Comprehensive analysis (综合分析) techniques
Master the Shenlun 综合分析 question type: interpreting words/sentences, evaluating viewpoints, and contrasting phenomena in structured official register.
Defining 综合分析
Comprehensive analysis (综合分析题) is the Shenlun question type that asks the candidate to interpret, evaluate, or synthesize material rather than merely extract it. The State Administration of Civil Service (国家公务员局) examination syllabus lists four core competencies for the Shenlun (申论): reading comprehension (阅读理解能力), comprehensive analysis (综合分析能力), problem-solving (提出和解决问题能力), and written expression (文字表达能力). 综合分析 is the bridge skill — it sits above simple summary (归纳概括) and below the full essay (文章论述), and it is the competency that most reliably separates high scorers from middling ones.
The four sub-types
Examiners deploy 综合分析 in four recurring formats, each with a fixed logic:
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词句理解题 (word/phrase interpretation) — "谈谈你对画线句子'X'的理解". You must move from the literal surface meaning (表层含义) to the deep policy meaning (深层含义) and then to implications or measures.
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观点评析题 (viewpoint evaluation) — "对'X'这一观点进行评析". You state your judgement (正确/片面/错误), give reasons drawn from the materials, then qualify or correct.
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比较分析题 (comparative analysis) — contrasting two phenomena, places, or eras (e.g. a 2017 副省级 paper contrasting "有" and "无" in urban planning).
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关系分析题 (relationship analysis) — explaining how two concepts interact (cause–effect, condition, contradiction), such as ecology versus development.
The governing principle: 是什么—为什么—怎么办
Every 综合分析 answer obeys the official analytical skeleton 是什么 (what it is) — 为什么 (why) — 怎么办 (what to do). This mirrors the dialectical method the Communist Party of China invokes in policy documents: the 2013 Third Plenum 《决定》 and successive 中央一号文件 routinely frame a problem (现状), diagnose causes (原因), and prescribe measures (对策). Reproducing this triad signals that you think like an official, not a commentator.
The structure is therefore almost always: 总—分—总 (general statement → detailed analysis → conclusion/measure). You open by stating the core judgement or meaning in one sentence (亮明观点), develop it by mining the 给定资料 for evidence, and close with implications or a corrective measure. Crucially, all evidence must come from the materials — 综合分析 is not an opinion essay. The 2021 国考 地市级 paper, which asked candidates to analyse the phrase "工匠精神" (craftsman spirit), rewarded answers that traced the term from its surface meaning (skill and quality) to its deep meaning (national manufacturing upgrade and 中国制造2025) and tied it to concrete labour-policy implications.