Writing a critical review 1

What is a critical review?

• An academic task
– Summarise article / text
– Evaluate article / text
• Evaluate – pass judgement or express an
opinion on something
– 3 lines of thinking:
• Questioning
• Analysing
• Evaluating
Questioning the text – ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘when’ questions

• Who wrote the article? Why did s/he write it?

• What experience / expertise on the topic does the
author have?
• Who is the article about?
• What is the issue? Is it a current issue?
• When was this text written?
• When did the incident/issue being discussed
occur?
• What evidence supports the author’s ideas /
opinion?
• Who has been cited in this article?
Analysing the text – ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions
• Does the author agree with what others say
about the issue?
• How [on what basis] has the author arrived at the
conclusion?
• Why has the author chosen to discuss this issue?
• Why has the author chosen to present the
information in this way? [newspaper article or
journal article or blog, etc.]
• Has the author omitted any relevant information?
• Where has the evidence come from? Are they
from credible sources?
 Evaluating the text
• Have I learned something new about the
issue?
• Why should I believe what I have just read?
• What effect does this article have on future
study or research on the issue?
• Does the article /text affirm or negate other
evidence on the issue?
• What relevance does this have to my
community? to the region? to the world?
• Should the article / text be recommended?
Apply Q, A, E questions to the text
N.B. Not every question will apply to all texts –
some many not be relevant
• Now examine ‘India’s missing girls’ by applying
the questions from Q, A, and E.