F ICTION

G-EN 270 Guidelines for Critical Essay Workshop

PROCEDURE

1. Divide into groups as instructed.

2. Exchange the essays you have brought. The first time that you read each essay, read without
a pencil in your hand. Read for understanding. Reread, this time marking the essay, adding
questions or comments. Write your responses directly on the draft to as many of the
questions below as time permits. Keep writing until I tell you to exchange essays.
3. Decide the order in which your group will discuss the essays. You will have 5-6 minutes for
each essay. For the first 3-4 minutes, only the readers may talk; the writer must remain silent,
listening or taking notes. The writer has the last 2 minutes of the discussion time to ask
questions or to ask for clarification of earlier comments.

Use these fundamental guidelines to direct your discussion of the stories:

Some simple questions, thoughtfully pursued, can guide most workshop feedback on a critical
essay:
• What works? Why?
• What needs work? Why?
For more help, consider the following questions:
Meaning
• Can you easily restate the essay's thesis in your own words?
• What did you learn reading this draft?
• What do you find most interesting or surprising in this draft?
Development
• Where is more information or detail needed?
• Are there places where the examples or illustrations don't fit?
• What other passages from the story might help develop the essay’s claims?
• Are there details or passages in the story that seem to contradict or counter the claims
made in the essay?
Organization
• Do you get confused anywhere in the draft?
• What would make the essay easier to follow?
• Where or how would you begin the essay differently?
• Where or how would you end the essay?
Clarity
• Are there phrases or sentences that are difficult for you to read or understand?
• Are there words that don't seem to be used correctly?