Critical reading and critique

1. Critical reading and critique Ch. 2

2. Where do we find written critiques in the world? • Academic writing • Research papers • Position papers • Book reviews • Essay exams • Workplace writing • Legal briefs and arguments • Business plans and proposals • Policy briefs

3. Critical reading • Critical reading requires you to both summarize and evaluate a presentation • Review: what is a summary? • A brief restatement in your own words of the content of a passage • Two questions to ask when evaluating a piece of writing: • 1. to what extent does the author succeed in his or her purpose? • 2. to what extent do you agree with the author?

4. Question 1: to what extent does the author succeed In their purpose? • Locate the author’s thesis • Identify the selection’s content and structure • Understand the author’s purpose • Inform, persuade, or entertain

5. Writing to inform • Types of informative writing: • A report on a process • A recount of a story • Historical background on a topic • Provide facts and figures • Informative writing responds to these questions: • What (or who) is __________? • How does _________ work? • What is the controversy or problem about? • What happened? • How and why did it happen? • What were the results? • What are the arguments for and against _________?

6. Writing to inform • Consider these criteria: • Accuracy • Significance • “so what?” • Fair interpretation of information • We must distinguish between presentation of facts and evaluation of facts

7. Writing to persuade • Writer must begin with an arguable assertion • In other words, a thesis • Examples: • “Because they do not speak English, many children in this affluent land are being denied their fundamental right o equal educational opportunity.” • “Bilingual education, which has been stridently promoted by a small group of activists with their own agenda, is detrimental to the very students it is supposed to serve.” • Which clue words let you know that these are arguable claims?

8. Writing to persuade • Assess an argument by asking: • Has the author clearly defined key terms? • Used information fairly? • Argued logically and not fallaciously?

9. Question 2: to what extent do you agree with the author? • Identifying points of agreement and disagreement • Be clear about what you believe and how that relates to what the author believes • Summarize the author’s position • State and explain your own position • Explore the reasons for agreement and disagreement: evaluate assumptions • Your reactions to the author’s position are based on your assumptions • Belief about the world and its operations • The author implies and we, the readers, infer

10. Reading for a critique/evaluation • A critique (evaluation) is a formalized, critical reading of a passage • When you read a selection to critique, consider the following: • What an author says • How well the points are made • What assumptions underlie the argument • What issues are overlooked • What implications can be drawn from such an analysis

11. Writing for an evaluation/critique • When you write a critique, positive or negative, include the following: • A fair and accurate summary of the passage • Information and ideas from other sources (things you’ve read or experienced) if you think these will strengthen your evaluation • A statement of your agreement or disagreement with the author backed by SPECIFIC EXAMPLES AND CLEAR LOGIC • A clear statement of your own assumptions

12. HOW TO WRITE THE CRITIQU/EVALUATION • Five sections: • Introduction • Summary • Assessment of the presentation • Is the information accurate? • Is the information significant? • Has the author defined terms clearly? • Has the author used and interpreted information fairly? • Has the author argued logically? • Your response to the presentation • Conclusion