CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The purpose for writing a critique is to evaluate somebody's work (a book, an

essay, a movie, a painting...) in order to increase the reader's understanding of
it. A critical analysis is subjective writing because it expresses the writer's
opinion or evaluation of a text. Analysis means to break down and study the
parts. Writing a critical paper requires two steps: critical reading and critical
writing.

Critical reading:

1. Identify the author's thesis and purpose

2. Analyze the structure of the passage by identifying all main ideas
3. Consult a dictionary or encyclopedia to understand material that is
unfamiliar to you
4. Make an outline of the work or write a description of it
5. Write a summary of the work
6. Determine the purpose which could be
o To inform with factual material
o To persuade with appeal to reason or emotions
o To entertain (to affect people's emotions)
7. Evaluate the means by which the author has accomplished his purpose

 If the purpose is to inform, has the material been presented clearly,

accurately, with order and coherence?
 If the purpose is to persuade, look for evidence, logical reasoning,
contrary evidence
 If the purpose was to entertain, determine how emotions are affected:
does it make you laugh, cry, angry? Why did it affect you?

Consider the following questions: How is the material organized? Who is the
intended audience? What are the writer's assumptions about the audience?
What kind of language and imagery does the author use?

SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR CRITICAL ESSAY

After the passage under analysis has been carefully studied, the critique can be
drafted using this sample outline.
  I. Background information to help your readers understand the nature
of the work
o A. Information about the work
 1. Title
 2. Author
 3. Publication information
 4. Statement of topic and purpose
o B. Thesis statement indicating writer's main reaction to the work
 II. Summary or description of the work
 III. Interpretation and/or evaluation
o A. Discussion of the work's organization
o B. Discussion of the work's style
o C. Effectiveness
o D. Discussion of the topic's treatment
o E. Discussion of appeal to a particular audience

Remember:

Avoid introducing your ideas by stating "I think" or "in my opinion." Keep the
focus on the subject of your analysis, not on yourself. Identifying your opinions
weakens them.

Always introduce the work. Do not assume that because your reader knows
what you are writing about, you do not need to mention the work's title.

Other questions to consider: Is there a controversy surrounding either the

passage or the subject which it concerns?

What about the subject matter is of current interest?

What is the overall value of the passage?

What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Support your thesis with detailed evidence from the text examined. Do not
forget to document quotes and paraphrases.

Remember that the purpose of a critical analysis is not merely to inform, but
also to evaluate the worth, utility, excellence, distinction, truth, validity, beauty,
or goodness of something.

Even though as a writer you set the standards, you should be open-minded,
well informed, and fair. You can express your opinions, but you should also
back them up with evidence.

Your review should provide information, interpretation, and evaluation. The

information will help your reader understand the nature of the work under
analysis. The interpretation will explain the meaning of the work, therefore
requiring your correct understanding of it. The evaluation will discuss your
opinions of the work and present valid justification for them.
Writing a Critical Review
The advice in this brochure is a general guide only. We strongly recommend that you also follow your
assignment instructions and seek clarification from your lecturer/tutor if needed.

Purpose of a critical review

The critical review is a writing task that asks you to summarise and evaluate a text. The critical review can
be of a book, a chapter, or a journal article. Writing the critical review 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.

What is meant by critical?

At university, to be critical does not mean to criticise in a negative manner. Rather it requires you to
question the information and opinions in a text and present your evaluation or judgement of the text. To
do this well, you should attempt to understand the topic from different perspectives (i.e. read related texts)
and in relation to the theories, approaches and frameworks in your course.

What is meant by evaluation or judgement?

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
text’s purpose, the intended audience and why it is structured the way it is.

What is meant by analysis?

Analysing 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.

Structure of a Critical Review

Critical reviews, both short (one page) and long (four pages), usually have a similar structure. Check your
assignment instructions for formatting and structural specifications. Headings are usually optional for
longer reviews and can be helpful for the reader.

Introduction
The length of an introduction is usually one paragraph for a journal article review and two or three
paragraphs for a longer book review. Include a few opening sentences that announce the author(s) and
the title, and briefly explain the topic of the text. Present the aim of the text and summarise the main
finding or key argument. Conclude the introduction with a brief statement of your evaluation of the text.
This can be a positive or negative evaluation or, as is usually the case, a mixed response.
Summary
Present a summary of the key points along with a limited number of examples. You can also briefly
explain the author’s purpose/intentions throughout the text and you may briefly describe how the text is
organised. The summary should only make up about a third of the critical review.

Critique
The critique should be a balanced discussion and evaluation of the strengths, weakness and notable
features of the text. Remember to base your discussion on specific criteria. Good reviews also include
other sources to support your evaluation (remember to reference).

You can choose how to sequence your critique. Here are some examples to get you started:

 Most important to least important conclusions you make about the text.
 If your critique is more positive than negative, then present the negative points first and the positive
last.
 If your critique is more negative than positive, then present the positive points first and the negative
last.
 If there are both strengths and weakness for each criterion you use, you need to decide overall what
your judgement is. For example, you may want to comment on a key idea in the text and have both
positive and negative comments. You could begin by stating what is good about the idea and then
concede and explain how it is limited in some way. While this example shows a mixed evaluation,
overall you are probably being more negative than positive.
 In long reviews, you can address each criteria you choose in a paragraph, including both negative
and positive points. For very short critical reviews (one page or less) where your comments will be
briefer, include a paragraph of positive aspects and another of negative.
 You can also include recommendations for how the text can be improved in terms of ideas, research
approach; theories or frameworks used can also be included in the critique section.

Conclusion & References

Conclusion

This is usually a very short paragraph.

 Restate your overall opinion of the text.

 Briefly present recommendations.
 If necessary some further qualification or explanation of your judgement can be included. This can
help your critique sound fair and reasonable.

References

If you have used other sources in you review you should also include a list of references at the end of the
review.

Summarising and paraphrasing for the critical review

Summarising and paraphrasing are essential skills for academic writing and in particular, the critical
review. To summarise means to reduce a text to its main points and its most important ideas. The length
of your summary for a critical review should only be about one quarter to one third of the whole critical
review.

The best way to summarise is to:

1. Scan the text. Look for information that can be deduced from the introduction, conclusion and the title
and headings. What do these tell you about the main points of the article?
2. Locate the topic sentences and highlight the main points as you read.
3. Reread the text and make separate notes of the main points. Examples and evidence do not need to
be included at this stage. Usually they are used selectively in your critique.
Paraphrasing means putting it into your own words. Paraphrasing offers an alternative to using direct
quotations in your summary (and the critique) and can be an efficient way to integrate your summary
notes.

The best way to paraphrase is to:

1. Review your summary notes
2. Rewrite them in your own words and in complete sentences
3. Use reporting verbs and phrases (eg; The author describes…, Smith argues that …).
4. If you include unique or specialist phrases from the text, use quotation marks.
 How to Write a Critical Analysis
Four Parts:Critical ReadingWriting an Effective AnalysisOrganizing the ReviewSample AnalysesCommunity Q&A

A critical analysis examines an article or other work to determine how effective the piece
makes an argument or point. These reviews are usually applied to articles or books, but
you can also analyze films, paintings, and other less traditional works. While you can
examine the author's use of rhetorical appeals, your focus for a critical analysis should
be on the overall ability and effectiveness of the article. Keep reading to learn more
about the different steps involved in writing a strong critical analysis.

Part1
Critical Reading
1.

1
Identify the author's thesis. Determine what the author is arguing for or against.[1]
 The thesis of an academic article might be easier to identify than the thesis of a creative
work, movie, or painting. If critiquing a work of fiction or creative nonfiction, in either
written form or film form, identify one main theme of the story. For a painting, analyze
what the the painter may be trying to establish.
 Ask yourself what the context of the argument is and why the author may have felt the
need to argue it.
 Ask yourself if the author offers a solution to any problems they raise in their thesis. If
so, ask if this solution is realistic.
2.

2
Note all main ideas. Identify the main ideas of the work in order to analyze its
structure.[2]
 In an academic article, the main ideas can usually be found amongst the topic
sentences of each paragraph or section. For works of fiction or paintings, you will need
 to ask yourself what evidence the author presents in an attempt to explain his or her
thesis.
3.

3
Research unfamiliar material. Use a dictionary and encyclopedia to briefly look up
words and other material that you know little to nothing about.
 More in-depth research is not usually necessary. The only exception would be if the
entire work is built around an unfamiliar concept, at which point, you should consider
reading other articles that describe the concept more clearly in order to provide context
to the piece you are analyzing.
4.

4
Describe the work in your own words. One option is to make an outline of the work,
while the second is the write a brief summary. An especially thorough reading of the
work will include both.
 If writing a summary of the work, it only needs to be one or two paragraphs. Try to
phrase the summary in your own words as much as possible.
5.

5
Identify any appeals used. The three basic types of appeals are pathos, logos, and
ethos.
 Pathos is an attempt to appeal to a reader's emotions. Works meant to entertain
generally rely on pathos.
 Logos is an attempt to use logic and reason to sway a reader's perspective or opinion.
 Ethos is an appeal to credibility. An author who explains why he or she should be
trusted based on personal, professional, or academic merit is using ethos.
6.

6
Evaluate how well the author conveyed meaning. Determine how effective the
author's appeals were from your own perspective as a reader.
 Ask yourself if you had an emotional response to an emotional appeal. Did you become
happy, upset, or angry at any point? If so, ask yourself why.
 Determine if the author's attempts at logic and reason were enough to change your
mind. Also ask yourself if the material was clear, accurate, and cohesive.
 Ask yourself if you believe the author to be credible. Determine why or why not.

2
Part

Writing an Effective Analysis

1.

1
Choose several noteworthy areas to analyze.[3] Review your critical reading notes
and identify several observations that you can expand on in greater detail.
 For a critical review, you will usually focus on how effective an author's appeals at
pathos, logos, or ethos were. You can focus on one area if it appears stronger than the
others, or you could look at two or three appeal types as they apply to a particular main
idea used in the work.
 Alternatively, you can examine the author's overall ability at making his or her point.
Your analysis can examine how well the author's research was performed, how
cohesive the work is as a whole, how the author's use of structure and organization
impacted the work, and other similar matters that stand out to you.
 Divide each major point into a separate paragraph. No matter which areas you choose
to write about, each major thought should be given its own paragraph. For more
complex ideas, you may need to expand your discussion into several paragraphs.
2.
 2
Balance positive and negative.[4] Most critical reviews will be a mix of positive and
negative.
 If your critique includes more positive elements than negative, begin with the negative
before defending the article with the positive.
 If your critique includes more negative opinions than positive, identify the positive
elements first before defending your opposition with the negative.
 If you have both negative and positive remarks to make about the same point or aspect,
you can write a mixed paragraph that reflects this. To do so, you will usually end up
stating the positive aspect first before explaining why the idea is limited.
3.

3
Identify any controversies surrounding the topic. If the author chose to write about a
disputable matter, include information about the other side of the issue and explain how
the author did or did not succeed in arguing against it.
 This is especially significant when specific points or issues from the other side are
mentioned directly in the article.
 Even if the author did not specifically mention opposing opinions, you can still mention
common oppositions in your critical analysis.
4.

4
Explain why the topic is relevant. Convince the reader of your essay that he or she
should care.
 Let the reader know that the topic is relevant by contemporary standards. An article can
be considered relevant if the subject has implications for the current day and age, but it
can also be relevant if a notable writer or thinker is the author.
5.
 5
Avoid turning the focus inward. Even though much of this is subjective, you should
keep your tone academic instead of personal.
 Avoid phrases like "I think" or "in my opinion." In fact, you should stay away from the
first person completely. By identifying something as your own personal opinion, you
actually end up weakening them in an academic sense.
6.

6
Do not focus on summary. You need to provide enough summary about the work for
your critique to have sensible context, but the majority of the essay should still contain
your thoughts rather than the author's thoughts.

Part3
Organizing the Review
1.

1
Introduce the work being analyzed. Include both bibliographical information and more
in-depth information.
 Specify the title of the work, the type of work it is, the author's name, and the field or
genre the work addresses.
 Include information about the context in which the article was written.
 Clearly state the author's purpose or thesis.
 The overall introduction should only consume roughly 10 percent of your paper's total
length.
2.
 2
Include your own thesis. Your thesis should be a brief statement that summarizes
your overall evaluation of the work being critiqued.
 A thesis that is both positive and negative is common for a critical review, but it can also
be strictly positive or strictly negative.
 Note that your thesis statement is technically part of your introduction.
3.

3
Summarize the work. Quickly sum up the key points the author of the original article
mentioned in his or her defense.
 You can provide a limited number of examples, but be brief. Overall, the summary
should take up no more than one-third of your essay's body. Less is usually preferred.
 You can also briefly describe how the text is organized.
4.

4
Break into your critique. The critical analysis itself should form the majority of the
body and should conform to the guidelines mentioned.
 The analysis plus the summary should form roughly 80 percent of the overall essay.
 Each separate idea should be addressed in its own paragraph.
5.

5
Conclude with your final judgment. In your concluding paragraph, clearly restate your
thesis or overall opinion of the analyzed work.
 You should also use this space to briefly present recommendation on how the analyzed
work could be improved. Improvements can include ideas, appeals, and research
approach.
 The conclusion should only take up about 10 percent of the overall paper.
 What is meant by Critical analysis?
Okay, so what is critical analysis all about? It is basically subjective writing about an essay, research
study or report, book, theory or movie etc. in which the writer is expected to make an argument for
two main purposes; one, to introduce and explain why the author has made the argument and two,
to provide your own evaluation or opinion to that argument in such a way that it contributes to the
readers understanding of the subject.
Sounds complicated, right?
It really isn’t. Let me give you an example to simplify the concept more. Consider that you have just
seen a movie at the cinema with your friends. After it ends and you walk out of the hall, you give
your judgement about different aspects of it, and if your friend presents a different opinion, you
would argue, discuss and debate. While you may like and agree certain parts or views presented in
the movie, you would also disagree and dismiss other ideas. You will have your own logical
explanation of what the movie director did not do right and what could have been done to make the
movie more entertaining or interesting.
That’s exactly the approach you adopt when writing a critical analysis paper. Now that the concept is
clear (I hope), lets move on to how to write a critique. Please don’t get confused with these different
terms, critique, critical analysis and critical review, all mean the same.
10 Steps to Write a Critical Analysis Paper
Okay, so let’s begin.
1. First, create a rough draft in which you answer the following basic questions that will be incorporated
in your critical review paper afterwards.
 What is the author’s stance on the subject?
 In what context the argument was made; what is the theoretical background of the author and how
does it influence his/her opinion?
 Has the author provided any solution to the issue? Is it reasonable in the given situation?
 What tools have been used to support the argument? For example, emotional appeals, research
evidences, logic etc.
 How effective and valid is the author’s tools of persuasion.
 If the author’s purpose is to provide information, critique on whether the info is presented in a logical
and coherent manner.
 If the author’s aim is to entertain the reader/audience, evaluate if the work triggers any emotion and
to what extent does it influence your emotions or feelings.

2. Once you have the answers to the above questions, it is now time to start writing your critical essay.
Start by introducing the book/ theory, etc that you will analyze in your paper by mentioning the title,
author, important publication details and the argument or topic to be analyzed. This will be your
thesis statement on which the entire critical review will be based. Keep it concise and clear.

3. Next, summarize the work of the author. You need to make sure that you don’t cover tiny little details
of the work. That will almost be like copying the author’s composition. Discuss the main points as
 presented by the author and this should also be a concise explanation. You can decide on the length
of this part depending on the required word count, but it should not be more than 25-30% of the total
word count.

4. Next comes the analysis part, here you will need the answers you have already written down on your
rough draft. Describe each main point made by the author, say how he or she has supported it and
then evaluate how effective, efficient, valid and strong the argument is based on the given context.

5. One important thing you need to keep in mind while writing a critical review is that you can’t simply
dismiss or approve an argument on the basis of your personal opinion. You Support your opinion
and analysis by giving reference to a credible resource. It could be established facts, theories,
research findings, events, etc. In short, your analysis should be logical.

6. As mentioned earlier, you need to review the work from top to bottom. Analyse the first argument
made by the author (in case it’s a literary work) and then proceed to the next. Your critical essay will
also be marked on how coherent and logically structured your content is.

7. The next step is to discuss the implications of the author’s argument and any other questions that it
gives rise to. Assess whether the implications are good or negative. Also highlight how effectively (or
ineffectively) the issue has been dealt with by the author.

8. Conclude your paper by giving a brief review of what you have analyzed, what solutions or findings
have been achieved from the argument and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the topic,
methodology etc. which the writer has used.

9. It is extremely crucial that you keep a neutral and fair approach throughout your critical essay.
Critical analysis does not necessarily mean that you only bring out the negative aspects of the work
or try to disagree with every argument. Your writing should be fair, i.e. it should look at both the
positive and negative aspects of the writers work.

10. Last but not least, proofread your work. Yes, it is a step that is often ignored, yet it is as important as
the writing process itself because you get a chance to check your work from a second person’s view
and most likely, you will find out some grammatical, formatting or semantic errors that you can edit
and polish up your critical analysis paper.
 HOW TO WRITE CRITICAL ANALYSIS
ESSAY
20 Feb 2017

What is a Critical Analysis Essay?

Imagine that you receive an assignment to write a critical analysis essay in a quick
period of time. Does it cause panic in you? If YES, you are on the way to the best
solution to this issue. A critical analysis essay is a type of an academic paper which
demonstrates a student’s ability to analyze a piece of literature or cinematograph. That
is why college and high school lecturers assign this type of written task quite often. It
may be confused with a report as a critical essay also deals with books, articles,
movies, or even paintings. A good critical analysis provides the reader with profound
evaluation of the piece and reflects its positive and negative aspects. Want to learn how
to write successful critical analysis essay quickly? Follow our special guide created with
the help of several professional writers and lecturers of different scientific fields and be
at the top!

Writing a critical analysis essay is a captivating process if you know the right structure of it and
use experience of the qualified experts who know all the intricacies of essay creation.

How to Start Writing a Critical Analysis Essay?

Beginning: read first then write! If you have to evaluate a piece of writing such as a
novel, a play, or a poem, you should first read it carefully. Arm yourself with stickers,
notebook, and pen or pencil. Concentrate on the given topic of your essay and make
notes of the essential parts of the book. Pay attention to the unfamiliar terms and
concepts. Follow the assignment instructions as right formatting and successful
completing of the specific requirements will bring you the highest grade.

Creation of Title: formulate a “working” title which is able to help you to focus your ideas.
This will help your reader or another researcher to have a clear vision of the essay
problematic. For instance, critical analysis in literature may deal with the following
books:

1. On Hamlet written by William Shakespeare;

2. On Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley;
3. On Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby;
4. On the Lord of the Rings written by J. R. R. Tolkien.
 Steps to Writing an Excellent Critical Analysis
Essay
As your aim is to criticize the work done by another writer, your essay has to be well-
structured, reasoned, and clear. You describes your attitude towards the text, but it is
not necessary to give only something negative. Agree or disagree with the author by
supporting your point of view with strong arguments and evidence on what the author
did right or wrong. This type of essay has Intro – Body Paragraphs – Conclusion format.

INTRO. Note that introduction act as a preview to your critical analysis essay. It starts
with an engaging sentence that catches the reader’s attention. Outline the main ideas of
the piece along with the author’s thesis and present your own thesis statement. Begin
discussion of your topic.

BODY. Develop a discussion. Paragraphs of the body answer the questions stated in
the introduction and give evidence, examples, and quotes in order to support your
position. The body of the essay should be structured into separate sections. Follow the
classical formula for the separate paragraph: TOPIC sentence – SUPPORTING
sentences – CONCLUDING sentence.

How to Conclude a Critical Analysis Essay?

CONCLUSION. Restate your point of view. The conclusion should match the intro but
not repeat it! As you attempt to show the readers the particular points about the text,
create a strong final argument on the basis of the previous explanations. Now you are
ready to submit your excellent critical analysis essay!

Main Tips for the Whole Writing Process:

 Make time for writing you critical analysis in order to be concentrated on the work;
 Follow the needed instruction and structure;
 Make sure that you evaluate the authors work adequately.
Writing Critical Reviews
What is a Critical Review of a Journal Article?
A critical review of a journal article evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of an article's ideas and
content. It provides description, analysis and interpretation that allow readers to assess the article's
value.
Before You Read the Article

 What does the title lead you to expect about the article?
 Study any sub-headings to understand how the author organized the content.
 Read the abstract for a summary of the author's arguments.
 Study the list of references to determine what research contributed to the author's
arguments. Are the references recent? Do they represent important work in the field?
 If possible, read about the author to learn what authority he or she has to write about the
subject.
 Consult Web of Science to see if other writers have cited the author's work. (Please see
'How to use E-Indexes'.) Has the author made an important contribution to the field of study?

Reading the Article: Points to Consider

Read the article carefully. Record your impressions and note sections suitable for quoting.

 Who is the intended audience?

 What is the author's purpose? To survey and summarize research on a topic? To present an
argument that builds on past research? To refute another writer's argument?
 Does the author define important terms?
 Is the information in the article fact or opinion? (Facts can be verified, while opinions arise
from interpretations of facts.) Does the information seem well-researched or is it
unsupported?
 What are the author's central arguments or conclusions? Are they clearly stated? Are they
supported by evidence and analysis?
 If the article reports on an experiment or study, does the author clearly outline methodology
and the expected result?
 Is the article lacking information or argumentation that you expected to find?
 Is the article organized logically and easy to follow?
 Does the writer's style suit the intended audience? Is the style stilted or unnecessarily
complicated?
 Is the author's language objective or charged with emotion and bias?
 If illustrations or charts are used, are they effective in presenting information?

Prepare an Outline
Read over your notes. Choose a statement that expresses the central purpose or thesis of your
review. When thinking of a thesis, consider the author's intentions and whether or not you think
those intentions were successfully realized. Eliminate all notes that do not relate to your thesis.
Organize your remaining points into separate groups such as points about structure, style, or
argument. Devise a logical sequence for presenting these ideas. Remember that all of your ideas
must support your central thesis.
Write the First Draft
The review should begin with a complete citation of the article. For example:
Platt, Kevin M.F. "History and Despotism, or: Hayden White vs. Ivan the Terrible and Peter the
Great." Rethinking History 3:3 (1999) : 247-269.
NOTE: Use the same bibliographic citation format as you would for any bibliography, works cited or
reference list. It will follow a standard documentation style such as MLA or APA.
Be sure to ask your instructor which citation style to use. For frequently used style guides consult
Queen's University Library's Citing Sources guide.
The first paragraph may contain:

 a statement of your thesis

 the author's purpose in writing the article
 comments on how the article relates to other work on the same subject
 information about the author's reputation or authority in the field

The body of the review should:

 state your arguments in support of your thesis

 follow the logical development of ideas that you mapped out in your outline
 include quotations from the article which illustrate your main ideas

The concluding paragraph may:

 summarize your review

 restate your thesis

Revise the First Draft

Ideally, you should leave your first draft for a day or two before revising. This allows you to gain a
more objective perspective on your ideas. Check for the following when revising:

 grammar and punctuation errors

 organization, logical development and solid support of your thesis
 errors in quotations or in references

You may make major revisions in the organization or content of your review during the revision
process. Revising can even lead to a radical change in your central thesis.
NOTE: Prepared by University of Toronto Mississauga Library, Hazel McCallion Academic Learning
Centre.