Development of the Lesson

Concept Notes No. 8 – Writing Critique Paper

Writing a critique on a work helps you to develop:

1. Knowledge of the work’s subject area

2. An understanding of the work’s purpose, intended audience, development of
argument, structure of evidence or creative style.
3. Recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.

Critical Approaches in Writing a Critique

1. Formalism
✔ It focuses on the text
✔ It is close reading
✔ The historical content, the author, or any other external contents
are not necessary in interpreting the meaning.
2. Feminist Criticism
✔ Focuses on how literature presents women as subjects of
sociopolitical, psychological, and economic oppression.
✔ It also reveals how culture views men as superior and women
as inferior.
3. Reader-Response Criticism
✔ This approach claims that the reader’s role cannot be separated
form the understanding of the work – a text does not have
meaning until the reader reads it and interprets it.

Steps in Writing a Critique

1. Decide what to look at.

2. Decide what make things good or bad
3. Write your review or critique
It is now time to start putting your essay together.  Here's a pretty
simple format you can follow:
✔ Introduction
o catches the reader's attention;
o identifies the thing you'll be reviewing (e.g., the title of the book or
movie);
o identifies the author, star, or director, if appropriate.
✔ Body
o opens with a topic sentence that says what the paragraph is about;
o has several detail sentences that prove the point you are trying to
make;
o uses quotes or examples from the book or movie, if possible, to help
prove your point.
✔ Conclusion
o *briefly* restates the main ideas of the review;
o makes a judgment about the book or movie or whatever, saying
whether it is good or bad (some reviewers give ratings, like four stars
or two thumbs up);
o recommends that the reader go to the movie or read the book or buy a
meal at the restaurant (or not, if it is no good).