Guidelines for Writing a Critical Analysis of a Video

Source: https://www.essaysexperts.net/blog/how-to-write-a-critical-analysis-of-a-film/

Critical analysis refers to a subjective form of writing in which the author evaluates or critiques the
work (video, journal, poem, book/book chapter) of another person. The purpose of a critical analysis
is to build your understanding and meaning of the piece of art. Critical analysis is more than a mere
review; review can be seen as passive and analysis as active.
Here are the steps to follow when writing a critical analysis of a film:

Step 1. Watch the film: this is an active involvement. This means that you may view and review
making notes in the process. You are watching for an understanding of the gist of the video/movie.

Step 2. Engage with the film critically: try to identify the central theme and see how it ties in with
the overall video presentation. This entails observing the background/lighting, introduction, student
engagement, and sequence or progression from beginning to conclusion.

Step 3. Outline your critical analysis: there is a caution to do a draft first before the actual critical
analysis. The following steps will outline the elements of your critical analysis.

Introduction: mention the author, other persons involved, the location of the video (URL),
and the headings of the remainder of the analysis. [3 marks]

Overview of video: give a brief overview of the video, explaining what the video is about.
Do NOT be confused with synopsis. [5 marks]

Faulty reasoning: identify and discussion any faulty reasoning and you have observed. It
may be correct reasoning but too above or below the targeted grade level. With a Bachelor’ s
degree, you will be eligible to teach from grades 8 to 10. Some teachers are asked to teach at
grades 11 and 12 at some schools. [5 marks]

State your likes/dislikes: you have the opportunity to state your likes and or dislikes. In
this section discuss what your preferred approach would be. [5 marks]

Step 4. Conclusion: summary of your position on the video. You can mention here the audience
that this video may benefit. [2 marks]

Total: 20 marks
  To
be done as a class
 Critically analyze the video below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJMH2F3GuIc

Example of a critical analysis

Notes:

 The central theme is the solving of quadratic equations using the method of completing the
squares.
 Completing the squares is an algebraic concept
 The author is Yaymath.
 The video coincided with what te theme specified.
 The background lighting provided clear vision of all that was taught. However, it was not
evenly balanced.
 The teacher engaged the students.
 There was some questioning involved.
 The teacher progressed sequentially. All aspects of the content was captured.
Critical Analysis

The author of this Mathematics video was Yaymath. It appears that this name reflects the

name of his Math-teaching site. It was noticeably observed that there were other individuals in

this video. It appeared as though the video was taken during a Mathematics session with his

entire class. These students were actively involved in the lesson. The audience could have heard

the teacher and students’ questions. This video was found on https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=DJMH2F3GuIc. The remaining sections of this critical analysis will include a brief overview

of the video, level of explanation by the teacher, likes and dislikes, followed by the conclusion.

The author examined a familiar algebraic content – completing the squares. He was able

to capture the essential aspects of the concept. This concept was delineated in an obviously

sequential manner. The steps flowed evenly through the various stages.

There is high commendation generally, but some areas of concern as well. Greater level

of explanation would have been given to the concept of perfect squares. Students should have

recognized and actually see by way of of written notation that (x - 5) 2 was indeed x2 -10x + 25.

Specific objectives that are not written can be lost. Even though the objective were

mentioned, it should have been visibly seen by the students. I liked the fact that the teacher

stayed on course and the students were able to follow. The students’ attention was captured and

the enthusiasm was felt and sustained through the youthfulness and energy laden teacher. This

partially was sustained through the questioning technique of the teacher. The writer felt that the

lesson was too important to be rushed through. Students should have been given more time to to

brain storm and think through the questions asked by their teacher. They should have been given

the opportunity to share with their colleagues in small groups before with the class.
 Generally, the lesson was well conducted. The writer believes that the students

understood the concept. However, more time should have been given to questioning. Students

should have been given more interaction time, simultaneously show-casing the social element of

learning.

Guidelines for Journal Article Critiques

1. Write the heading, “JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE”, in upper case, centered two
inches from the top of the page.

2. Skip three spaces, and then write the title of article, the names of the author, publishers,
and the other relevant publication information.

3. Skip two spaces, and begin the introduction, including the publication information.
Then, in no less than two paragraphs, briefly state the main idea of the article, and
identify the important facts that the author uses to support the main idea.

4. Identify and discuss any information or main ideas discussed in this article which were
also discussed in class, in your textbook, or in other readings?

5. Identify and discuss any examples of bias or faulty reasoning that you found in the
article.

6. Give your critique of the article by stating what you liked, what you disliked, what could
be improved, and how the improvement indicated could be done.

7. Conclude by summarizing your major positions, followed by giving an indication of

the audience(s) that you believe would benefit from the work, giving reasons for
your choices.