Using Critical Approaches in Writing a Critique.pptx

1. Using Critical Approaches
in Writing a Critique

2. What is critiquing?
•Critiquing shares a root with the word “criticize”.
•Most of us tend to think of criticism as being
negative or mean, but in the academic sense,
doing a critique is a constructive way to better
explore and understand the material we are
working with.
•Through our critique, we do a deep evaluation of a
text.

3. •A critique is a genre of academic writing that
briefly summarizes and critically evaluates a
work or concept.
•When we critique a text, we interrogate it.
•When we critique, our own opinions and ideas
become part of our textual analysis.
•We question the text, we argue with it, and
we examine into it for deeper meanings.

4. • Writing a critique helps us to develop a knowledge of the
work’s subject area, an understanding of the work’s purpose,
intended audience, development of argument, structure of
evidence or creative style.
• Always remember that 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.

5. Approaches in Critiquing Academic Texts
•A thorough analysis of the text is important to write
a good paper.
•Remember the judgment you make about a work will
reflect your own values, biases, and experience;
however, you must respect the author's words and
intentions as presented in the work.
•Do not analyze a work in terms of what you would
like to see; analyze it in terms of what you actually
observe.

6. Formalism
•It is a critical approach in which the text
under discussion is considered primarily
in the meaning and the implications of
the words.
•In practice, the critics have been very
responsible to the meaning and themes
of the work in question

7. Below are the guide questions when
critiquing a text using formalism approach:
• How are the various parts of the work interconnected?
• How is the work structured? What techniques, styles, media were used
in the work? Are they effective in portraying the purpose?
• How does the author's choice of point of view affect the reader's
understanding and feelings about the text?
• Does the work enhance understanding of key ideas? Does the work
engage (or fail to engage) with key concepts or other works in its
discipline?
• What types of evidence or persuasion are used? Has evidence been
interpreted fairly?
• What lesson does the author want me (the reader) to learn about life?

8. Feminism
•This approach is concerned with the ways in
which the text reinforces or undermines the
economic, political, social, and psychological
oppression of women.
•Feminist criticism is also concerned with less
obvious forms of marginalization and its
ultimate goal is to change the world by
promoting gender equality.

9. In critiquing a text using feminism approach,
the following guide questions are considered:
• How is the life of women portrayed in the work?
• Is the form and content of the work influenced by the writer’s gender?
• Does the work challenge or affirm traditional views of women?
• What does the work say about women's creativity? What does the work
reveal about the actions of patriarchy?
• How do the images of women in the work reflect patriarchal social
forces that have impeded women’s efforts to achieve full equality with
men?
• What marital expectations are imposed in the work? What effect do
these expectations have?
• What role does the work play in terms of women's history and tradition?

10. How to Write a Critique
• Before you start writing, it is important to have a
thorough understanding of the work that will be
critiqued. Here are the tips:
• 1. Study the work under discussion.
• 2. Take notes on key parts of the work.
• 3. Develop an understanding of the main argument or
purpose being expressed in the work.
• 4. Consider how the work relates to a broader issue or
context.

11. A critique uses an academic writing style and has a
clear structure, that is, an introduction, body and
conclusion.
•the introduction is short (less than 10% of the
critique length) and you should describe the main
argument or purpose of the work in here. Explain
the context in which the work was created
•Briefly summarize the main points and objectively
describe how the author portrays these by using
techniques, styles, media, characters or symbols.

12. •The body of the critique should give a
systematic and detailed assessment of the
different elements of the work, evaluating
how well the author was able to achieve
the purpose through these.
•Thus, the body should include a summary
of the work and a detailed evaluation.

13. •The last part is the conclusion.
•This is usually a very brief paragraph, which
includes a statement indicating the overall
evaluation of the work; a summary of the key
reasons, identified during the critical
evaluation, why this evaluation was formed;
or, recommendations for improvement on the
work

14. •Your critique should written in academic style and
logically presented. 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 question in
individual paragraphs.

15. •To support your critique, 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.