Leveraging Student Interests to Teach Critical Analysis

In theory, critical analysis could be considered the crown jewel of intellectual growth. In practice, it’s often met with a groan and yields work that’s brief, vague, and haunted by the ghost of whatever students would rather be doing. They see critical analysis as dry, forced, or purely academic—a pile of hazy ideas to sort through with no clear payoff. But what if they catch sight of something valuable in the mix? A glint of a gem, then another, and another. They start rummaging through the clutter, and suddenly the whole endeavor feels more manageable—even exciting.

Critical analysis is an essential skill, and it’s something students do on their own naturally when it comes to topics they care about. But the goal isn’t just to teach students how to analyze what they like. It’s to help them wring meaning out of what they don’t. This begins by using their interests to model the process and from there, guiding them into unfamiliar territory, equipped with the tools and permission to make meaning on their own terms.

Step One: Build the Skill Where They Already Care

Students’ brains light up when discussing matters close to their hearts. Just look at how they naturally think critically when breaking down a Taylor Swift lyric or arguing over LeBron’s legacy. Have them begin by choosing a topic they genuinely care about for their first critical analysis. Guide them through finding an angle, unpacking the layers, and feeling energized by what they discover. Then, and only then, when students know what critical analysis should and could feel like, you can show them how to extend the process into other areas.

If you aren’t sure where to start, consider using one of these topics as a way to get students thinking:

• Sports—Students can consider strategy, leadership, and ethics on and off the field.
• Creative writing—Students can learn structure and voice from beloved books.
• Pop culture and media—From reality TV to TikTok trends, students can decode messages about success, influence, or beauty in trends, ads, and entertainment.
• Music and lyrics—Students can consider storytelling and social themes in song.
• Fashion and design—Students can consider style as a cultural and political statement.
• Anime—Students can interpret character journeys, symbolism, and genre conventions.
• Video games—Students can explore narrative structure, player choice, and ethical dilemmas in gameplay.

Step Two: When the topic doesn’t resonate, help guide an angle

Even if the topic feels remote, the lens you provide can make all the difference. One of my middle school students was a brilliant fiction writer, but essays were merely assignments for her, while creative writing lived in the realm of things that mattered. When tasked with an essay critiquing a piece of art, I appealed to her writer’s mindset, encouraging her to view art as she would a piece of creative writing. This was the angle she needed, the entry point that made critical analysis feel interesting. She was all in, and the result spoke for itself.

Once she cracked the process and understood that she did know what critical analysis looked like in the context of something she cared about, she could apply those same skills to other topics, even when they felt disconnected from her interests at first.

Students may not be ready to come up with an angle from which to approach seemingly uninteresting assignments on their own yet. So, it can be helpful to provide guiding questions that help students feel connected to topics. When thinking about these guiding questions, start by grounding it in their world:

If your students are analyzing a speech, ask questions like, “What makes a speech go viral or leave people talking for years?” or “If you could write a speech for a protest, what would you advocate for, and how would you persuade others?”

If your students are working on a book report, ask questions like, “What lesson or warning does the story leave behind, and who needs to hear it now?” or “If the characters sat around a fire to talk about the theme of the story, what would they argue about?”

If your students are analyzing ancient cultures, ask questions like, “What did this culture value most and how can you tell by the way they told their stories and treated each other?” or “Which parts of this culture would you want to bring into the present—and what might be better left in the past?”

Step Three: Let Them Lead

When they’re ready, invite students to frame their own lines of investigation. This shifts the focus from “What does this mean?” to “What does this mean to me?” That tiny tweak turns a dead-end essay into an invitation to explore.

A student passionate about climate justice connected with a novel studies assignment by analyzing the book’s ecological themes. An art and architecture enthusiast approached a political theory assignment as an unseen city, tracing the structural frameworks behind governance. A student devoted to his family history reimagined a historical speech through the lenses of his ancestors, imagining how they would have reacted. Personal connections turn even distant subjects into fertile ground for richer and more authentic work.

From Process to Practice

Tapping into what students care about as a starting point helps them engage with the process of analysis and understand how it works. The real work—and the greater reward—lies in guiding them toward meaningful engagement with topics they might resist or stories they haven’t heard yet. Once students have learned how to engage with a critical analysis assignment, they can carry the process into less familiar territory.