W4 Learning Area

Quarter
English for Academic and Professional Purposes
1
Grade Level
Date
12

I. LESSON TITLE Critical Writing Approaches

II. MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING Uses appropriate critical approaches in writing a critique such as formalism,
COMPETENCIES (MELCs) feminism, etc.
III. CONTENT/CORE CONTENT Principles and uses of a reaction paper/ review/ critique

IV. LEARNING Suggested

Learning Activities
PHASES Timeframe
A. Introduction 30 minutes Have you seen the commercial of RC
Panimula Cola with a kid that has 4 glasses at his
back and a mother that hides a bottle
inside her head? Are you one of the 3
million viewers who scratched their
heads? Have you asked yourself its
relevance? How did the ads creators
come up with such an idea and what
were they thinking? Have you posted
your interpretation in your social media accounts?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kwSgtt14fmPNXEDtMlDGe8c7n0iO1Ccw/view?u
sp=sharing

You may not have put stock on your reaction but every time you see a catchy
advertisement or just a tagline and questions everything about it, you are already
criticizing the work. And when you put that into writing you might as well consider
the Critical Approaches in Writing to keep you on the right path.

What is critical approach in writing?

Critical Approaches are different perspectives we consider when looking at a

piece of literature. They seek to give us answers to these questions, in addition to
aiding us in interpreting literature.
1. What do we read?
2. Why do we read?
3. How do we read?

The following are the types of critical approaches in writing:

1. Reader-Response criticism - This approach asserts that a great deal of meaning

in a text lies with how the reader responds to it. It focuses on the act of reading
and how it affects our perception of meaning in a text (how we feel at the
beginning vs. the end). More so, it also deals more with the process of creating
meaning and experiencing a text as we read.

There are two important ideas about the reader response criticism:
a. An individual reader’s interpretation usually changes over time;
b. Readers from different generations and different time periods interpret texts
differently.

It answers the questions

“How do YOU feel about what you have read? What do YOU think it means?”

For more examples of questions asked in critiquing a work, you may opt to read
Literary Criticism: Questions for a Variety of Approaches in the google drive at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10zh9yVGLY4wUNJmaEMy_W9xo1rvcGTTj/view?u
sp=sharing

2. Formalist Criticism - This approach emphasizes the form of a literary work to

determine its meaning, focusing on literary elements and how they work to create
meaning. It examines a text as independent from its time period, social setting,
and author’s background. This approach focuses on the text as an independent
entity.

Two emerging principles are the things that we have to remember when
performing a formalist criticism approach:

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 a. A literary text exists independent of any particular reader and, in a sense,
has a fixed meaning;
b. The greatest literary texts are “timeless” and “universal.”
3. Psychological/ Psychoanalytic criticism - This approach views a text as a
revelation of its author’s mind and personality. It is based on the work of Sigmund
Freud. It also focuses on the hidden motivations of literary characters. It looks at
literary characters as a reflection of the writer.

4. Biographical Criticism - This approach argues that we must take an author’s life
and background into account when we study a text. This approach refers to how
the author has direct influence over the writing. Because of this, it has the following
benefits:

1. Facts about an author’s experience can help a reader decide how to interpret
a text.
2. A reader can better appreciate a text by knowing a writer’s struggles or
difficulties in creating that text.
3. A reader can understand a writer’s preoccupation by studying the way they
apply and modify their own life experiences in their works.

5. Sociological criticism - This argues that social contexts (the social environment)
must be considered when analyzing a text. It focuses on the values of a society
and how those views are reflected in a text. It also emphasizes the economic,
political, and cultural issues within literary texts. The core belief in this approach is
that “Literature is a reflection of its society.” It has two sub approaches:

a. Feminist Criticism - concerned with the role, position, and influence of women
in a literary text. It asserts that most “literature” throughout time has been written
by men, for men. This approach examines the way that the female consciousness
is depicted by both male and female writers.

This approach subscribes to 4 Basic Principles of Feminist Criticism

i. Western civilization is patriarchal.
ii. The concepts of gender are mainly cultural ideas created by patriarchal
societies.
iii. Patriarchal ideals pervade “literature.”
iv. Most “literature” through time has been gender-biased.

b. Marxist Criticism - emphasizes economic and social conditions. It is based on

the political theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This approach is concerned
with understanding the role of power, politics, and money in literary texts. It
examines literature to see how it reflects:

i. The way in which dominant groups (typically, the majority) exploit the
subordinate groups (typically, the minority)
ii. The way in which people become alienated from one another through
power, money, and politics

6. Historical Criticism - Argues that every literary work is a product of its time and its
world.

1. Provides background information necessary to understand how literary texts

were perceived in their time.
2. Shows how literary texts reflect ideas and attitudes of the time in which they
were written.
3. New historicist critics often compare the language in contemporary documents
and literary texts to reveal cultural assumptions and values in the text

For more discussion about this, please see Self-Learning Module Grade 12 EAPP
by De Asis J.M.,Quarter 1 Module 1 , pp. 41-43
B. Development 60 minutes Learning Task 1: Write TRUE if the statement is correct, FALSE if otherwise.
Pagpapaunlad
1. A critic looks for errors and wrongdoings in a certain article.
2. When one writes, one can look at it only using one perspective.
3. Reader response criticism considers the reader to be an important element in
the understanding of the text.
4. Psychological criticism is strongly influenced by Friedrich Engels.
5. For Sociological criticism, the social environment is an important element in
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 understanding the text.
6. For feminists, they believe that gender biased literature should be avoided.
7. Karl Marx is a strong influenced for Marxist criticism.
8. A writer’s life becomes part in the better of the text under biographical criticism.
9. Real essence of criticism focuses on the positive side of things.
10.The text is an important element for formalist criticism.

Learning Task 2: Write YES if the questions provided are answerable by the
discussed critical writing approaches, NO if otherwise.

1. What view of life does the story present?

2. How does it reflect the time in which it was written?
3. What do the characters’ emotions and behaviors reveal about their mental
conditions?
4. What is the relationship between the characters and their society?
5. What is the author’s conception of good and evil?
6. How does the meaning of a text change as you reread it?
7. What common human concerns are revealed in the story?
8. Do any of the events in the story correspond to events experienced by the
author?
9. Are the names significant?
10. How do various elements of the work emphasize its meaning?

Learning Task 3: Classify the type of critical writing approach which is being
identified in the following statement. Refer to the choices below:

Reader-Response Criticism Formalist Criticism

Psychological/Psychoanalytic Biographical Criticism
Sociological Criticism Feminist/Gender Criticism
Marxist Criticism Historical Criticism

1. A primary goal: to determine how such elements work together with the text's
content to shape its effects upon readers
2. Literature is written by actual people and that understanding an author's life
can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work
3. This seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural,
and intellectual context that produced it-a context that necessarily includes the
artist's biography and milieu
4. Examines how sexual identity influences the creation and reception of literary
works
5. It reflects the effect that modern psychology has had upon both literature and
literary criticism
6. This approach examines literature in the cultural, economic and political
context in which it is written or received, exploring the relationships between
the artist and society
7. Focuses on the economic and political elements of art, often emphasizing the
ideological content of literature
8. This approach takes as a fundamental tenet that "literature" exists not as an
artifact upon a printed page but as a transaction between the physical text and
the mind of a reader

C. Engagement 30 minutes Learning Task 4: Write your reaction/s on the following statements and identify the
Pakikipagpalihan critical writing approach that you can use in further elaborating your answer.

Example:
Statement: Only Dove soap touches my wife’s skin.
Reaction: This is an unfair statement leaning toward the male view
point as they limit the choice of the wife on soap.
Critical Writing Approach: Gender Criticism / Feminist Criticism

1. Statement: "Better educational outcomes are a strong predictor for future

economic growth," said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria.
Reaction:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Critical Writing Approach: _____________________________
2. Statement: "Boys don’t cry”

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 Reaction:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Critical Writing Approach: _____________________________

3. Statement: " In a statement, the DFA said the Philippine Embassy in London
is assisting 55-year-old Violeta Aylward, who was caught on a CCTV turning
off the life-support system of her British patient in January 2009.
Reaction:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Critical Writing Approach: _____________________________

4. Statement: " To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my
revenge. He hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my
losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled
my friends, heated mine enemies – and what's his reason? I am a Jew.
Reaction:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Critical Writing Approach: _____________________________

5. Statement: " A hound dog found a bone and held it tightly in his mouth. He
growled and scowled at anyone who attempted to take it away. Off into the
woods he went to bury his prize. When he came to a stream, he trotted over
the footbridge and happened to glance into the water. He saw his own
reflection. Thinking it was another dog with a bigger bone, he growled and
scowled at it. The reflection growled and scowled back. "I'll get THAT bone
too," thought the greedy dog, and he snapped his sharp teeth at the image in
the water. Alas, his own big bone fell with a splash, out of sight, the moment
he opened his mouth to bite!
Reaction:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Critical Writing Approach: _____________________________

D. Assimilation 60 Learning Task 5: Choose from the news clips presented below and write your one
Paglalapat paragraph reaction using any of the given critical writing approaches. Put your
answers on a whole sheet of paper.

News clip # 1
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to pour cold water on his
daughter’s political ambitions this week when he suggested that women are ill-
suited for the presidency, the latest in a string of disparaging remarks the leader
has made against women.

Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/philippine-duterte-woman-

president/2021/01/15/47f1125e-5703-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html 02/22/2021

News clip #2
All minors in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) will be allowed
to go out and shop in malls for the coming holidays as long as the are
accompanied by their parents, Interior Sec. Eduardo Año said Monday.

Retrieved from: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/01/20/kids-with-parents-will-be-allowed-in-

malls-under-gcq-ao-says 02/22/2021

News clip #3
Many claims have attempted to compare the COVID-19 pandemic with prior
pandemics, such as the Spanish flu in 1918 or the swine flu in 2009. Others have
tried to brush off the novel coronavirus symptoms and rate of infection as akin to
the seasonal flu.

Retrieved from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/20/fact-check-covid-

19-deadlier-than-1918-spanish-flu-seasonal-flu/3378208001/ 02/22/2021

This rubric serves as the basis of your score.

4
 Performance 5 4 3 2 1
Areas
Content Content is Content is Content is Content is Content is not
related and fairly related related but relevant but related at all
relevant and relevant not relevant not related
Critique Critique Critique Critique Critique Fails to
is insightful and is fairly is insightful but is thorough effectively
thorough insightful and not but not present a
thorough thorough insightful critique;
Organization Information is Information is Information is Information is Missing or
organized in a organized organized poorly ineffective
fully effective competently, fairly organized elements.
manner. competently.
Sentence Sentences Sentences Sentences Sentences Repeated
Structure effectively effectively effectively effectively errors in
constructed constructed constructed constructed sentence
with no with 1minor with 2 minor with 3 minor structure or
grammatical grammatical grammatical grammatical grammar
errors error errors errors
Mechanics Spelling, 1 minor error 2 minor errors 3 minor errors More than 4
capitalization in spelling, in spelling, in spelling, errors
and punctuation punctuation punctuation
punctuation or or or
error‐free capitalization capitalization capitalization

V. ASSESSMENT 30 Learning Task 6: Using the same choices from Learning Task 3, choose which
critical approach be the BEST to use in the following writing tasks.

1. Writing about form-style, structure, tone, imagery of the story “The Little Prince”
2. A paper on the motivation of Jose Rizal in writing his two famous novels Noli
Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
3. Essay on the impact of women empowerment during this time of pandemic
4. Column about the difference in socio – economic status among the people and
how it affects the response toward disaster
5. Review on the life of Apolinario Mabini and how it relates to this writing “El
Verdadero Dekalog”
6. Reading Shakespearean Sonnets and reacting on it based on the personal
reactions of the readers
7. Analyzing Rizal’s “Sa Aking mga Kabata” and its relation to the context of life
of the people during that time
8. Making a reaction on articles on the advancement of technology during the
fourth industrial revolution.

VI. REFLECTION 30 In your journal, write your personal insights about the lesson using the prompts
below:
I understand that _____________________________.
I realize that _________________________________.
I need to learn more about _____________________.

Prepared by: Jenny C. De Leon Checked by: Andrea C. Señadoza

SHS Teacher-IS of Lawa EPS –Calamba City

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 KEY TO CORRECTION:
Learning Task 1: Learning Task 2: Learning Task 3:
1. FALSE 6. TRUE 1. NO 6.YES 1.Formalist criticism 5. Psychological
2. FALSE 7. FALSE 2. YES 7.NO criticism
3.TRUE 8.TRUE 3. YES 8.YES 2.Biographical criticism 6. Sociological
4.FALSE 9.FALSE 4. YES 9.NO criticism
5.TRUE 10.TRUE 5.NO 10.YES 3. Historical criticism 7. Marxist criticism
4. Feminist/Gender criticism 8. Reader-Response

Learning Task 4: Learning Task 5: Learning Task 6:

Answers may vary. Answers may vary. 1. Formalist criticism
2. Psychological criticism
3.Feminist/Gender criticism
4. Sociological criticism
5. Biographical criticism
6. Reader-response criticism
7. Historical criticism
8. Marxist criticism