COMPOSE AN
INDEPENDENT
CRITIQUE
CRITIQUE
A critique is an in-depth
evaluation of a story,
novel, film, or other
reading/viewing
materials for the purpose
of giving the public an
insight into the text.
CRITIQUE
A critique is a particular
academic writing genre
that requires you to
carefully study,
summarize, and critically
analyze a study or a
concept.
Critiques contain a
careful evaluation
mainly on the following
elements of a narrative:
characterization,
setting, conflict, plot,
dialogue, theme, and
style.
In assessing the said elements, there
are certain questions that the critic
should ask. David Farland (2017) and
other critics enumerated some
questions one
might use to judge a story or other
narratives:
01 SETTING
How well was the setting developed?
Does it appeal to more than one of the
senses?
Does it inform or connect to other
aspects of the story such as character
development and narrative style?
02 CHARACTERIZATION
How well-drawn are the characters in
the story?
Do we know enough about them (life,
attitudes, some type of history, etc.) to
make them interesting and relatable?
Are there unnecessary characters?
03 CONFLICT AND
PLOT
Is there a conflict in the
story?
Is the plot interesting,
original and well developed?
Are there unnecessary and
confusing subplots?
04 THEME
How well does the story speak to the
readers?
Does it raise questions about life, or
provide profound insights?
05 STYLE
How distinctive or unique is the
writing style?
Are there literary devices or
techniques used?
Is it purposeful?
Does the style remind you of any
other authors you have read?
OTHER DETAILS
1. State your overall assessment of
the story’s value, worth, and
significance
(both positive and negative).
2. Mention the name of the author
and the title of the work.
OTHER DETAILS
3. Give a systematic and detailed assessment
of the different elements of the work, but
make sure that your discussion and
judgement will be supported by specific
details such as quotes or examples from the
work itself.
4. Give recommendations for improvement if
necessary.
OTHER DETAILS
5. Give a brief summary, including a
description, background or context of the
work.
6. Indicate the elements you want to examine
and state the purpose of your
critique.
ADDITIONAL
REMINDERS
Avoid introducing your
ideas by stating “I think”
or “In my opinion”
because
this weakens the analysis.
ADDITIONAL
REMINDERS
Always introduce the work.
Do not assume that the
readers know what you
are writing about and that
you don’t need to mention
some details anymore.
ADDITIONAL
REMINDERS
To be able to write a good
critique and help readers
understand the story, you
yourself should know well
what you are writing
about.
CRITIQUE
PAPER
INTRODUCTION
with a brief
1. Provide the reader
synopsis of the main points of
the work you are critiquing.
2. State your general opinion of
the work, using it as your
thesis statement.
CRITIQUE
PAPER BODY
1. Every paragraph must focus
on a precise concept from the
paper under your scrutiny,
and your job is to include
arguments to support or
disprove that concept.
Concrete evidence is required.
CRITIQUE
PAPER BODY
2. A critical essay is written in the
third-person and ensures the
reader is presented with an
objective analysis.
3. Discuss whether the author was
able to achieve their goals and
adequately get their point across.
CRITIQUE
PAPER BODY
4. It is important not to confuse
facts and opinions.
5. Remember that your purpose is
to provide the reader with an
understanding of a particular
piece of literature or other work
from your perspective.
CRITIQUE
PAPER
CONCLUSION
1.
analysis you
Summarize the
provided in the body of the critique.
2. Summarize the primary reasons
why you made your analysis.
3. Where appropriate, provide
recommendations on how the work
you critiqued can be improved.
