Scribd
Upload
315 views2 pages

Features-Structure of A Critique Paper

The document outlines the typical structure of a critical review, including an introduction, summary, and critique section. The introduction presents the topic, aim, and a brief evaluation. The summary condenses the key points and examples to about a third of the review. The critique provides a balanced discussion of the text's strengths, weaknesses, and notable features, supported by other sources. It concludes with a brief restatement of the overall opinion and any recommendations.

Uploaded by

Notaly Mae Paja Badting
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
315 views2 pages

Features-Structure of A Critique Paper

The document outlines the typical structure of a critical review, including an introduction, summary, and critique section. The introduction presents the topic, aim, and a brief evaluation. The summary condenses the key points and examples to about a third of the review. The critique provides a balanced discussion of the text's strengths, weaknesses, and notable features, supported by other sources. It concludes with a brief restatement of the overall opinion and any recommendations.

Uploaded by

Notaly Mae Paja Badting
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Structure of a Critical Review

Critical reviews, both short (one page) and long (four pages), usually have a similar
structure. Check your assignment instructions for formatting and structural
specifications. Headings are usually optional for longer reviews and can be helpful for
the reader.

Introduction

The length of an introduction is usually one paragraph for a journal article review and
two or three paragraphs for a longer book review. Include a few opening sentences that
announce the author(s) and the title, and briefly explain the topic of the text. Present the
aim of the text and summarise the main finding or key argument. Conclude the
introduction with a brief statement of your evaluation of the text. This can be a positive
or negative evaluation or, as is usually the case, a mixed response.

Summary

Present a summary of the key points along with a limited number of examples. You can
also briefly explain the author’s purpose/intentions throughout the text and you may
briefly describe how the text is organised. The summary should only make up about a
third of the critical review.

Critique

The critique should be a balanced discussion and evaluation of the strengths, weakness
and notable features of the text. Remember to base your discussion on specific criteria.
Good reviews also include other sources to support your evaluation (remember to
reference).

You can choose how to sequence your critique. Here are some examples to get you
started:

 Most important to least important conclusions you make about the text.
 If your critique is more positive than negative, then present the negative points
first and the positive last.
 If your critique is more negative than positive, then present the positive points
first and the negative last.
 If there are both strengths and weakness for each criterion you use, you need to
decide overall what your judgement is. For example, you may want to comment
on a key idea in the text and have both positive and negative comments. You
could begin by stating what is good about the idea and then concede and explain
how it is limited in some way. While this example shows a mixed evaluation,
overall you are probably being more negative than positive.
 In long reviews, you can address each criteria you choose in a paragraph,
including both negative and positive points. For very short critical reviews (one
page or less) where your comments will be briefer, include a paragraph of
positive aspects and another of negative.
 You can also include recommendations for how the text can be improved in
terms of ideas, research approach; theories or frameworks used can also be
included in the critique section.

Conclusion & References

Conclusion

This is usually a very short paragraph.

 Restate your overall opinion of the text.


 Briefly present recommendations.
 If necessary some further qualification or explanation of your judgement can be
included. This can help your critique sound fair and reasonable.

References

If you have used other sources in you review you should also include a list of references
at the end of the review.

Summarising and paraphrasing for the critical review

Summarising and paraphrasing are essential skills for academic writing and in
particular, the critical review. To summarise means to reduce a text to its main points
and its most important ideas. The length of your summary for a critical review should
only be about one quarter to one third of the whole critical review.

The best way to summarise is to:

1. Scan the text. Look for information that can be deduced from the introduction,
conclusion and the title and headings. What do these tell you about the main
points of the article?
2. Locate the topic sentences and highlight the main points as you read.
3. Reread the text and make separate notes of the main points. Examples and
evidence do not need to be included at this stage. Usually they are used
selectively in your critique.

Paraphrasing means putting it into your own words. Paraphrasing offers an alternative
to using direct quotations in your summary (and the critique) and can be an efficient way
to integrate your summary notes.

The best way to paraphrase is to:

1. Review your summary notes


2. Rewrite them in your own words and in complete sentences
3. Use reporting verbs and phrases (eg; The author describes…, Smith argues that
…).
4. If you include unique or specialist phrases from the text, use quotation marks.

You might also like