A critique is an academic writing that offers a concise summary and critical assessment of a work. It begins with a summary of the author's main points, then provides a critical examination of the work's advantages and disadvantages. To critique a work, one must describe its goals, analyze how its language and organization convey its message, interpret each part's significance, and assess its overall worth. There are different types of critiques for various purposes, such as demonstrating close reading skills, providing feedback on published or unpublished works, or making recommendations. Effective critiques involve analyzing and evaluating the content and style, then writing the critique in a standard essay format with an introduction, body, and conclusion.

1. CRITIQUE PAPER
WHAT IS A CRITIQUE?
A critique is a type of academic writing that offers a concise summary and critical assessment of a
piece of work or idea. One can utilize critiques to carefully examine a wide range of works, including:
• Creative Works – Novels, Exhibits, Film, Images, Poetry
• Research – Monographs, Journal Articles, Systematic Reviews, Theories
• Media – News Reports, Feature Articles
A critique is a brief essay that often discusses one book or article. It begins by summarizing the
author's points. The second is a critical examination of the work. You must evaluate the research or
writing's advantages and disadvantages. It's crucial to keep in mind that criticism can be both
constructive and negative.
To critique a piece of work is to do the following:
• Describe: offer the reader an understanding of the author's general goals and intentions.
• Analyze: Analyze how the work’s organization and language convey its message.
• Interpret: Describe each part of the work’s significance or importance.
• Assess: evaluate the work's worth or value.
TYPES OF CRITIQUE
Article or Book Review Assignment in an Academic Class
Text: Article or book that has already been published
Audience: Teachers/Professors
Purpose:
• To demonstrate your skills for close reading and analysis
• to show that you understand key concepts in your field
• To learn how to review a manuscript for your future professional work
Published Book Review
Text: Book that has already been published
Audience: Disciplinary colleagues
Purpose:
• to describe the book’s contents
• to summarize the book’s strengths and weaknesses
• to provide a reliable recommendation to read (or not read) the book
Manuscript Review
Text: Manuscript that has been submitted but has not been published yet
Audience: Journal editor and manuscript authors
Purpose:
• to provide the editor with an evaluation of the manuscript

2. • to recommend to the editor that the article be published, revised, or rejected
• to provide the authors with constructive feedback and reasonable suggestions for
revision
STEPS IN WRITING A CRITIQUE
Your critique must have a clear framework and be simple to read. You'll need to use logical thinking
while deciding how to organize your work.
1. Analyze The Text
- Describe the artwork's primary goal.
- Identify what the author's major argument is.
- Discuss the arguments that are used to support the main point and the evidence that
supports them.
- Explain the conclusions reached by the author and how they have been reached.
2. Evaluate the Text
You must remark on both the piece's content and the writing style in addition to its content.
- Is the argument logical?
- Is the text well organized, clear, and easy to read?
- Have important terms clearly defined?
- Are the facts accurate?
- Do the documents support the main point?
- Is there sufficient evidence for the arguments?
- Does the text present and consider opposing points of view?
- Does the material help you understand the subject?
- What questions/ observations does this article suggest?
- What does this text make you think about?
3. Write in standard essay form
An essay format should be used while writing a critique. An introduction, a body of text, and
a conclusion are required. It will be necessary for you to write a rough draught of your essay.
- Prepare an outline. State what the main points of your work will be and the evidence that
you will use to back them up.
- Set out in your introduction HOW you will approach your task.
- Consider ending your introduction with a statement of your position on the issue you have
chosen. It may be a sentence or two and should announce what you want to argue.
- This is a summary of what your work will demonstrate (i.e. your conclusion).
- The main body of your essay should deal with a detailed analysis of the subject matter.
- Conclude by re-emphasizing your argument or point of view and stating why you have
reached a particular conclusion. Avoid sweeping generalizations that you cannot support
with evidence. Do not at this stage introduce any new material.
- Don’t forget: proofread, revise, and edit your first draft.
FORMAT OF A CRITIQUE
Research Article:

3. Introduction
- Define the subject of your critique and your point of view
- Background to research
o Article/Author information
o Summarize the author’s main points and purpose.
(1-2 paragraphs)
Main Body
- Begin with a summary describing the project
o The aim of the research
o Method of research (What was done)
o Subject (To whom it was done)
o Hypothesis (Why was it done? What were the expected results)
o Actual Results (What was found)
o Conclusion (What did the author say the results mean?
(1 paragraph)
- Discuss the strength of the article
o Is the argument logical and is there sufficient evidence to support it?
o Does the research advance the field or replicate work already done?
o If it advances, what new knowledge does it bring?
o Clarity of data presentation (readability of graphs and tables)
o Appropriate statistics, Were the right analyses done?
o Are the appropriate conclusions drawn? (Some researchers are
conservative and do not draw conclusions that are evident from their
data; others are liberal and draw conclusions not supported by their data).
o Does the article present and refute opposing points of view?
(2-5 paragraphs depending on how long the article is)
** A critique is your opinion of the text, supported by evidence from the text.
Conclusion
- Re-emphasize your argument/point of view
- Make final suggestions and/or positive and negative criticisms of the article you
critiqued.
- What questions/observations does the article suggest?
(Final paragraph)
Literary Piece:
Introduction
- Name the work being reviewed as well as the date it was created and the name
of the author/creator
- Describe the main argument or purpose of the work.

4. - Explain the context in which the work was created. This could include the social
or political context, the place of the work in a creative or academic tradition, or
the relationship between the work and the creator’s life experience.
- Have a concluding sentence that signposts what your evaluation of the work will
be. For instance, it may indicate whether it is a positive, negative, or mixed
evaluation.
Summary
Briefly summarize the main points and objectively describe how the creator portrays
these by using techniques, styles, media, characters, or symbols. This summary should
not be the focus of the critique and is usually shorter than the critical evaluation.
Critical Evaluation
This section should give a systematic and detailed assessment of the different elements
of the work, evaluating how well the creator was able to achieve the purpose through
these. For example: you would assess the plot structure, characterization, and setting
of a novel; an assessment of a painting would look at composition, brush strokes, color,
and light; a critique of a research project would look at subject selection, design of the
experiment, analysis of data and conclusions.
A critical evaluation does not simply highlight negative impressions. It should
deconstruct the work and identify both strengths and weaknesses. It should examine
the work and evaluate its success, in light of its purpose.
- Who is the creator? Is the work presented objectively or subjectively?
- What are the aims of the work? Were the aims achieved?
- What techniques, styles, and media were used in the work? Are they effective
in portraying the purpose?
- What assumptions underlie the work? Do they affect its validity?
- What types of evidence or persuasion are used? Has the evidence been
interpreted fairly?
- How is the work structured? Does it favor a particular interpretation or point
of view? Is it effective?
- Does the work enhance understanding of key ideas or theories? Does the
work engage (or fail to engage) with key concepts or other works in its
discipline?
This evaluation is written in a formal academic style and logically presented. Group and
order your ideas into paragraphs. Start with the broad impressions first and then move
into the details of the technical elements. For shorter critiques, you may discuss the
strengths of the works, and then the weaknesses. In longer critiques, you may wish to
discuss the positive and negative of each key critical question in individual paragraphs.
To support the evaluation, provide evidence from the work itself, such as a quote or
example, and you should also cite evidence from related sources. Explain how this
evidence supports your evaluation of the work.
Conclusion

5. - A statement indicating the overall evaluation of the work.
- A summary of the key reasons, identified during the critical evaluation, and why
this evaluation was formed.
- In some circumstances, recommendations for improvement on the work may be
appropriate.
Reference List
Includes all resources cited in your critique.
Non-Fiction
Introduction
- Name of author and work.
- General overview of the subject and summary of the author's argument.
- Focusing (or thesis) sentence indicating how you will divide the whole work for
discussion or the particular elements you will discuss.
Body
- objective description of a major point in the work.
- Detailed analysis of how the work conveys an idea or concept.
- interpretation of the concept.
- repetition of description, analysis, and interpretation if more than one major
concept is covered.
Conclusion
- overall interpretation.
- relationship of particular interpretations to the subject as a whole.
- Critical assessment of the value, worth, or meaning of the work, both negative
and positive.
Fiction/Literature
Introduction
- Name of author and work
- Summary/description of work as a whole
- Focusing sentence indicating what element you plan to examine
- General indication of the overall significance of work.
Body
- literal description of the first major element or portion of the work
- detailed analysis
- interpretation
- literal description of the second major element
- detailed analysis

6. - Interpretation (including, if necessary, the relationship to the first major point)
- and so on.
Conclusion
- Overall interpretation of the elements studied
- Consideration of those elements within the context of the work as a whole
- Critical assessment of the value, worth, meaning, or significance of the work,
both positive and negative
CHECKLIST FOR A CRITIQUE
Have I:
✓ Mentioned the name of the work, the date of its creation, and the name of the creator.
✓ Accurately summarized the work being critiqued.
✓ Mainly focused on the critical evaluation of the work?
✓ Systematically outline an evaluation of each element of the work to achieve the overall
purpose.
✓ Used evidence, from the work itself as well as other sources, to back and illustrate my
assessment of elements of the work.
✓ Formed an overall evaluation of the work, based on critical reading?
✓ Used a well-structured introduction, body, and conclusion?
✓ Used correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation; clear presentation; and appropriate
referencing style?
IMPORTANCE OF A CRITIQUE
Writing a criticism of a piece of writing helps us gain knowledge of the subject matter or related
works, an understanding of the work's goal, target audience, argument development, evidence
structure, or creative style, as well as awareness of the work's strengths and weaknesses.
A critique is also a test of your ability to evaluate the worth of a written or researched work.
Additionally, by observing how other authors and researchers approach their work, you might
develop your abilities. It is an effective reading practice that will improve your ability to comprehend
a certain topic.