USING CRITICAL APPROACHES IN WRITING A Introduction.

The introduction is how to start a

CRITIQUE PAPER critique paper. Il launches the critique,
setting the stage for your analysis
WHAT IS A CRITIQUE PAPER?  Provide the reader with brief synopsis of the
main points of the work you are critiquing,
 A critique is a genre of academic writing that which will be followed by a careful analysis.
summarizes and critically evaluates a work or  State your general opinion of the work, as this
concept. Critiques can be used to carefully will act as your thesis statement. Identify and
analyze a variety of work such as: use a thesis that is controversial.
o Creative works – novels, exhibits, films, Body. The body contains the supporting
images, poetry paragraphs. This is where you will provide the
o Research – monographs, journal facts.
articles, systematic review, theories that prove your main idea and support your thesis
o Media – news reports, feature articles  Every paragraph must focus on a precise
Uses a formal, academic writing style and has concept that is present in the work and your
clear structure, that is, an introduction, body, job is to include Arguments to support or
and conclusion. However, the body of a critique disprove the concept. Concrete evidence is
includes a summary of the work and detailed required.
evaluation. The purpose of an evaluation is to  Write in a third-person and ensures the
gauge the usefulness or impact of a work in a reader is presented with an objective
particular field. analysis
 A critique is a formal analysis and evaluation of  Do not back up one opinion with another
a text, production or performance. It is a careful opinion.
analysis of an argument to determine what is  Remember that your purpose is to provide
said, how well the points are mode what issues the reader with an understanding of a
are overlooked, what implications are drawn particular piece of literature or other work
from such observations and what assumptions from your point of view. Be as specific, as
underlie the argument. possible.
 Critique is a systematic, yet personal response Conclusion. The conclusion reasserts your overall
and evaluation of what you read. It shows general opinion of the ideas presented in the text
whether or not the author provided reasonable and ensures there's no doubt in the reader's mind
arguments and facts for their main points. as to what you believe and why.
However, the body of a critique includes a  Summarizes the analysis you provided in
summary of the work and detailed evaluation. the body of the critique.
The purpose of an evaluation is to gauge the  Summarize the primary reasons you
usefulness or impact of a work in a particular provided the analysis.
field.  Provide recommendations on how the work
o Criticize – to judge or evaluate you critiqued can be improve.
someone or something List of References. This includes all the resources
o Critique – the paper or essay/ the you cited in your critique paper.
product of criticizing
o Critic – the person doing the criticism WAYS ON HOW TO ANALYZE A CRITIQUE
 Technical aspects
Before you start writing, it is important to have  Approach to gender
a thorough understanding of the work that will  Reaction as the audience
be critiqued.  Portrayal of class struggle and social culture
 Study the work under discussion.
 Make notes on key parts of the work DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN WRITING
 Develop on understanding of the main CRITIQUE
argument or purpose being expressed in the
work. There are various ways or standpoints by which
 Consider how the work relates to a broader you can analyze and critique a certain material.
issue or context, You can critique a material based on its technical
aspects.
MAIN PARTS OF A CRITIQUE:
FORMALISIM
 Claims that literary works contain intrinsic  This approach claims that the reader’s role
properties and treats each work as a distinct cannot be separated from the understanding of
work of art. the work a text does not have meaning until the
 In short, it posits that the key to understanding reader reads it and interprets it.
a text is through the text itself; the historical  Readers are therefore not passive and distant
context, the author; or any other external but are active consumers of the material
contexts are not necessary in interpreting the presented to them.
meaning. The common aspects look into when using
 The historical context, the author, or any other reader response criticism are as follows:
external contexts are not necessary in  Interaction between the reader and the text in
interpreting the meaning. creating meaning.
 The impact of reader’s response delivery of
Following are the common aspects looked into sounds and visuals on enhancing and changing
in formalism: meaning.
 Author’s techniques in resolving contradiction
within the work. MARXISM CRITICISM
 Central passage that sums up the entirety of
the work  it focuses on the economic and political
 Contribution of parts and the work as a whole to elements of art, often emphasizing the
its aesthetic quality. ideological content of literature; because
 Contribution of rhymes and rhythms to the Marxist criticism often argues that all art is
meaning or effect of the work. political, either challenging or endorsing (by
 Relationship of the form and the content. silence) the status quo, it is frequently
 Use of imagery to develop the symbols used in evaluative and judgmental.
the work  Concerned with the differences between
 Interconnectedness of various parts of the economic classes and implication of a capitalist
work. system, such as the continuing conflicts
 Paradox, ambiguity, and irony in the work. between the working class and the elite.
 Unity in the work.  It attempts to reveal that the ultimate source of
people’s experience is the economic system.

FEMINISM/FEMINIST CRITICISM The common aspects looked into when using

 Focuses on how literature presents women as Marxist criticism are as follows:
subjects of socio-political, psychological, and  Social class as represented in the work.
economic oppression.  Social class of the writer/creator.
 It also reveals how aspects of our culture are  Social class of the characters.
patriarchal, i.e., how our culture views men as  Conflicts and interactions between economic
superior and women as inferior. classes.
The common aspects looked into when using
feminism are as follows: ADDITIONAL:
 How culture determines gender.
 How gender equality (or the lack of it) is BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM – This approach
presented in the text. begins with the simple but central insight that
 How gender issues are presented in literary literature is written by actual people and that
works and other aspects of human production understanding an author’s life can help reader
in daily life. explicating the literary work by using the insight
 How women are socially, politically, provided by knowledge of the author’s life.
psychologically, and economically oppressed Biographical data should amplify the meaning of
by patriarchy. the text, not drown it out with irrelevant material.
 How patriarchal ideology is an overpowering
presence. HISTORICAL CRITICISM – This approach seeks
to understand a literary work by investigating the
social, cultural, and intellectual context that
READER’S RESPONSE produced it-a context that necessarily includes the
 Is concerned with the reviewer’s reaction as an artist’s biography and milieu. A key goal for
audience of a work. historical critics is to understand the effect of a
literary work upon its original readers.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CRITICISM – This This
approach reflects the effect that modern
psychology has had upon both literature and
literary criticism. Psychological criticism has a
number of approaches, but in general, it usually
employs one (or more) of three approaches.

 An investigation of the creative process of the

artist: what is the nature of literary genius and
how does it relate to normal mental functions?
 The psychological study of a particular artist,
usually noting how an author’s biographical
circumstances affect or influence their
motivations and/or behaviors.
 The analysis of fictional characters using the
language and methods of psychology.

MYTHOLOGICAL CRITICISM – This approach

emphasizes the recurrently universal patterns
underlying most literary works. Combining the
insights from anthropology, psychology, and
history, and comparative religion, mythological
criticism explores the artist’s common humanity by
tracing how the individual imagination uses myths
and symbols common to different cultures.