Text/Video Analysis

Plan and Useful Phrases

The following plan and list of phrases give just general outlines of what can or should be written.
Some of the phrases and words can be used in more than one part of the analysis although most of them are
given only once not to confuse the writer. You don’t have to use all the phrases offered in the document and
at the same time any other synonymic or even of the opposite meaning expressions and words can be added
according to your needs.
In some cases, it is strongly recommended to combine the 2nd and the 3rd (and sometimes even the 4th)
parts of the analysis to avoid repeating the same ideas twice and to express your position in a more clear and
distinct way. In such cases the division of the text into paragraphs is done according to the number of
thoughts the author dwells upon.

I. Introduction – write the name and the author of the text you work with.
 I’ve read/listened to/watched a/an book/article/abstract/outline/research paper/
review/essay/summary/programme/video/documentary entitled “…” written/created by …
The article/video “…” that I’ve read/watched was written/created by …
A/an article/video called “…” was recently read/noticed/marked by me in one book/on
the Internet/on a TV channel … . Its author is a/an outstanding/bright man/writer/scientist …
 It is a good/bright/interesting/enjoyable/well-planned/thorough/thoroughly created/
masterful/rich/satisfactory/acceptable/poor/bad example of scientific/popular-science/
educational genre/text/piece of prose/video.
 The analyzed piece of prose is presented/written in the form of a lecture/diary/letter/
monologue of the narrator/1st (3rd) person narration with the elements of description/
explanatory remarks interlaced with the dialogues between the show presenter/anchorman
and the expert/eyewitness/ specialist.
 The basic theme of the work may be defined as …
 Some of the by-themes presented in the article/video are …
There are several more by-themes in this piece of prose. They may be formulated as
follows: …
 The main problem that the author/anchorman dwells upon/raises is/can be stated as …
 At the same time a number of minor problems like … are mentioned in the
article/video.
 The reader’s/listener’s/audience’s attention is drawn to the fact that …
 So, the idea of the text can be formulated/stated as …
The leading/main idea of the described/discussed piece of prose is the fact that …
The key message of the text is the idea that …
 II. Main Ideas and Problems Presented/Raised in the Source
 The text/video begins/opens with an introduction/with the exposition from which we
come to know that …
 The text of/information in the article/video can be divided into … logical parts.
 The first/second/third part of the article/video shows/depicts/describes/is devoted to …
 In the first/second/third part of the text … is depicted/is described.
 In the first/second/third part of the article/video … the reader/audience is informed
that …
 The next/last part describes/depicts/presents/shows …
 In the first/second/third part of the text we learn/are told about/that …
 The narration/explanation develops/moves slowly/dramatically/rapidly.
 … is a central issue in the article/video/presented debates.
 The author of the article/video is concerned about/with …
 The author of the article/video is trying to find a way to deal with …
 The author of the article/video considers/deals with …
 The author outlines/introduces/argues/explains/mentions/ provides the examples
of/concludes
 In addition to that the author discusses/dwells upon/raises/mentions the problem of…
 According to the author’s/narrator’s opinion/words …
 In the author’s opinion …
 It is shown/demonstrated/stressed/emphasized that …
 The author calls special attention to the fact that … plays an important/vital role in …
 The article/video is devoted to/is focused on …
 The article/video gives us some information on …
 Firstly/Secondly/Next/ Then/After that/Later …
 According to the information presented in the text …
 The thing that was described in great detail is the fact that …
 The text/article/video is rich in …

III. Your Own Attitude and Opinion

 The prevailing mood/tone of the article/video is …
 … is masterfully/delicately/closely/carefully/thoroughly depicted/described/explained/
analyzed in the article/video.
 The … is done masterfully.
 What I discovered was that …
 I could never expect that …
 I was happy/horrified/excited to learn/hear that …
 To my horror/relief/happiness/great surprise/disappointment …
 Imagine how surprised I was/my surprise when …
 The description/narration/language of the article/video is really vivid/convincing/
powerful/emotional.
 The style of the material presentation is absolutely/quite/rather scientific/informal/
official/bright.
 The strong/weak point of the article/video is …
 The thing I really liked about the text/article/video/information that was presented is
its …
 I was not impressed with the fact/the way (smth was done) …
 I didn’t like/didn’t enjoy/disliked/really hated the fact that …
 The article/video seemed interesting/boring/unusual/uncommon to me.
 For me, it is/was not uncommon to hear that …
 Everybody knows that …
 It is common knowledge that …
 I consider it a commonly spread stereotype that …
 It is commonly/often said/thought/reported that …
 What I mean is that …
 There is no doubt that …
 I am aware that …
 The problems raised/information given in the text is really acute/up-to-date.
 The stated/mentioned ideas may lead everybody to believe that …, and yet …
 Having in mind …, I would insist that …
 There is something in what they say and yet, I cannot agree here.
 On the one hand it is true but on the other hand …
 Opposing to the expressed views …
 Thinking otherwise, …
 To prove/support my point of view, I would like to … giving as an example …
 To argue with the ideas presented in the source …
 I want to stand/hold my ground by saying/proving that …
 To open the list of objections, …
 To tell the truth, I do not quite agree with the idea that …
 I would agree that … but …
 Challenging the ideas presented in the article/video …
 It is common knowledge that … but if you ask me, I strongly doubt that …
 If you ask me to express my own opinion on the problem of/the discussed question, I
am confident/will say/am sure/can mention/am absolutely positive that …
 Truly enough, the author states/declares/names/defines/underlines/claims …

IV. Additional Information and Ways to Solve/Deal with the Main

Problems Stated in the Source
 From what I know, …
 If you ask me, I would recommend …
 Much/A lot can be said on behalf of this view/idea/approach but/including …
 Over the past century/time we have noticed that …
 It is quite often heard/said that … but I cannot fully agree here/with the fact that …
 I od not quite agree with the outspoken ideas because …
 I would argue that …
 Some people think that … whereas others hold the view/opinion that …
 Surprising though it is, …
 The question of … is often raised for discussion.
 There is a popular belief that …
 The opposite point of view/idea/position is that …
 Nowadays there is/it is a commonly spread stereotype that … even though …
 Although … is a frequent issue/problem/question in debated/discussions, a lot less is
said about … and I consider it a vital/huge/big/great mistake.
 Few people would doubt that … although … is a/an totally/absolutely/dramatically
different question.
 Everybody knows/would agree/can confirm/understands that … although there is a
controversy here.
 If you ask anybody … you will most probably hear that … and yet …
 On the positive/negative note/side of the matter, …
 One of the reasons is …
 To continue the discussion …
 It might be worth mentioning …
 Let’s not forget that …
The fact that ... should not be forgotten for …
 To continue the list, …
 Together with all the things mentioned, I insist that …
 Unlike the previously mentioned ideas/facts/reasons/views/points …
 Notwithstanding the above (ideas), …
 To open the list of arguments/reasons/variants/opinions/views/positions …
 The other side of the coin is that …
 Expressing an alternative view/point/position/belief I want to/can say that …
 To object to the previously mentioned position/ideas/statements …
V. Conclusion
 In conclusion I want to/can say that …
 To sum it all up, …
 Summing up all the ideas mentioned, …
 Summarizing the above points …
 All in all, …
 Considering all the facts/things mentioned before I must say/admit/underline/stress …
 As we have seen, …
 As it was shown/said/concluded …
 For the reasons given/mentioned above, …
 Glancing back at everything that was said/enumerated …
 Bringing the discussion to the end, …
 In the end, …
 At the end of the discussion, …
 To cut the long story short, …
 To round it/my reasoning off, …
 Putting all the mentioned/stated ideas briefly, …
 Weighing it all up, …
 In my opinion/To my mind/I think that it is an article/video that is really worth/is not
worth reading/watching because …
 This article/video touches upon some global/acute problems like…/the interests of any
man and anyone will benefit from reading/watching it since …

Linking words:
For a start … Initially, … Whereas …
To begin with, … Subsequently, … For that reason, …
Concerning, … Alternatively, … As a matter of fact, …
Likewise, … Although … In any case, …
Similarly, … Even though … In other words, …
Accordingly, … Despite … In brief, …
As well as … In spite of … In short, …
Equally, … Nevertheless, … Shortly, …
Consequently, … However, … In essence, …
Conversely, … Otherwise, … Briefly speaking, …
In comparison with … On the contrary, … Thus, …
In contrast with/to … Instead (of) … On the whole, …
Contrasting to … While … As you can see, …

though/still/yet/again/then
because/since
that’s why/so

Adding Information:
Speaking about, … As for … Furthermore …
Talking of, … Additionally, … Finally, …
What is more … In addition, … To conclude, …
Moreover … Besides, … In conclusion, …
By the way, … Further on … Last but not least …

Expressing Opinion:
In my opinion, … I am not/cannot be sure but/and yet …
To my mind, … I am sure/certain/convinced that …
As I see it, … I believe/suggest/wish …
As far as I know/understand/can see, … I would like to point out that …
As far as I am concerned, … I want to say/repeat/insist that …
I might be wrong but … As I have said/mentioned/written …
If I am not mistaken, … As I see it, …
According to/In my experience … As for me, I think/trust/hold the view …
From my point of view … If you ask me, I would say/suggest that …
Speaking for myself … If you ask my opinion, …
Personally, I think/feel that … My point is that …
I tend/am inclined to think that … It seems to me that …
I am of mixed opinions about/on … My firm belief is that …
I am really in two minds but …

Giving Evaluation:
Truly enough, …
At any rate, …
Significantly, …