Module Week 11

Informative, Persuasive and Argumentative

Writing a Critique
Writing Technique
A writing technique is a style an author uses to convey
their message in a manner that is effective and
meaningful to their audience. Understanding the different
types of writing techniques is important to a writer
because you will need to change your style of writing to
make a connection with your audience. For example, the
writing method most effective for selling products to
consumers is different from what’s most effective at
providing employee feedback and coaching.
Here are three types of writing techniques:
1. Informative Writing. The informative writing definition
is precisely what its name implies – writing that is
designed to inform the reader about a given topic.
Informative writing, which is sometimes called expository
or explanatory writing, uses evidence and information
from credible sources to support a focused and logical
explanation of the topic at hand. The informative writing
style demands that you thoroughly educate the reader on
the given topic without including your own opinions.
 Biased information is the bane of informative writing,
and you should avoid it at all costs. Be as factual as
possible so the readers can use the information
provided to draw their own conclusions about the topic
without you influencing that conclusion in any
direction. Another helpful technique to improve your
informative writing is to be as specific as possible. Try to
provide the reader with clear answers to the what,
where, when, how and why of the topic you are
explaining. The more precise you are in your writing, the
more likely the reader is to understand the information.
 Prioritizing information is another useful informative
technique. Start your writing with the information that is
most relevant to your reader’s understanding before you
include details that are nice to know but not necessary.
Finally, use language that is clear, formal and free of
bias. The key feature of informative writing is unbiased
information about a given topic that is presented in a way
that helps the reader truly understand the subject. It uses
language that is easy to comprehend, and if technical
terms are included, clear definitions and explanations of
those terms are also included.
b. Persuasive. Persuasive writing is used to convince or
influence the reader to believe or do what the writer
wants them to do. The persuasive writing style requires
the writer to combine research and logical reasoning
with an emotional connection that persuades the
reader to adopt the writer’s personal opinions and
beliefs.
In order to be a more influential writer, there are a few
persuasive writing techniques a writer may utilize:

1. Pick a topic you’re passionate about. You’ll do your best persuading when
it’s something you truly believe in. There will be research to do regardless,
but already having a strong opinion about your subject will make its
defense a bit easier.
2. Know your audience. If you want to convince readers to believe and agree
with you, know who you’re talking to first.
3. Hook the reader’s attention. A persuasive writer should present their
opinion with a declarative statement that clearly expresses their point of
view. Starting with a fact, research findings, or any other evidence that
explicitly states information supportive of your thesis will immediately
clue the reader in to what the essay will be about, what your position is,
and if they’re interested enough to read on to see if they’ll be on your
side.
4. Research both sides. In order to convince the reader to agree with you,
you also have to know what you’re trying to get them to disagree with. Your
audience may be completely stuck in their ways, so knowing both sides of
your argument—and how to effectively counter the opposition—will assuage
any follow-up questions a reader may have that can cast doubt on your
position.
5. Be empathetic. An effective persuasion technique is the use of empathy. A
reader is more inclined to believe you if they feel like you can relate to and
understand their experiences. Emotional appeal is important for persuasive
writing, as it targets the audience’s sensitivities, while also providing a logical
explanation for why their beliefs should change.
6. Ask rhetorical questions. Presenting questions that the reader will be
forced to answer for themselves later on is another good persuasive strategy,
especially when the information provided to help make that decision is
supportive of your point of view.
7. Emphasize your point. The use of exaggeration in order to express
urgency, exclusivity, or just to make a point is another useful persuasive
technique. Hyperbolic statements aren’t meant to be taken literally, but
are used instead to convey an impactful image. For example, if you’re
attempting to persuade a reader not to go to a restaurant, you might
say their bad service “nearly starved you to death.”
8. Repeat yourself. Strategic repetition can be an effective way to
gradually remind the reader of your message. Finding different ways to
make the same point by use of rephrasing, true stories, metaphors, or
other literary devices all serve to reinforce your point without bogging
down the reader with repetitiveness.
c. Argumentative. Argumentative Writing is presenting
arguments about both sides of an issue. It could be that
both sides are presented equally balanced, or it could
be that one side is presented more forcefully than the
other. It all depends on the writer, and what side he
supports the most.
1. Pick a topic you’re passionate about. As you search for topics, you’ll probably find
several hot button areas. However, just because it’s a potentially controversial
topic doesn’t mean you should write about it. Make sure it’s a topic you actually
care about. It will make all the ensuing research far more enjoyable.
2. Research as Much as Possible. As you conduct your research, be sure to read
about your own topic as well as opposing viewpoints. You can’t make a good
argument if you don’t understand where the other side is coming from. This can
make argumentative essays a little more labor-intensive than other types of essays.
You have to not only backup your own opinion with solid data, but you also have to
point out why the opposing argument doesn’t work. The more you can flesh out a
good argument and back it up with research, the stronger your essay will be.
3. Gather All Your Facts. To avoid looking like an amateur, you need verifiable facts
that will substantiate your argument. Without these facts, you risk looking
unprofessional and unprepared. Offer statements made by leaders of world
organizations or respected authorities. Cite statistics and figures that relate to your
topic. Share a small narrative that illustrates how your topic has evolved over time.
4. Formulate an Outline. As you research, it can be difficult to weigh
your findings in the balance. What’s worthy of inclusion? What’s not as
important? This is where an outline comes in. An argumentative essay
outline will help you lay out your facts, choose the strongest elements,
and map them out effectively. Establish the three core sections of your
essay -- introduction, body, and conclusion -- and then set out
subsections with bullet points. Once you see your ideas gathered and
mapped out like this, you’ll be able to move forward with writing your
essay.
5. Mind your formatting. If your essay isn’t formatted well, it will
detract from the effectiveness of the potentially sound argument you’re
trying to make. Establish the three core sections of your essay --
introduction, body, and conclusion.
Writing a Critique
A critique is a genre of academic writing that briefly summarizes and
critically evaluates a work or concept. In a way, it is giving your feedback to
a text read and a sharing of the reading experience. Critiques can be used
to carefully analyze a variety of works such as:
• Creative works – novels, exhibits, film, images, poetry
• Research – monographs, journal articles, systematic reviews, theories
• Media – news reports, feature articles
Like an essay, a critique uses a formal, academic writing style and has a
clear structure, that is, an introduction, body and conclusion. However, the
body of a critique includes a summary of the work and a detailed
evaluation. The purpose of an evaluation is to gauge the usefulness or
impact of a work in a particular field.
Writing a critique on a work helps us to develop:
• A knowledge of the work’s subject area or related works.
• An understanding of the work’s purpose, intended audience,
development of argument, structure of evidence or creative style.
• A recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.

How to write a critique

Before you start writing, it is important to have a thorough
understanding of the work that will be critiqued.
• Study the work under discussion.
• Make notes on key parts of the work.
• Develop an understanding of the main argument or purpose being expressed in the
work.
• Consider how the work relates to a broader issue or context.
• INTRODUCTION
• Typically, the introduction is short (less than 10% of the word length)
and you should:
• Name the work being reviewed as well as the date it was created and
the name of the author/creator.
• Describe the main argument or purpose of the work.
• Explain the context in which the work was created. This could include
the social or political context, the place of the work in a creative or
academic tradition, or the relationship between the work and the
creator’s life experience.
• Have a concluding sentence that signposts what your evaluation of
the work will be. For instance, it may indicate whether it is a positive,
negative, or mixed evaluation.
BODY
• SUMMARY
Briefly summarize the main points and objectively describe how the
creator portrays these by using techniques, styles, media, characters or
symbols. This summary should not be the focus of the critique and is usually
shorter than the critical evaluation.
• CRITICAL EVALUATION
This section should give a systematic and detailed assessment of the
different elements of the work, evaluating how well the creator was able to
achieve the purpose through these. For example: you would assess the plot
structure, characterization and setting of a novel; an assessment of a painting
would look at composition, brush strokes, color and light; a critique of a
research project would look at subject selection, design of the experiment,
analysis of data and conclusions.
 A critical evaluation does not simply highlight negative impressions. It
should deconstruct the work and identify both strengths and weaknesses. It
should examine the work and evaluate its success, in light of its purpose.
This evaluation is written in formal academic style and logically
presented. Group and order your ideas into paragraphs. Start with the
broad impressions first and then move into the details of the technical
elements. For shorter critiques, you may discuss the strengths of the works,
and then the weaknesses. In longer critiques, you may wish to discuss the
positive and negative of each key critical question in individual paragraphs.
To support the evaluation, provide evidence from the work itself, such as
a quote or example, and you should also cite evidence from related sources.
Explain how this evidence supports your evaluation of the work.
CONCLUSION. This is usually a very brief paragraph, which
includes:
• A statement indicating the overall evaluation of the work
• A summary of the key reasons, identified during the critical
evaluation, why this evaluation was formed.
• In some circumstances, recommendations for improvement
on the work may be appropriate. Reference list Include all
resources cited in your critique.
 Checklist for a critique
Have I:
• Mentioned the name of the work, the date of its creation and the name of the creator?
• Accurately summarized the work being critiqued?
• Mainly focused on the critical evaluation of the work?
• Systematically outlined an evaluation of each element of the work to achieve the
overall purpose?
• Used evidence, from the work itself as well as other sources, to back and illustrate my
assessment of elements of the work?
• Formed an overall evaluation of the work, based on critical reading? • Used a well-
structured introduction, body and conclusion?
• Used correct grammar, spelling and punctuation; clear presentation; and appropriate
referencing style?
Format in writing Critique
The format below shows how to write a critique.
I. Introduction: Describe the work and its creator.
II. Body
a. Summarize the work
b. Evaluate the work
c. State your agreement or disagreement to the work.
III. Conclusion: Give an overview of your critique, which is usually the
restatement of the main agreements and objections to the work.
Activities to be done:
Lesson 1: Task 4: Writing an informative essay.
Topic: Procrastination

Lesson 2: Task 3 and Task 4

NOTE: DO NOT PASS YOUR MODULES. WRITE YOUR ACTIVITIES ON A 1

WHOLE SHEET OF PAPER.