SH1672

Critique and Review

I. Critique
 This is a detailed analysis and assessment of something, especially a literary, philosophical, or
political theory or work. A critique is usually written by a critic. A critic is an expert in a
particular field, so he can comment on a particular theory or work in depth. Therefore, a critique
is more reliable than a review (http://www.pediaa.com).

A. Structure of a Critique (www.citewrite.qut.edu.au):

• Introduction – Typically, the introduction is short and you should:
 Name the work being reviewed as
well as the date it was created and the
name of the author/creator.
 Describe the main argument or
purpose of work.
 Explain the context in which the work
was created. This could include the
social or political context, the place
of the work in a creative or academic
tradition, or the relationship between
the work and the creator’s life
experience.
 Have a concluding sentence that signposts what your Source: www.impactbnd.com
evaluation of the work will be. For instance, it may indicate
whether it is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation.
• Summary – Briefly summarize the main points and objectively describe how the creator
portrays these by using techniques, styles, media, characters, or symbols. This summary
should not be the focus of the critique and is usually shorter than the critical evaluation.
• Critical Evaluation - This section should give a systematic and detailed assessment of the
different elements of the work, evaluating how well the creator was able to achieve the
purpose through these. For example, you would assess the plot structure, characterization,
and setting of a novel, an assessment of a painting would look at composition, brush strokes,
color, and light, and a critique of a research project would look at the subject selection, the
design of the experiment, analysis of data, and conclusions. Examples of key critical
questions that could help your assessment include:
 Who is the creator? Is the work presented objectively or subjectively?
 What are the aims of the work? Were the aims achieved?
 What techniques, styles, media were used in the work? Are they effective in
portraying the purpose?
 What assumptions underlie the work? Do they affect its validity?
 What type of evidence or persuasion are used? Has evidence been interpreted fairly?
 How is the work structured? Does it favor a particular interpretation or point of view?
Is it effective?
 Does the work enhance understanding of key ideas or theories? Does the work
engage (or fail to engage) with key concepts or other works in its discipline?

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 SH1672

This evaluation is written in a formal academic style and logically presented. Group and
order your ideas into paragraphs. Start with the broad impressions first and then move into
the details of the technical elements. For shorter critiques, you may discuss the strengths of
the works then the weaknesses. In longer critiques, you may wish to discuss the positive and
negative of each key critical question in individual paragraphs. To support the evaluation,
provide evidence from the work itself, such as a quote or example, and you should also cite
evidence from related sources. Explain how this evidence supports your evaluation of the
work.
• Conclusion – This is usually a brief paragraph which includes:
 A statement indicating the overall evaluation of the work;
 A summary of the key reasons, identified during the critical evaluation, why this
evaluation was formed; and
 In some circumstances, recommendation for improvement on the work may be
appropriate.
• Reference list – All sources in your critique are cited here.

II. Review
 It describes, analyzes, and evaluates a work. A review may
give you the main information about a piece of work. For
example, if the review is about a play, it will describe who
created the play, who were the actors, where was the play
performed, what genre is it, what is the theme of the play, etc.
The reviewer will also comment on the quality of the work,
overall impression, and his personal opinions. But he will not
go into a deep, technical analysis (http://www.pediaa.com).

A. The Structure of a Review Paper: Source: http://www.clipartkid.com

• Introduction – The introduction should give an outline of:
 Why you are writing a review, and why the topic is important;
 The scope of the review – what aspects of the topic will be discussed; and
 The organizational pattern of the review.
• Body paragraphs - Each body paragraph should deal with a different theme that is relevant
to your topic. You will need to synthesize several of your reviewed readings into each
paragraph so that there is a clear connection between the various sources. You will need to
critically analyze each source for how they contribute to the themes you are researching.
• Conclusion – Your conclusion should give a summary of:
 The main agreements and disagreements in the work; and
 Your overall perspective on the topic.

References:

Cite write. (2017). Writing a critique. [Online article]. Retrieved from http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/critique.jsp
Cite write. (2017). Writing a literature review. [Online article]. Retrieved from
http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/litreview.jsp
Pediaa.com. (2017) Difference between critique and review. [Online article]. Retrieved from http://pediaa.com/difference-
between-critique-and-review/

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