Writing a critique

What is a critique?
A critique is a genre of academic writing that briefly summarises and critically evaluates a work or concept.
Critiques can be used to carefully analyse a variety of works such as:
Creative works novels, exhibits, film, images, poetry
Research monographs, journal articles, systematic reviews, theories
Media news reports, feature articles
Like an essay, a critique uses a formal, academic writing style and has a clear structure, that is, an introduction,
body and conclusion. However, the body of a critique includes a summary of the work and a detailed
evaluation. The purpose of an evaluation is to gauge the usefulness or impact of a work in a particular field.
Why do we write critiques?
Writing a critique on a work helps us to develop:
A knowledge of the works subject area or related works.
An understanding of the works purpose, intended audience, development of argument, structure of evidence or
creative style.
A recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.
How to write a critique
Before you start writing, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the work that will be critiqued.
Study the work under discussion.
Make notes on key parts of the work.
Develop an understanding of the main argument or purpose being expressed in the work.
Consider how the work relates to a broader issue or context.
There are a variety of ways to structure a critique. You should always check your unit materials or blackboard
site for guidance from your lecturer. The following template, which showcases the main features of a critique,
is provided as one example.
Introduction
Typically, the introduction is short (less than 10% of the word length) and you should:
Name the work being reviewed as well as the date it was created and the name of the author/creator.
Describe the main argument or purpose of the work.
Explain the context in which the work was created. This could include the social or political context, the place of the
work in a creative or academic tradition, or the relationship between the work and the creators life experience.
Have a concluding sentence that signposts what your evaluation of the work will be. For instance, it may indicate
whether it is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation.
Summary
Briefly summarise the main points and objectively describe how the creator portrays these by using
techniques, styles, media, characters or symbols. This summary should not be the focus of the critique and is
usually shorter than the critical evaluation.
Critical evaluation
This section should give a systematic and detailed assessment of the different elements of the work, evaluating
how well the creator was able to achieve the purpose through these. For example: you would assess the plot
structure, characterisation and setting of a novel; an assessment of a painting would look at composition, brush
strokes, colour and light; a critique of a research project would look at subject selection, design of the
experiment, analysis of data and conclusions.
A critical evaluation does not simply highlight negative impressions. It should deconstruct the work and identify
both strengths and weaknesses. It should examine the work and evaluate its success, in light of its purpose.
Examples of key critical questions that could help your assessment include:
Who is the creator? Is the work presented objectively or subjectively?
What are the aims of the work? Were the aims achieved?
What techniques, styles, media were used in the work? Are they effective in portraying the purpose?
What assumptions underlie the work? Do they affect its validity?
What types of evidence or persuasion are used? Has evidence been interpreted fairly?
 How is the work structured? Does it favour a particular interpretation or point of view? Is it effective?
Does the work enhance understanding of key ideas or theories? Does the work engage (or fail to engage) with key
concepts or other works in its discipline?
This evaluation is written in formal academic style and logically presented. Group and order your ideas into
paragraphs. Start with the broad impressions first and then move into the details of the technical elements.
For shorter critiques, you may discuss the strengths of the works, and then the weaknesses. In longer
critiques, you may wish to discuss the positive and negative of each key critical question in individual
paragraphs.
To support the evaluation, provide evidence from the work itself, such as a quote or example, and you should
also cite evidence from related sources. Explain how this evidence supports your evaluation of the work.
Conclusion
This is usually a very brief paragraph, which includes:
A statement indicating the overall evaluation of the work
A summary of the key reasons, identified during the critical evaluation, why this evaluation was formed.
In some circumstances, recommendations for improvement on the work may be appropriate.
Reference list
Include all resources cited in your critique. Check with your lecturer/tutor for which referencing style to use.
Here are the four essential steps and key questions to consider in a design critique:
1. Overview
Initial reactions: What is your first impression of the design?
Content: Is everything present that should be included in the design?
Aesthetics: What is the total overall effect? Does it feel right?
Style: Does the design style seem appropriate for the stated goal or purpose?
2. Analysis
Layout: Does everything seem to be in the right place?
Flow: Does the content appear in a natural and logical progression?
Usability: Is it easy to use or interact with the design solution?
Typography: Does the type feel appropriate in tone?
Color: How is color used? What effect does it have in terms of conveying the desired message?
Completeness: Is anything missing? Conversely, is anything there that shouldnt be?
3. Interpretation
Audience: How do you think the target audience will respond to this solution? Why? Why not?
Details: Is the use of these particular graphic elements consistent with the goals of the project? Why? Why not?
Problem areas: What things in this solution are not as effective as they could be? Why do you think that?
Appeal: Is this an effective and appealing design for the context it will live in? Why? Why not?
4. Evaluation
Brief: Does this design fulfill the creative brief. If not, why not?
Judgment: Given the answers to the above, does this design work?

Structure of a Critical Review

Critical reviews, both short (one page) and long (four pages), usually have a similar structure. Check your
assignment instructions for formatting and structural specifications. Headings are usually optional for
longer reviews and can be helpful for the reader.

Introduction
The length of an introduction is usually one paragraph for a journal article review and two or three
paragraphs for a longer book review. Include a few opening sentences that announce the author(s) and
the title, and briefly explain the topic of the text. Present the aim of the text and summarise the main
finding or key argument. Conclude the introduction with a brief statement of your evaluation of the text.
This can be a positive or negative evaluation or, as is usually the case, a mixed response.

Summary
Present a summary of the key points along with a limited number of examples. You can also briefly
explain the authors purpose/intentions throughout the text and you may briefly describe how the text is
organised. The summary should only make up about a third of the critical review.

Critique
The critique should be a balanced discussion and evaluation of the strengths, weakness and notable
features of the text. Remember to base your discussion on specific criteria. Good reviews also include
other sources to support your evaluation (remember to reference).

You can choose how to sequence your critique. Here are some examples to get you started:

Most important to least important conclusions you make about the text.
If your critique is more positive than negative, then present the negative points first and the positive
last.
If your critique is more negative than positive, then present the positive points first and the negative
last.
If there are both strengths and weakness for each criterion you use, you need to decide overall what
your judgement is. For example, you may want to comment on a key idea in the text and have both
positive and negative comments. You could begin by stating what is good about the idea and then
concede and explain how it is limited in some way. While this example shows a mixed evaluation,
overall you are probably being more negative than positive.
In long reviews, you can address each criteria you choose in a paragraph, including both negative
and positive points. For very short critical reviews (one page or less) where your comments will be
briefer, include a paragraph of positive aspects and another of negative.
You can also include recommendations for how the text can be improved in terms of ideas, research
approach; theories or frameworks used can also be included in the critique section.

Conclusion & References

Conclusion

This is usually a very short paragraph.

Restate your overall opinion of the text.

Briefly present recommendations.
If necessary some further qualification or explanation of your judgement can be included. This can
help your critique sound fair and reasonable.

References

If you have used other sources in you review you should also include a list of references at the end of the
review.
Summarising and paraphrasing for the critical review
Summarising and paraphrasing are essential skills for academic writing and in particular, the critical
review. To summarise means to reduce a text to its main points and its most important ideas. The length
of your summary for a critical review should only be about one quarter to one third of the whole critical
review.

The best way to summarise is to:

1. Scan the text. Look for information that can be deduced from the introduction, conclusion and the title
and headings. What do these tell you about the main points of the article?
2. Locate the topic sentences and highlight the main points as you read.
3. Reread the text and make separate notes of the main points. Examples and evidence do not need to
be included at this stage. Usually they are used selectively in your critique.
Paraphrasing means putting it into your own words. Paraphrasing offers an alternative to using direct
quotations in your summary (and the critique) and can be an efficient way to integrate your summary
notes.

The best way to paraphrase is to:

1. Review your summary notes
2. Rewrite them in your own words and in complete sentences
3. Use reporting verbs and phrases (eg; The author describes, Smith argues that ).
4. If you include unique or specialist phrases from the text, use quotation marks.