WHAT IS A CRITIQUE?

A critique is a short paper, usually about one book or

article. First, it gives a short summary of what has
been said in the article. Then, it looks at the article
critically. In presenting the critical comments, one
has to look into the strengths and weaknesses of the
article. A critique can be positive or negative.
However, it is better that the critique points
out to improving the article.
WHY WRITE A CRITIQUE?
A critique is written to judge the value of the
piece. It is also looking into the content and
style of the writer. More so, a critique looks into
other elements such as arguments and insights
that the reader as critique writer might agree or
disagree.
HOW TO WRITE A CRITIQUE1?
1. Read the whole book or article thoroughly.
Highlight text that you think important or make notes
as you go along. Re-read the article to make sure
that your interpretation of the author’s ideas and
arguments are correct.
2. Think carefully about what you have read and
ask yourself questions about the article. Look
into the following:
2.1. What are the main points that the author is
trying to make?
2.2. How does the author support those points?
What evidences are being presented?
3. Re-read material to make sure that you have
understood the author’s ideas.
4. Try to summarize what you have read. You may
wish to do this by way of bullet- pointed notes. A
spider diagram or mind map. Use whichever
techniques suits you.
5. Think about different points of view:
2.1 How do the author’s ideas compare to
other writers of the subject?
2.2 Do you agree or disagree with the
author? You should say why. This might
mean backing up your own views with
academic opinion, so you will need to read
around the subject area.
A CRITIQUE MAY FOLLOW
THIS TEMPLATE
1. Introduction.
Presentation of the general ideas/points in the article.

Written by Beth Fennelly, I Survived the Blizzard of ’79 is

her personal account of which she was taking me to have a
peek into her own experience of the harsh blizzard. More
than that, I believe, the personal narrative uses
the event itself - the blizzard - to describe the way her
father was.
2. Presentation of the strengths and weaknesses of the
article in terms of content, arguments, evidences, and
writing style.
Clearly, the story is loaded with symbolism which gave me a
hard time to understand initially. The images were becoming
clearer as the narration unfolds until I finally find the writing as
something that could be taken in different directions. The story
mirrors issue on religion, trauma of a tragedy, disassociation,
and abuse among others. To me, it is very much up to the
readers’ interpretation.
3. Commentary on how you relate to the
article. This may include the impact of the article
on your belief system and experiences as well as
the effectiveness of the author in presenting and
supporting his arguments.
In the essay, Fennelly’s father insists on trekking the mile to Sunday
mass when the temperature is degrees below zero, something that at
the beginning I personally question. However, towards the end, I realized
it was an imagery of a father who attempted to protect his daughter with
his scarf, but allowing her to see death because of the blizzard and even
a fight between him and his wife.

I personally believe that the author succeeds at presenting the idea why
many people are afraid of becoming parents as it is the vital question the
story asks, when in fact parents know that eventually their children will
see the as flawed, just as they did to their parents who did it to their
parents. Both events in the story that I mentioned I believe have taken a
child’s innocence away which can be considered a painful process of
growing up.
4. Looking into the literariness of the article.
Literariness is the organization of language which
through special linguistic and formal properties
distinguishes literary texts from non-literary texts
(Baldick 2008). In other words, literariness is the
quality of the article to be considered as creative
work.
Fennelly’s personal narrative truly is interesting. Not
only that it captures significant human experience,
but also the narrative reflects the author’s creative
side at displaying her skills at minimalism and
images. Sentences are broken as if it is a taste of
poetry in prose. Sentences are read like epigrams,
giving a refreshing idea that the physical length of the
narrative and how it was written is a reminder that
there is much more to be said
5. Conclusion. This includes your general take/comment on the
article. This could be the summary of your impressions on the
technical and creative sides of the piece.
Finally, like any other essay of the author, this piece is a
description of a moment in a vivid detail with some scene left
hanging for the readers to think about and for him to visually
experience. But for Fennelly, I am quite certain that her painful
experience of a blizzard – of her father - creates memories she has
lived to survive and share.
TYPES OF CREATIVE NONFICTIONAL
TEXTS
1. Biographical narratives can be
classified according to their length,
scope, amplitude into the full-length
biography, profile, the character sketch
and the interview story.
a. Biography is the accurate representation of the
life story from birth to death of an individual
written by one person for another person, along
with an effort to interpret the life so as to offer a
realistic impression of the subject.
b. Profile concentrates on a single
aspect of the featured, city, institution,
or person’s life.
Character Sketch is shorter than a profile
and can be described as cameo or miniature
life story.
d. Interview story zeroes in on one
particular facet of the featured person’s life
and can be a product of meeting between
a writer (interviewer) and his or her subject
(the interviewee).
Grade
2. Autobiographical narratives range from
intimate writings made during life that were not
necessarily intended for publication (including
letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and
reminiscences) to the formal autobiography.
a. Autobiography is an account of one’s own life,
generally a continuous narrative of major events.
The writer composes his/her life story, from birth
to the present, using the first person “I.”
b. Memoir -uses multiple scenes/stories as a way of
examining a writer's life (or an important moment in
a writer's life). It can be written in a fragmentary or
dispersed style, like a mosaic or montage of small-
scale narratives. c
c. Diary - is a quotidian or day to day
record of the specific events that have
transpired in the life of its author and is
ideally kept on a daily basis.
d. Journal -contains personal details
regarding impressions and opinions of the
journal writer concerning certain intriguing
incidents or issues that have come up and
how specific persons have affected him/ her
during course of the day.
3. Personal or Informal Essays allows
one to explore a topic through the lens of
his/her own, personal experiences,
reflections, ideas, and reactions.
a. Literary Reportage/Journalism is a hybrid
between responsible journalism and
imaginative literature uses the techniques of
journalism (such as interviews and reviews)
in order to look outside of the straight
forward, objective world that journalism
creates. It uses literary practices to capture
the scene/setting of the assignment or the
persona of the person being interviewed.
b. Descriptive essay represents the
appearance or essence of something .
It gives a description about a particular
topic, or describes the traits and
characteristics of something or a
person
c. Reflective essay analyses the
significance of a past event through
serious thought or consideration from the
vantage point of the present. It is an
analytical practice of describing a real or
imaginary scene, thoughts and adding a
personal reflection
4. Special types of creative
nonfiction include travel writing,
nature writing and food writing. This
can be illustrated in one form called as
travelogue.
a. Travelogue is an old canon of literature, dealing with
nature writing, adventure writing, exploration writing, guide
books etc. It includes the
narration of journey undertaken by the narrator from his/ her
point of origin to the eventual destination. It also entails
detailed descriptions of the local customs, and traditions, the
landscape or cityscape, the native cuisine to historical and
cultural landmarks, and the sights and the sound the visited
place has to offer.
Emerging forms include
Testimonio, Blog, and
Facebook Status Report.
Testimonio refers to the published oral
or written “first-hand accounts” which
the witnesses wrote themselves or
dictated to a transcriber.
b. Blog, short for web log, is an online diary
that looks like a web page. It is a platform
where a writer or a group of writers share
their views on an individual subject.
Literariness - is the organization of language which
through special linguistic and formal properties
distinguishes literary texts from non-literary texts.

The defining features of a literary work do not reside in

extra-literary conditions such as history or sociocultural
phenomena under which a literary text might have been
created but in the form of the language that is used. It is
the feature that makes a given work a literary work.
Commentary – an analysis of the given
passage, its function and its
characteristics. It should examine the key
themes and stylistic devices of the
passage, showing how the language
works to convey (or at times
undermine) its content.