Critical Review (CR)

F.M.30

P.M.15

Meaning of Critical Review:

 A critique is a detailed of analysis or an evaluation something.

 A critical review is an evaluation of an academic text eg: an article, report,
essay or book. You are asked to make judgments, positive or negative, about
the text using various criteria.
 A critical review is much more than a simple summary; it is an analysis and
evaluation of a book, article, or other medium. Writing a good critical
review requires that you understand the material, and that you know how to
analyze and evaluate that material using appropriate criteria.
 A critical review is the summarization and evaluation of the ideas and
information in an article.
 Reviewing critically means thinking carefully and clearly and taking into
consideration both the strengths and weaknesses in the material under
review.
 It expresses the writer’s (your) point of view in the light of what you already
know on the subject and what is acquired from related texts.

 When you are required to write a critical review, you will need to do two
main things: summaries and evaluate a text.
 The critical review can be of a book, a chapter or a journal article.

 Being critical does not simply mean criticising in a negative way. Instead, it
requires you to question the text, and to present your judgement or
evaluation of it reasonably.
 Two skills to employ when asked to write a review:
1. Seeking information:
Scanning the literature efficiently to become well-informed on the subject.
2. Reviewing effectively:
Questioning the information in the text and presenting an evaluation, or
judgments, of it.
Some questions to ask when starting to write a critical review: (mind make
up)

-What is the main area under review discussion?

-Where does the writer’s data and evidence come from?

-What are the main issues raised by the writer?

-What are the major interpretations made by the author in terms of the issues
raised?

-Is the text balanced? fair? biased?

-How well does all this relate to other literature on the topic? Your own
experience?

-How can you summarize all of the above points?

THE CONTENT OF A CRITICAL REVIEW

1. INTRODUCTION
2. SUMMARY
3. MAIN BODY (CRITIQUE)
4. CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES

1. INTRODUCTION :
 About author, title, text, your evaluation
 Start with opening sentences that state about the writer, the title and
give a brief explanation of the topic of the text.
 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.
 In the introduction, you should present the main argument of your
review and include a brief statement of your evaluation of the text.
 2.  SUMMARY
 Gives a summary of the main points of the article and a few examples.
A brief explanation of the writer’s purpose/intention and the
organization of the text can also be added. This section of the critical
review should be no longer than one third of the whole.
 Summarising a text to be reviewed is one of the main components of
critical review writing.
To write a good summary, you should:
a. present the ideas in the original text accurately, ensuring you cover the
main question the text attempts to address
b. discuss the important points, including the evidence the text uses to
support the argument, and its conclusion
c. ensure the summary is consistent and understandable to readers who
have not read the original text
d. ensure the summary section is shorter than the evaluation section that
follows it

3. MAIN BODY (CRITIQUE)

Discusses and evaluates the strengths, weaknesses and important notable features
of the text. The discussion should be based on specific criteria and include other
sources to support it (with references).

Reviewer can choose how to sequence its critique. Here are some examples to get
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 judgment 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 criterion 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.

4. CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES

Conclusion

This is usually a very short paragraph.

o Restate your overall opinions of the text (summarise your important

points but do not repeat your words exactly. Use different words and
phrases).
o Briefly present recommendations if this is appropriate for the review
o 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 your review, you need to include a
list of references at the end of the review.