THE CONTENT AND

STRUCTURE OF THE
CRITIQUE/REACTION
PAPER
• A good critique/reaction paper should be….

• 1. Accurate – It provides an accurate description of the work

being evaluated by giving its summary and/or background
details, like answers to basic reporting questions of who, what,
when, where, and why.
• 2. Evaluative –
• It gives the writer’s overall judgment of the work.
• It makes this judgment convincing by giving three or more
(depending on the length of the paper) supporting evaluations
of selected analytical elements of the work being evaluated.
• 3. Balanced
• - The writer shows balance by pointing out weaknesses of a
work, if the overall judgment is positive, or the other way
around, by recognizing strong points of a work for which the
overall judgment is negative.
• Read the sample critique and reaction paper
 SIMILARITIES

• - Both samples begin with a summary of the speech

• - Both texts conclude with a restatement of the overall
judgment of the talk, which you first read in the last sentence
of paragraph 1 of both texts.
 DIFFERENCES

• The body contents are different.

• Sample 1

• - the writer focuses on the merits of the speech, like the use of
examples (in paragraphs 2 and 3) and the strength or weakness
of the evidence used by the speaker to support his claim
(paragraph 4).

•
• Sample 2

• -More personal.
• - The writer talks about his or her feelings about and responses
to the speech (paragraph 2)
 AN OVERVIEW OF THE WRITING
PROCESS
• Step 1: Know well the nature of writing assignment, especially
the subject of critique or reaction and the analytical elements
to be included in your paper.

• Step 2: See, listen to, or otherwise experience the work

assigned for evaluation, taking careful note of important
details as you do so.
• Step 3: Outline your presentation, following the conventional
organizational pattern for critiques and reaction papers.

• Step 4: Draft and edit your paper, paying careful attention to

mechanical and grammatical concerns
 STEP 1. KNOW THE WRITING
ASSIGNMENT
• A. Know the details of the writing assignment

• Requirement Number/Title ____________

• Due Date: __________________

• Type of Paper: _____________

• Subject (What will be evaluated?): ____________
• Formal Concern: _____________________________
• _______________________________________________
• ________________________________________________
• B. Know the details of the subject

• 1. “Who”
• A. Who are the people involved in creating work? What other
previous works have they done?
• B. Who is the intended audience for the work?

• 2. “What”
• A. What event (for example, a celebration, a competition, etc) is the
work a part of?
• B. What is the work about?
• C. What is the creator’s purpose?
• 3. “Where” and “When”
• A. Where and when is the work staged or exhibited?
• B. Where and when was it staged before? Where and when
will it be staged after?
• C. Know the Analytical elements of the subject

• We have to explain what makes it good or bad.

• In other words, we have to be able to identify the different
components of the work that we find effective or not.
• We call these the work’s analytical elements.
• This term is related to analysis, which means to break
something to its components.
• In other words, when we analyze a piece of work, we have to
be able to identify all the different “ingredients” that make up
this piece of work.
 STEP 2. VIEW OR EXPERIENCE THE
ASSIGNED SUBJECT
• This part is sometimes the most entertaining in the entire
process but remember you have a purpose and that is to
prepare for writing your paper.
• Tips on how to make the most of your viewing experience.

• 1. Keep a notebook or any note-taking device so you can

quickly jot down your thoughts.
• -take note of details that you found interesting, and if allowed,
you may even take pictures of these.
• -these notes or images can help you recall details as needed

• 2. Get materials such as handouts, these usually contain useful

background information about the work
• After viewing the work, take time to process. Try answering
the following questions while experience of the work is fresh
in your mind:

• 1. How do I feel about the work as a whole?

• 2. What did I like about it?
• 3. What did I not like about it?
• 4. What would I suggest to the creator in order to make it
better?
• 5. What message does the creator wish to convey? Or what
purpose is the work trying to fulfill?
• 6. What did the creator do in order to achieve this?
• 7. Do I think the creator succeeded in this? Why or why not?
STEP 3: OUTLINE
 CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF
CRITIQUE AND REACTION PAPER
Part Content
Introduction Summary of the work being evaluated
Background information
The reviewer’s reactor’s overall judgment
of the subject of the work. This serve as
the thesis of the critique/reaction paper
Body Supporting opinions to the overall
judgment.
Support to these opinions: details about
the work being evaluated
Conclusion A restatement (using different wording) of
the overall judgment
Some final thoughts of the critic or reactor
, such as: suggested actions or thoughts on
the significance or practical use of the
work
STEP 4: DRAFT AND EDIT THE PAPER

• Remember that a draft is your initial attempt at writing, so

expect it to have plenty of room for improvement.

• Remember this too..

• You never pass a draft to the teacher.

• After drafting, take time to edit and revise your work. Don’t
forget to check the accuracy of the factual details in your
paper.
 RUN-THROUGH

• A good critique/reaction paper is one that is accurate in

presenting the summary and other factual details concerning
the subject or work.

• It’s also evaluative, as it presents the writer’s overall judgment

of the work and explains why this is so by evaluating selected
analytical components of the work.
 .

• It’s also balanced: able to point out both strength and

weaknesses of the work.

• There are four easy stages to go through as you prepare for

and write your critique/reaction paper.
• A. Know the nature of the assignment, subject/work, and its
analytical elements
• B. View or experience it with the goal of preparing to write a
critique/reaction paper.
• C. Outline your presentation
• D. Draft and edit your paper.
• 1. What are the parts and expected content of a reaction paper
and critique?
• 2. What are the different process steps in writing a reaction
paper or critique?
• 3. What for you is the value of writing and reading reactions
and critique?
 ASSIGNMENT

• Clip or download a review published in media. Make sure to

copy publication information such as author’s name, the
article’s title, date published, and the publication where it
appears (for printed reviews) or the website (complete URL)
from which you downloaded it. Answer the following
questions.

• 1. Analyze the parts and their arrangement. How similar or

different is the article’s structure from the one you learned in
this chapter?
• 2. Review the qualities of a good critique. Do you see all of
these in your sample text? If your answer is “yes”, identify the
parts that show each quality. If it’s “no” discuss which quality
appears to be lacking and explain why you say so.