Prompt: Choose one of the following essays and write a formal critique:
“The Politics of Stairs” by Johnna S. Keller, The Norton Field Guide (960-965)
“Black Mamas’ Lives Matter: The Severe Racial Disparity in Maternal Mortality Rates,” The Norton Field Guide (818-823)
“An Outbreak of the Irrational” by Sarah Dzubay, The Norton Field Guide (825-830)
“The Endless, Invisible Persuasion Tactics of the Internet” by Sidney Fussell, The Norton Field Guide (798-802)
“Food ‘Columbusing’ and the Debate Over Cultural Appropriation” by Ken Albala
Getting Started
A critique is meant to assess and analyze another work, in this case an essay. A critique may be positive or negative.
To develop content for your critique, here are some brainstorming questions to consider:
What is the author’s purpose? Is she or he trying to inform, persuade, or entertain? How can you tell? Note the places in the source text that show the author’s purpose.
To what extent does the author succeed in realizing that purpose? What means does she or he use? Consider the author’s rhetoric.
How is the argument structured?
What assumptions does the author make?
To what extent do you agree—or disagree—with the author? Why?
What assumptions are you making? State them clearly.
Context and Purpose: The audience for this critique are people who have not read the source essay yet but who are interested to read a detailed evaluation of its ideas. The critique will help shape how the audience thinks about the source essay and its subject. Writing a critique is important to help you articulate your response to someone else’s ideas.
Genre and Disciplinary Conventions: Use MLA format and in-text citations throughout your manuscript and include an MLA Works Cited page. Every quotation and paraphrase should include a signal phrase. Each one should also have an MLA in-text citation (unless the source is on-line and unpaginated).
Guidelines and Requirements
Choose one of two organizations for your essay, either placing the summary of the source essay in the introduction or in the first body paragraph.
Option 1: Summary in the Introductory Paragraph
Introduction: One paragraph.
Assessment: Evaluate how effectively the author achieves his or her purpose. One or two paragraphs.
Response: Say to what extent you agree or disagree with the author and why. Use “I” sparingly, if at all. One or two paragraphs.
Conclusion. Begin the conclusion in an interesting way that connects to the main point of your critique. One paragraph.
Option 2: Summary in the First Body Paragraph, Just Below the Thesis of Your Critique
Introduction: One paragraph.
Summary: Include author’s thesis written in your own words and the main points of the author’s essay. One paragraph.
Assessment: Include how effectively an author achieves their purpose. One or two paragraphs.
Response to the presentation: Here is the place to say to what extent you agree or disagree with the author and why. Use “I” sparingly, if at all. One or two paragraphs.
Conclusion. Begin the conclusion in an interesting way that connects to the main point of your critique. One paragraph.
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Word Count: Write 900 to 1,200 words. Word count does not include headers, title, or Works Cited page.
MLA Style: Present your essay in MLA manuscript format.
Title: Give your essay an interesting and original title.
Introduction: Create a first sentence that catches the reader’s attention. Introduce the author with full name, the title of their essay and information on where and when the author’s essay was published. Put your summary either in the introduction or in the first body paragraph. Write six to eight sentences.
Thesis: State whether or not the author succeeds in realizing his or her purpose of informing, entertaining, or arguing. Explain how and why.
Summary: The Academic Summary Template is provided to help create an objective and organized summary.
Topic sentences: Write assertive topic sentences that reflect the thesis. Place a topic sentence as the first sentence of each body paragraph to organize content.
Body Paragraphs: Develop body paragraphs that critique the source essay using quotations and paraphrases as support.
Conclusion: Write three or four sentences. Refer to the main ideas of the essay. End with a memorable sentence.
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Quotations
Before including a first quotation or paraphrase, introduce a source with the author’s full name, the title of their essay or article, an explanation of the author’s authority, and a one-or-two-sentence summary of the source.
In each body paragraph of the Assessment section, include paraphrases and two or three quotations from the essay you are critiquing .
In each body paragraph of the Response section, include paraphrases and a total of two or three quotations from the two outside sources
Use quotations that are short, a partial sentence, for example, that can be integrated into a paragraph.
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MLA Documentation
Document outside sources using MLA style with signal phrases, in-text citations, and a Works Cited page.
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Style and Proofreading
Use academic writing style.
Proofread. Produce an essay that is substantially free of major errors of standard written English.
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