How To Write A Critique PDF
How To Write A Critique PDF
How To Write A Critique PDF
A critique is a short paper, usually about one book or article. First, it gives a short
summary of what the author has said. Second, it looks at the work critically. You
will need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the piece of research or writing.
It is important to remember that criticism can be positive as well as negative.
1 Read the whole book or article thoroughly – highlight text that you think
important or make notes as you go along.
2 Think carefully about what you have read and ask yourself questions about
the material. You should try and establish:
The main points that the author is trying to make
How does the author back those points up? In other words: what
evidence is provided.
3 Re-read the material to make sure that you have understood the author's
ideas.
4 Try to summarise what you have read. You may wish to do this by way of
bullet-pointed notes, a spider diagram or mind-map. Use whichever
technique suits you.
The following pages provide steps to writing a critique and a structure to use as a
guide.
Steps to Writing a Critique
It is important that your critique has a definite structure and is easy to follow. You
will need to think logically about how you sequence your work. Below is a pattern
that you might like to use.
Introduction
Define the subject of your critique and your point of view
Background to Research
- Article/Author information
- Summarise the author’s main points and purpose
(1 or 2 paragraphs)
Main body
Begin with a brief summary describing the project. You might include:
- The aim of the research
- What was done (method)
- To whom was it done (subjects)
- Why was it done? What were the expected results (Hypothesis)
- What was found (actual results)
- What did the author say the results mean? (His/her conclusions)
(1 paragraph)
Discuss the strengths of the article
Discuss the weaknesses of the article
Things to look at to help you decide these include:
- How appropriate was the title, the abstract and the introduction
- Strength of the methodology (refer back to other literature for ideas on
what is good/bad methodology in research)
- Is the argument logical and is there sufficient evidence to support it?
- Does the research advance the field or replicate work already done?
- If it advances what new knowledge does it bring?
- Clarity of data presentation (readability of graphs and tables)
- Appropriate statistics, were the right analyses done?
- 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).
- Does the article present and refute opposing points of view?
(2-5 paragraphs depending on the article and the word count)