Critical

Thinking
 What is critical thinking?
O It is the ability to objectively analyze information
and draw a rational conclusion.
O It also involves gathering information on a
subject and determining which pieces of
information apply to the subject and which do
not, based on deductive reasoning.
O The ability to think critically helps people in both
their personal and professional lives.
 8 Elements of
Critical Thinking
Process Reflection,
Analysis
Acquisition of information
Creativity
Structuring arguments
Decision making
Commitment
Debate
 LITERARY CRITICISM
O LITERARY CRITICISM is the comparison,
analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of
works of literature. Literary criticism is
essentially an opinion, supported by
evidence, relating to theme, style, setting or
historical or political context.
 Close reading
O Close reading is a method of literary
analysis which focuses on the specific
details of a passage or text in order to
discern some deeper meaning present in it.
O The meaning derived from the close
reading is the reader's interpretation of the
passage or text.
 Literary Criticism: Steps to Literary
Criticism
O Step 1 READ - Read the literary work carefully. Note down and
mark the important events, situations, dialogues.
O As you read the work, ask yourself questions, such as:
O *Why did the author write this? What is the theme or themes?
O *How is the style relevant to the content? How are the characters
developed?
O *What do the characters learn?...How are the characters
connected to the themes?
O *What does the format and style suggest about the story?
 Literary Criticism: Steps to Literary
Criticism
O Step 2 THESIS - The thesis is a road map for the paper—it
tells the reader what to expect. A good thesis is specific,
limited in scope, and offers a perspective or interpretation
on a subject.
O *Focus on specific attribute(s) of the text(s).
O *Make a specific, arguable point (thesis) about these attributes.
O *Defend this point with reasons and evidence drawn from the
text and secondary sources. As you do research and your paper
evolves, don't hesitate to revamp your original thesis statement.
 Literary Criticism: Steps to Literary
Criticism
O Step 3 RESEARCH - Find evidence that supports your
thesis. This evidence may include:
O *Opinions of other critics
O *Discussion of the text's historical and social context
O *Discussions in books or articles about your text.
O *Discussions in books and articles about theories
related to your argument
 Literary Criticism: Steps to Literary
Criticism
O Step 4 SUPPORT - In addition to support for your
thesis in sources you have located in your research,
you will use support directly from the text, such as:
O *Direct quotations
O *Summaries of scenes
O *Paraphrases Reminder: Do not summarize the plot.
You are writing an analysis; not a review or summary.
 Literary Criticism: Steps to Literary
Criticism
O Step 5 EDIT - The final step is to edit and polish
the paper:
O *Check for spelling and grammar mistakes.
O *Ask a friend to review it for you. Since you have
read it so many times, you may overlook obvious
mistakes.
O *Make sure you follow all formatting guidelines.
 Gender Criticism
O This approach in literary criticism “examines how
sexual identity influences the creation and reception of
literary works.”
O Originally an offshoot of feminist movements, gender
criticism today includes a number of approaches,
including the so-called “masculinist” approach recently
advocated by poet Robert Bly.
 Gender Criticism
O The bulk of gender criticism, however, is
feminist and takes as a central precept that the
patriarchal attitudes that have dominated
western thought have resulted, consciously or
unconsciously, in literature “full of unexamined
„male-produced‟ assumptions.”
 Feminist criticism
O Feminist criticism attempts to correct this
imbalance by analyzing and combatting
such attitudes—by questioning, for example,
why none of the characters in
Shakespeare‟s play Othello ever challenge
the right of a husband to murder a wife
accused of adultery.
 Feminist criticism
O Other goals of feminist critics include “analyzing
how sexual identity influences the reader of a text”
and “examining how the images of men and women
in imaginative literature reflect or reject the social
forces that have historically kept the sexes from
achieving total equality.”
 Activity
O Choose an old and new Filipino song or Movie and
review if it opposes female rights. Do you think any
of them encourage negative belief about women?
Copy the song and underline the line or lines that
speaks oppression on women. Using the gender
approach, write a critical analysis of the song/movie
why you say it is female oppression.