LMCE 1022

Academic com II
CRITIQUE COMPONENT

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

Purpose of a critique

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/pdf/critical_review.pdf

The critique is a writing task that asks you to summarize and

evaluate a text.
The critique can be of a book, a chapter, or a journal article.
Writing the critique usually requires you to read the selected
text in detail and to also read other related texts so that you
can present a fair and reasonable evaluation of the
selected text.

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

CRITIQUE OR REVIEW?

REVIEW
Overall impression of
the article
From the perspective of
a reader
Can be very subjective

CRITIQUE
Analysis and evaluation
of the writers
work/writing
Focus on the technical
aspects
Objective

WHAT IS MEANT BY CRITICAL?

At university, to be critical does not mean to criticize in a negative
manner.
Rather, it requires you to question the information and opinions in a
text and present your evaluation or judgment of the text.
WHAT IS MEANT BY EVALUATION OR JUDGMENT?
Here you decide the strengths and weaknesses of a text. This is
usually based on specific criteria. Evaluating requires an
understanding of not just the content of the text, but also an
understanding of a texts purpose, the intended audience and why it
is structured the way it is.
LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

 WHAT IS MEANT BY ANALYSIS?

Analyzing requires separating the content and concepts of a
text into their main components and then understanding how
these interrelate, connect and possibly influence each other.

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

To do all this you

need to be able to
read critically.
LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

WHAT IS CRITICAL READING

http
://www.esc.edu/ESConline/Across_ESC/WritingResourceCenter.nsf/wholeshortlinks2/What+Is+Critical+Reading?op
endocument

Learning how to read critically involves :

becoming actively engaged in what we read by
first developing a clear understanding of the authors ideas,
then questioning and evaluating the arguments and evidence
provided to support those arguments,
and finally by forming our own opinions.
Reading this way requires that we develop skills that arent
necessary for more passive forms of taking in information.
However, it also allows us to get more from what we read.

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

STEPS IN CRITICAL READING:

Before you read
Scan the piece to get an idea of what it is about and what the main
argument is. This may include reading an introduction if there is one, or
the subheadings.
While you read
Keep a running dialogue with the author through annotation by
recording your thoughts, ideas, and questions. Underline, highlight, or
circle important parts and points, and write comments in the margins.
After you have read
Look over your annotations to get an overall idea of the text. You may
also choose to write a summary to solidify your understanding.
Responding to the text
After you have developed a clear sense of the authors argument and
line of reasoning, you are able to analyze the authors argument and
methods. Then, you can develop your own ideasperhaps into an
essay of your own.
LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

GOALS OF CRITICAL READING

to recognize an authors purpose

to understand tone and persuasive elements
to recognize bias
Notice that none of these goals actually refers to something on the page.
Each requires inferences from evidence within the text:
recognizing purpose involves inferring a basis for choices of content
and language
recognizing tone and persuasive elements involves classifying the
nature of language choices
recognizing bias involves classifying the nature of patterns of choice of
content and language .

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

Critical reading thus relies on an analysis of choices of

content, language, and structure.
http://www.criticalreading.com/choices_ingredients.htm

All authors confront three areas of choice:

the choice of content
the choice of language
the choice of structure

Choices must be made in each of these areas, and each choice

contributes to the thought of the text as a whole.
LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

CONTENT
Critical readers are consciously aware of the choice of content.
They look at the content, at the evidence marshaled for an argument, the
illustrations used to explain ideas, and the details presented within a
description.
That uniqueness is defined by choices of content, language and structure.
They distinguish between assertions of fact, opinion, and belief.
They are aware whether evidence consists of references to published data,
anecdotes, or speculation, and they evaluate the persuasiveness of a text
accordingly.

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

LANGUAGE
.

Critical readers are aware of how language is being used. They notice
whether a text refers to someone as a "bean counter" (no respect) or "an
academic statistician" (suggesting professionalism), whether some is said
to have "asserted a claim" (with confidence, and no need for proof) or
"floated a claim" (without backing, as a trial balloon). And they draw
inferences from the choice of language they observe.

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015

STRUCTURE

Critical readers are aware of the structure of a discussion, both in terms

of the movement of ideas from beginning to end and in terms of the
relationship of ideas throughout the discussion.
They distinguish between assertions offered as reason or conclusion,
cause or effect, evidence or illustration.
They recognize patterns of contrast and distinguish whether contrasting
ideas are shown to be dissimilar, competing, or contradictory.

LMCE 1022 .Sem1 2015