to understand. Analytical writing looks to make use of the information to draw the expected course of action as well as the expected results from the information that is at hand.

Descriptive writing is about what and analytical writing is about why. The underlying philosophies are inherently different.

Instructions

  • 1

    Descriptive Writing

    This style of writing explains the situation regarding anything in a very clear manner. It uses rich language and vivid words so that the person reading them can fully understand and his or her mind can form a picture just by reading.

    This is the technique that is used a lot in the fiction based books or novels which can sometimes capture our imagination completely and it is very hard to let go until we finish them.

    - Image Courtesy: schoolnet.gov.mt

  • 2

    Analytical Writing

    This style deals with analysis about various matters and is used for non-fiction writing. The reports that are written on various matters are generally analytical and draw conclusions. These are based on facts or previous experiences in similar situations as often recommendations are also made.

    - Image Courtesy: putneyschool.org

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