ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND

PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

CRITICAL
APPROACHES
in Writing Criique
S A Y S O M E T H IN G
Critique
A critique is a careful analysis of an
argument to determine what is said,
how well the points are made, what
assumptions underlie the argument,
what issues are overlooked, and
what implications are drawn from
such observations. It is asystematic,
yet personal response and evaluation
of what you read.
Critique
Critique is derived from ancient
Greek (“kritike”). It is defined as a
careful judgment in which you
shape your opinion about the
strengths and weaknesses of a
piece of writing or work of art.
Critique
It is a genre of academic writing
that briefly summarizes and
critically evaluates a work or
concept.
Critiques
can be used to carefully analyze a
variety of work
CR EATIVE W O R K S
novels, exhibits, film, images, poetry

R ESEAR CH
monographs, journal articles, systematic
reviews, theories

MED IA
news reports, feature articles
 Why do we write
critiques
W rit ing a crit iqu e o n a w o rk h e l ps u s t o d e v e l o p:

• A know led ge o f th e w o r k ’s subjec t ar ea o r r elated

w or ks .
• An und er stan d in g o f th e w or k ’s pur po se, in ten d ed
aud ienc e, d evelopment of ar gument, s tr uc tur e of
evid enc e or c r eative s ty l e.
• A r ec ognition o f th e s tr en gths an d w eakn es s es o f th e
w or k.
Study the work under
discussion

How to write a
Make notes on key parts of the
work

critique
Develop an understanding of
the main argument or purpose
being expressed
in the work.

Consider how the work relates

to a broader issue or context.
 Critical
Approaches
Ar e th e va r ious len ses used
to a n a lyze va r i ety of w or k .

Ea ch len s r a i ses i ts ow n
typ es of q u esti on s a n d
i ssu es.
 FO RMALI S M

Critical FEMI NI S M

Approaches MARXI S M

R E ADE R S
RESPONSE
 Formalism
This approach regards literature as “a
unique form of human knowledge that
needs to be examined on its own terms.”

It emphasizes the form of a literary work

to determine its meaning, focusing on
literary elements and how they work to
create meaning.
 Formalism
The key to understanding a text is
through the text itself; the historical
context, the author, or any other external
contexts are not necessary in interpreting
the meaning.

Of particular interest to the formalist

critic are the elements of form—style,
structure, tone, imagery, etc.—that are
found within the text.
 Guide questions
Formalism
1.How is the work’s structure unified?

2.How do various elements of the work

reinforce its meaning?

3.What recurring patterns (repeated or

related words, images, etc.) can you
find?
4.What is the effect of these patterns or
motifs?
5.How does repetition reinforce the
theme(s)?
Guide questions
Formalist
5.How does the writer’s diction reveal or
reflect the work’s meaning?

6. What is the effect of the plot, and what

parts specifically produce that effect?

7. What figures of speech are used?

(metaphors, similes, etc.)

8. Note the writer’s use of paradox, irony,

symbol, plot, characterization, and styleof
narration.
9. What effects are produced? Do any of
these relate to one another or to the
theme?
Guide questions
Formalism
10. Is there a relationship between the
beginning and the end of the story?

11. What tone and mood are created at

various parts of the work?

12. How does the author create tone and

mood? What relationship is there
between
tone and mood and the effect of the story?

13. How do the various elements interact to

create a unified whole?
 Formalism
Sample Formalist Critique: “Dead Stars”

The title of the work already gives an idea

as to what it means. In physics, the bright
light that we see at night actually comes
from a dead star. In the story, this
metaphor is used to refer to Alfredo’s love
for Julia, a woman he meets and falls for
one fateful summer. Not only is thetitle
indicator of what is to come, even the
fate of the characters in the story
canalready be seen thorough their names.
Feminism
This approach “examines how
sexual identity influences the
creation and reception of
literary works.”

Feminist criticism suggests that

readers can fully comprehend
works of literature only when
they pay particular attention to
the dynamics of gender.
Feminism
This approach emphasizes
the importance or relevance of
women as subjects and how
gender been perceived
in the piece.

Ultimately this approach seeks

to answer the question: “ In the
world of this work, what does it
mean to be a
female?”
Feminism
Guide questions
• How are women’s lives portrayed in
the work?
• Is the form and content of the work
influenced by the writer’s gender?
• How do male and female characters
relate to one another? Are these
relationships sources of conflict? Are
these conflicts resolved?
• Does the work challenge or affirm
traditional views of women?
• How do the images of women in the
story reflect patriarchal social forces
tha have impeded women’s efforts to
achieve full equality with men?
Feminism
Guide questions
6.What marital expectations are imposed
on the characters? What effect do these
expectations have?

7.What behavioral expectations are

imposed on the characters? What effect
dothese expectations have?

8. If a female character were male, how

would the story be different (and vice
versa)?

9.How does the marital status of a

character affect her decisions or
happiness?
Feminism
Sample Feminist Critique: “Dead Stars”

The story is a study of power

imbalance brought by gender. In the
beginning, Dead Stars clearly
illustrates the gender roles ingrained
in Filipino Society: Don Julian and the
judge portrayed as the male leaders of
household, taking up lofty professions
such as business and law while the
women are portrayed accomplishing
domestic task such as tending the
children and preparing food.
 Marxism
This approach tries to unfold how
socioeconomic status affects
hierarchy or conflicts involving
social classes in the masterpiece.

Focus on the ideological content of a

work- its explicit and implicit
assumptions and values about
matters such as culture, race, class,
and power.
 Marxism
This approach likewise attempts to
answer the following questions:

• What are the difference between economic

classes?
• What conflict has arisen between the
working and the elite?
• What implication may the socioeconomic
system bring?
• What social class has been emphasized
and how was this portrayed in the piece.
 Marxism
Sample Marxist Critique of “DeadStars”

The imbalanced societal power play is evident in

the short story in the form of the treatment of
the characters based on their class. This is most
easily evident in the conversation between Alfredo
and his fiancée. Esperanza, about Calixta, their
note-carrier who grew up in the latter’s family. The
scene depicts a parallelism in the circumstance of
Alfredo and his new love, Julia, and Calixta and her
live-in partner.
 Reader Response
Th is a p p r oa ch ta k es as a
fun da men ta l ten et th a t “li ter a tur e”
ex i sts n ot a s a n a r ti fa ct upon a
pr in ted pa ge b u t a s a tr a n sa cti on
b etw een th e ph ysica l tex t a n d th e
mi n d of a r ea der .

It a ttemp ts “to descr ib e w h a t

h a ppen s i n th e r ea der ’s mi n d w h ile
i n ter p r eti n g a tex t” a n d r eflects
th a t r ea din g, lik e w r itin g, is a
cr ea ti ve pr ocess.
 Reader Response
It promotes th e th eor y th at reading is
fundamentally a transactional experience.

T h e reader s reaction an d interaction

made out of the piece recreates and develops
a further depth of meaning
 Reader Response
Sample Reader Response Critique of “Dead Stars”

D espit e bei n g li mi t ed in len g t h , D ead S t a r s

manages t o evoke va ri o us feeli n gs which
ult i mat ely bui ld up t h e en di n g. W h i le Alfredo i s
t h e cent er of t h e st or y, as a woman reader i t i s
h ard n o t t o feel g reat ly for E spera nza .
Ezperanza can only be see n t hro ug h t he
per spect i ve of Alfredo. T h i s do es a di sservi ce t o
h er, we can only know h er t hro ug h t he
descri pt i o n of someon e who do es n o t love h er
anymore. S t ill, it is also t hro ug h Alfredo’s
descri pt i o n s an d h i s un fai t h fuln ess t hat
Esperanza g ain s sympat hy fro m t he reader.
 Critical approach
WRITING STRUCTURE
Introduction around 5% of the paper

Introduction (around 5% of the paper)

Includes: title of work/ article/ work,
writers name and the thesis statement
which will preview your analysis.

Summary around 10% of the paper

Includes: a gist or the description of the
material. For a short story, this is the
understanding of plot or summary of the
piece examined.

Analysis / Interpretation / Evaluation

around 75% of the paper
Go back to the guide questions to include
in your outlined discussion.
 Critical approach
WRITING STRUCTURE

Analysis / Interpretation / Evaluation

around 75% of the paper

You may use more than one approach,

but it is better to focus and use at least
one.

Conclusion around 10% of the paper

Link your thoughts reinforced with with

your assessment in the introduction.
Your recommendations depends on how
you have perceived the material
observing all fair judgement and
appreciation.
 1. “The Lottery” -
Let's try this The story also depicts the social order in a
capitalist society in which few powerful
individuals control the rest of the society. For
example, the powerful people in the lottery are
Mr. Summers, Mr. Graves the postmaster and
Mr. Martin the grocer respectively. These three
individuals are powerful in the small town due
to their position.

IDENTIFY THE APPROACH USED

 2. “Young Goodman Brown" -
Let's try this Nat haniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman
Brown” evoked strong negative emotions from
me. Finding a basis for my reactions in my past
experiences with my father, I dislike the harsh
depiction of “religious” people and, by
implication, God; and I identify with the
character Goodman Brown, but by story’s end
reject that identification..

IDENTIFY THE APPROACH USED

 3. "How my Brother Brought Home a wife" -
Let's try this Through closed reading the text, the elements
of the story are visibly seen on it. The choice of
words of the author reveals the use of imagery,
simile and other figurative language that truly
depicts La Union. Every scenario was described
vividly that creates the image of the life in the
barrio.

IDENTIFY THE APPROACH USED

 4. “The Necklace”

Let's try this The Necklace, Mathilde’s behavior, self-image,

and word view are completely shaped by the
expectations and attitudes of the patriarchal
society in which she lives. Mathilde truly
believes that she is special and deserving special
treatment because of her physical appearance
and charm, despite the fact that she isn’t
wealthy and hasn’t accomplished much in her
life (though, as a woman, she wouldn’t be
expected to have many

IDENTIFY THE APPROACH USED

 5. “The Necklace”
Let's try this
The necklace itself, for which the story was
named, is a deeply meaningful symbol. The
assumption that the necklace is more than
simply a necklace, but a deeply meaningful
symbol that gives insight into the deeper
meaning of the story .

IDENTIFY THE APPROACH USED

 I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
Emily Dickinson (1861)

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,

Let's try this And Mourners to and from
Kept treading—treading—till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through—
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum—
Kept beating—beating—till I thought My Mind was going numb—
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space—began to toll,
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race Wrecked, solitary, here—
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down—
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing—then—