Ask Lucy Monthly Column: Literary Analysis and Essay Writing

Parent question: My 2e son loves reading but struggles with analytical writing, particularly in his high school English and history classes. Maybe because of his Autism and ADHD, he has a hard time thinking and analyzing the deep meaning and connections underlying the plots. It takes forever for him to start an essay. And even if he starts it at the last minute, it’s very rushed with low quality. Do you have any suggestions on how we can help him to improve his analytical thinking skills?

Answer:

It sounds like there are two issues at play here: difficulty with analytical thinking and writing procrastination. These are separate but related issues, so let’s think through them one at a time.

1) Analytical skills

I’ve worked with many 2e teenagers who struggle with analytical thinking. Sometimes, this difficulty stems from a concrete cognitive style. People who tend to focus on concrete details often have trouble with abstraction. In addition, the teaching methods used to develop these skills are sometimes not clear or explicit enough for 2e learners.

In either case, it seems your son needs more scaffolding–that is, clear structure and guidance–to develop his analytical skills. And that’s where the Internet comes in! Here are some great resources that might be helpful:

• Many universities have writing centers that publish free resources for all genres of writing. Purdue OWL is probably the best-known. I’m also fond of UNC Chapel Hill’s Tips & Tools.

• Sites like SparkNotes, LitCharts, and CliffNotes provide excellent examples of in-depth analysis, covering a wide range of books, both classics and modern. Your son can review the analysis of works he is reading to help build his own analytical skills. He could also pick a book he's not currently studying in class and see how these sites would approach analyzing it.

• If your son prefers video, he could check out Crash Course literature, which covers several high school classics. Khan Academy is excellent, too. You can go to YouTube and search “Khan Academy literature” to find videos on theme, character, summarizing, and other foundational literary analysis skills. And while I haven’t watched any of these, a YouTube search for “how to analyze literature” also yields lots of videos.

• My last suggestion is less academic and perhaps more appealing. Reading critical reviews and TV episode recaps is a fantastic way to see analysis in action. Outlets like Vulture, The Review Geek, The A.V. Club, and Entertainment Weekly regularly recap episodes of popular TV shows. As a bonus, I’ve found that reading episode recaps has thoroughly enriched my understanding of social interactions. And it’s fun!

2) Procrastination

You mentioned that your son takes forever to start writing an essay–i.e., he procrastinates. This is a common issue that can arise for a number of reasons, each of which can be targeted individually:

• Impulse control: Teens with ADHD–and teens in general–often struggle to delay gratification. They tend to choose the immediately rewarding option, even if it leads to negative consequences later on.

  • Solutions: Encourage your son to find a low-distraction, low-temptation environment. Libraries are a great choice. He can also use this aspect of his personality by rewarding himself for completing assignments–see this video to learn more.

• Short-sightedness: People sometimes say that there are only two times for those with ADHD–now and not now. ADHD can make the future seem so distant and abstract that it might as well not exist. The long-term consequences of procrastination can feel just as abstract, so they may not discourage someone from delaying work.

  • Solutions: I sometimes guide students through a visualization exercise where they imagine two worlds: one in which they procrastinated and one in which they didn’t. I have them think about exactly how they’ll feel in each scenario, and then I ask them, “What can you do right now to help future you?” This strategy makes the future feel more real and immediate.

• Task characteristics: We’re also more likely to procrastinate on open-ended tasks with no clear first step, and essay assignments often fall into this category.

  • Solutions: Break large, intimidating assignments into specific steps. You can do this manually or use AI. The website Goblin Tools has an amazing magic to-do feature that turns items into steps.

• Environment: I’d be remiss not to mention technology. Social media, video games, and screens in general facilitate procrastination.

  • Solutions: This is tricky because most teenagers resist parental efforts to control screen time. That said, app blockers are still a great option. Check out this post for more ideas on managing technology.

For a deeper dive into this topic, I highly recommend solvingprocrastination.com. It’s a fantastic, in-depth, science-based resource with lots of invaluable information. They even have pages specifically on ADHD and writing procrastination.

Do you have a question you’d like the column to answer? Email asklucy@reel2.org.

About Lucy: I graduated from Stanford in 2024 with a degree in psychology and Slavic Studies. I currently live in Boston and work as a writing tutor with a focus on supporting 2e/neurodivergent students. I've been involved in the neurodiversity world since I was diagnosed with autism at age 18. I hope to pursue a PhD in psychology and develop evidence-based interventions to help neurodivergent students write. For tutoring inquiries, please check out my website!