Transcript The Critical Essay

HOW TO WRITE A
CRITICAL ESSAY
ABILITIES TO BE EVALUATED
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The evaluation of a critical essay is based on three
main criteria:
1) the ability to analyze a literary text, using the
methodological tools you have learned in your school
and university career
2) the ability to organize your critical discourse in a
format and a language that may correctly convey to
the reader the ideas you want to express
3) critical autonomy and originality – that is, how you
manage to give at least a partially new perspective on
a certain aspect of a given text, without repeating
settled and well-known interpretations
ESSAY STRUCTURE
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1) Introduction (topic, focus,
methodology, aim)
2) Main body/development (ideas,
quotations from the primary text and
their analysis, critical references)
3) Conclusion
STEP BY STEP
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Choose your topic, what you want to
specifically focus on, the methodology you
will be using, the aim you want to reach.
Prepare an outline or diagram of your ideas.
Write your thesis statement (the
introduction).
Write the main body (the development),
with one paragraph for each main point,
with at least one quotation from the primary
text for each point, and possibly one
quotation from a critical source to back up
or contrast your analysis.
Write the conclusion.
Re-read and revise your paper.
THE RHETORICAL TRIANGLE
Text
(LOGOS)
ESSAY
Reader
Writer
(PATHOS)
(ETHOS)
TEXT / LOGOS
This is the most important
part of the academic essay.
It is objective, relying on
credible evidence to
support the thesis rather
than personal opinion or
experience, or emotion to
convince the reader.
Supporting your position on
an issue is vital.
Academic essays do not rely
on opinion but demand
logical evidence (LOGOS).
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
SOCURCES
TEXT / LOGOS
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Text
(LOGOS)
ESSAY
Reader
Writer
(PATHOS)
(ETHOS)
The primary source is the text
you are discussing.
Secondary sources are those
written about the primary
source, about the particular
issue being discussed, about
the historical and cultural
context, or about the
methodologies of analysis.
General reference works
(dictionaries, encyclopedias)
must not be used as secondary
sources, except in very specific
cases.
BUILDING UP CRITICAL
CREDIBILITY
WRITER / ETHOS
You build your credibility with the
audience by:
 The tone you take in the essay.
 The presentation of the essay:
grammar, mechanics, style that are
all appropriate for the setting and
audience.
 The types of evidence you use.
 The quality of sources you are
getting that evidence from.
Text
(LOGOS)
ESSAY
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Reader
Writer
(PATHOS)
(ETHOS)
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The documentation of all evidence
used in the essay.
Your honest presentation of not
only the strengths of your
argument, but also the potential
weaknesses as well as the
strengths of any major opposing
argument.
RELATING TO THE
READER
READER / PATHOS
You must identify the target
audience you want to present
your case to. You must:
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Text
(LOGOS)
ESSAY
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Reader
Writer
(PATHOS)
(ETHOS)
Analyze the audience: who are
they, what do they believe,
what is their education level,
what prior contact do they have
with this issue?
The answers to these questions
will help you determine: how
much background information
to give the reader, when you
need to define specific terms,
what types of sources will be
convincing to them.
WRITING AND EMOTIONS
READER / PATHOS
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Text
(LOGOS)
ESSAY
Reader
Writer
(PATHOS)
(ETHOS)
Pathos is the emotional
appeal. It is the least useful in
most academic arguments
because it is the least
objective. On the other hand,
emotions and feelings are
central in every literary work,
and a certain amount of
emotional involvement of the
critical writer, and also of the
reader of a critical essay, is
not something to be
thoroughly discarded,
especially in the conclusion,
where one can be more
subjective.
GENERAL ISSUES
The Basics
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Plot
Setting
Narration/point of view
Characterization
Symbol
Metaphor
Genre
Irony/ambiguity
Other key concepts
– Historical context
– Social, political, economic contexts
– Ideology
– Various critical orientations
– Literary theory
WH-QUESTIONS
One way to better focus you argument is to ask the
most elementary questions, the so-called whquestions:
 “what,” requesting a description
 “who,” requesting the identification of a subject
 “whom,” requesting the identification of someone
acted upon
 “where,” requesting a location
 “when,” requesting a temporalization
 “how,” requesting the identification of a process or
a modality
 “why,” requesting an explanation (as regards
cause, purpose, function, structure)
MODES OF ANALYSIS
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observing and identifying the objects to be analyzed;
describing the characteristic features of what is being
enquired into;
defining terms and concepts by naming them, referring to
objects, classifying individuals into classes, and by
distinguishing between and comparing similar classes by
means of ascribing characteristics to them;
illustrating or exemplifying a general point in order to make its
meaning or application clear;
theorizing about and explaining how or why things are as they
are;
conjecturing or speculating about possible explanations – how
things might be or might have been;
evaluating the adequacy of your observations, descriptions,
definitions, explanations and theories in the light of criteria
appropriate to each.
CLARIFY, SUBSTANTIATE, EXEMPLIFY
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Clarifying a statement: make the meaning of an
idea or concept more precise. Common linking
terms: viz., that is to say, namely. Common
marginal criticisms: Define this, What does this
mean?, Too vague, Explain key concepts.
Substantiating a generalization: refer to or quote
specific evidence. Common linking terms: i.e., in
particular, indeed. Common marginal criticisms: Be
more precise, Demonstrate this, Give evidence,
Substantiate, Be specific.
Illustrating a general point in such a way as to
make its meaning clear and its application concrete.
Common linking terms: for example, for instance,
inter alia. Common marginal criticisms: Illustrate
this, Give examples.
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
 Statement – topic sentence
 Evidence – quotation
 Analysis – explanation of quote and
detailed comment
 Link – try to link back to the main idea
TOPIC SENTENCES
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Topic sentences are called this for two
reasons:
• Firstly, they tie in with the topic of your
essay.
• Secondly, they let the reader understand
the topic of the paragraph.
Using a topic sentence at the start of the
paragraph sets you off in the right
direction.
THE ITQEE STRUCURE
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The ITQEE structure helps you to remember what should be
in each paragraph.
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IT - tells you to Introduce a Technique. In other words,
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EE - tells you to Explain the Effect of this, to show what the
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The IT part of this is also the topic sentence of the paragraph.
mention something you can see the writer deliberately doing.
- tells you to give evidence by Quoting from the text.
writer is doing to us, the readers.
QUOTATIONS
Quotations must be inside quotation
marks (“ “).
 If they are longer than three lines, they
should be indented, set in from the
edges of the page.
 After the quotation, you must indicate the
source (in brackets: author/s, year of
publication and number/s of the page/s
quoted).
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THE “SO WHAT?” TEST
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Don’t include quotations or comments
for their own sake. For each quotation
used or point made ask yourself “so
what?”
If the quotation does not tell you
anything about theme/character/etc or
the point does not add anything to
your essay then it should be removed.
LINK WORDS FOR LINKING
ANALYSIS TO QUOTES
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The following words and phrases describe what the
writer does, or what part of the text does.
They will help you to show that you are analysing
the author’s work.
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reinforces
emphasises
highlights
foreshadows
exemplifies
explains
demonstrates
echoes
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has connotations of
suggests
shows
creates
mirrors
establishes
underlines
reveals
hints
WORDS YOU CAN USE FOR A
PERSONAL RESPONSE
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The following words and phrases describe how the reader
feels, or how the text affects us as we read.
They will help you to show that you are evaluating the
author’s work.
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thought-provoking
inspiring
hard-hitting
stimulating
key idea(s)
fast-paced
gripping
skillful(ly)
moving
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profound
important
intelligent
horrifying
pivotal moment
effective
perceptive
striking
thoughtful
GRAMMAR STRUCTURE
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
 The average English sentence structure is
subject-verb-object
 The subject is (almost) always connected to
the verb: do not insert other words between
them
 The English language does not love
adverbs: use them wisely (this is an
adverb…)
 When describing what happens in a literary
work, use the present tense
GRAMMAR MISTAKES
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The five most common grammar mistakes you
are likely to do:
Sentence boundary errors: comma splices, run-ons,
and fragments
Point of view errors: use of the 1st or 2nd person: in
literary essays, you should (almost) always use the
3rd person
Wordiness: tendency to ramble on, using
unnecessary words, redundancies, periphrases
Poor verb choice: overuse of the verbs to be, to do,
to get, to have
Poor proofreading: lack of spell checking or of
editing for mistakes
DANGLING MODIFIERS
One of the most common and less visible grammar mistakes is
the use of “dangling modifiers.” Look at the two following
sentences:
“Before describing what happened, the background to these
events must be understood.”
“Examining the second stanza of the poem, the rhyme scheme is
even more complex.”
In both cases, the first part of the sentence “modifies” the main
proposition, contained in the second part. These modifying
phrases “dangle” because the nature of the subject has
changed in the transition from the modifying phrase to the
main proposition.
Please, avoid these mistakes by always asking yourselves “is the
subject the same throughout the sentence?”
PUNCTUATION
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Make a correct use of punctuation.
The period, or fullstop (“.”), separates two different
sentences: please do no separate them with a
simple comma (“,”).
The colon (“:”) exemplifies: please use it when the
following sentence explains the preceding one (as
this sentence does).
The semicolon (“;”) separates/links a series of
sentences belonging to the same logical level; it
must not be used to separate sentences which are
not linked to one another; it ought to be used
parsimoniously.
OTHER QUOTATION
MARKS
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Brackets (this sentence is contained in brackets) are
used to insert secondary comments
Dashes ( – ) are used to insert a detour from the point
you are making: they separate, not link, and there is a
space before and after them
Hyphens ( - ) are used to put two words together: they
link, not separate, and there is no space before or after
them
Dots (….) are used when the sentence is left suspended
Ellipses (. . . or […]) shows that a porrion of the
quotation is missing
Do! Not! Use! Exclamation! Marks! (except in very!
very!! very!!! specific cases)
ITALICS AND
QUOTATION MARKS
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Use italics for emphasis or for the
titles of whole works (books, movies,
musical records, paintings,
newspapers, journals)
Use quotation marks (“”) for parts of
books (chapters, essays, single poems
or short stories), and for the titles of
single songs or parts of musical works,
and for newspapers and journal
articles
THE CONCLUSION
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After the introduction and the
development, you need to finish off your
essay with a conclusion.
The conclusion needs to do two things:
 1 sum up and round off what you have
written
 2 give your personal response
BIBLIOGRAPHY /
WORKS CITED
At the end of the essay you must add the list of works you
have cited
 You must list them in the alphabetical order of the authors’
last names
 Information must be given in this order:
A book: Last name, first (and second) name: Title: Subtitle,
place, publisher, year (if there is more than two or authors,
separate them with a dash)
An article in a book: Last name, first (and second) name: “Title
of the article”, in First, second, last name(s) of the author(s),
(ed./eds.), Title: Subtitle, place, publisher, year, pp.
An article in a journal: Last name, first (and second) name:
“Title of the article”, Title of the journal, vol. (no.),
month/season year, pp.
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DO A NICE WORK!