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Objectives (when critiquing as essay)
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To see how professional authors
construct an essay.
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To
assess writing strategies
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To
assess language
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To interpret meaning
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To evaluate a professional essay
Overview
A
response is a critique or evaluation of
an author's writing.. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in
relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you
agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and
weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples,
and in organization and style. A good response is persuasive; therefore,
it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either
refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your
stance
A response is your chance to communicate in writing your
personal viewpoint and personal learning as they relate specifically to
the book, essay, paper, article, etc. in question and the ideas and
values contained therein. A good response paper will artfully make a
connection between the subject at hand and your own experience. A
response paper is intended to be a transformative experience. The text,
the artifact alone, has no meaning; it is given meaning by the reader.
You are being asked to transform the new experience into a context that
is meaningful to you, born of the interaction of reader's and writer's
meanings.
What it is NOT
A response paper is not intended to be a comprehension test, a book
review, (i.e. "I really enjoyed the...) or a rehashing of the content or
story (i.e. this happened, and then that happened"). It should not be
terse, constipated or "academic." Your reader is familiar with the essay
and is interested in discerning how deeply you have thought about the
concepts, values, belief systems and attitudes that exist at the heart
of the work.
Tips
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Keep in mind that every author writes to make a point, to
promote a position, a set of beliefs or values. Your first task
in a response paper is to tell your reader what you think these
are. This conveys to the reader not only that you have read the
essay, but how well you have analyzed its content
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Your
second task it to reflect on the point, positions, and values
you have ascribed to the work. Spend time with the author's
position and discern whether that perspective is aligned with
your own experience or not. Whatever you discover in reflecting
on the author's position and how it relates to your own position
and values becomes the raw material for addressing the next task
of the response paper
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Within the written paper, the third task is to
describe the outcome of the process mentioned above.
Specifically address how the reading's perspective and you own
interweave. Do they agree? Are they similar in some way? Are
they at odds? What is the conflict? How has seeing things from
the author's perspective changed (or reaffirmed) your own
viewpoint? Tell why all of this is so
In short, a good Critical Response
answers the following questions:
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What
(meanings, values, etc.) was the author trying to promote?
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What is my
personal position relative to the author's
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What techniques, support, insight
did the author provide.
How to do it
1.
Write a very brief sentence or two
summary
It need not be lengthy, perhaps
a few sentences just give a sense
of what you are critiquing. Do not
assume a reader has read the essay
you will critique: it provides an
overview so your critique has a context.
Assume the reader has never read what
you are critiquing.
Do not
retell the essay; (give a
reader only enough to get an overall picture
of what happened, what was described,
argued etc.).
2.
Write a Response Critique that expresses
you view of the writing.
The
purpose of a critique is learn from
other writers. What worked? What did
this writer do to enhance your
enjoyment, understanding, knowledge, etc
of the topic.
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Consider
the following for your critique |
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Meaning - what the
author's
implicitly and\or explicitly
aims to
say.
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Writing Strategy - how the essay was
constructed.
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Language - what writing techniques
were used
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- Style
tone
rhetorical devices
appropriate person?
use of advanced vocabulary
use of surprise
Focus
on whatever will help most.
Avoid simplistic yes or no critique.
Do not be vague.
Do not use unclear terminologies
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- Enjoyment & Message
Did
you enjoy it?
Did you get meaning?
If
so, what?
How?
Why?
Focus on
whatever will help most;
Avoid simplistic yes or no critique.
Do not be vague.
Do not use unclear terminologies.
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- Grammatical
Accuracy
Are
sentences accurate?
Did
sentences meet:
Basic Grammatical
Accuracy.
Yes or no
answers are not helpful.
Explain thoughts completely.
Provide examples where necessary.
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In addition to the above
note attention to meeting the requirements of the assignment |
- Argumentation
Is the argument clear? (what it is about)
Is the author's position clear?
Does the author consider and show respect for the other
side?
Is there plenty of concrete evidence to support the author's
position?
Does the author use appropriate reference to logic and
reasoning?
Does the author use appropriate reference to emotion?
Are you convinced? If so, tell why - if not tell why not
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- If critiquing a Documented Essay
also consider how well the requirements were met.
MLA Work Cited
Use and MLA documentation of Internal Citation
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Below are some tips of What Not To Do
Do not retell the essay
Anyone reading
your critique will have already read the essay. Retelling it
is useless . Your reader already knows what it is about.
Critiques dig into it and look at what made it work as a
piece of writing or what needs work. The purpose of a
critique is to help the writer.
Do not
be vague and general.
Example:The Thesis was good and had meaning. (this says nothing -
what meaning?)
Better
The message of self sufficiency stated in the thesis is one that we
can all learn from. The author clearly believes that students are
entirely
responsible for their own education, and far too many of them rely too
heavily on their teachers to teach them, when in fact they should doing more active learning. This is a fine message to give to
other young writers and all students.
Example:
The essay flowed well. (flowed? ..doesn't mean anything)
Better
Because of the proper use of pronoun references and skillful use of
verbs, the writing was easy to follow. Additionally, the author
used lots of transitional phrases to establish the order of ideas (Time
Order). This was particularly evident when she told of how the doctor's
visit preceded her involvement in the confusion with the medical
insurance company, Having that knowledge and the time the doctor's visit
was
established made it more clear that she was being treated unfairly.
etc..............................
Example :It was well written
(again nice to hear but not helpful: be specific
Better:
This essay was enjoyable because it can be related to any student
situation. We all have lots to do during a semester, and
all the great examples that this author provided made it very easy to
visualize. The examples of trying to do homework, care for
a screaming child, and welcome her tired husband home from work with
affection and attention really hit home. For many of us it is like
looking in a mirror. What an interesting wake up call this provided.
etc....................complete the thoughts.
Do not focus on yourself or convey
vague general unclear meaning
Example: I enjoyed this essay. (that is nice to hear but not helpful; be
specific. What helped you enjoy it?)
Better
This essay was full of very interesting examples and sensory details.
The examples were wonderfully illustrated with lots of vivid
sensory detail. I could picture the lake and the camping trip as
if I were there eating hot dogs with the gang. I especially liked the
short story of how they all went fishing and fell into the lake; that
was not only humorous, but it nicely let me better understand the
meaning of friendship that this essay portrayed. etc............
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