COMMISSION ON DIOCESAN SCHOOLS OF LA UNION

Notre Dame Institute

Aringay, La Union
ENGLISH 10

Writing a Critique
MELCs: Compose an independent critique of a chosen selection (EN10WC-IIIg-14)

Q3 Module 2

Name: ___________________________________________

Section: __________________________________________
 Lesson 2 | Third Grading
Writing a Critique

📌 What I Need to Know

Objectives:

a. Define critique correctly;

b. Share personal experiences in your critique; and
c. Compose a critique of a given selection.

📌 What I Know
TASK 1: Surf the internet then look for the definition of a critique.

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📌 What’s In
TASK 2: List down at least three reasons why writing a critique is important.

1.

2.

3.

📌 What Is It
A critique is a genre of academic writing that briefly summarizes and critically evaluates a work or
concept. In a way, it is giving your feedback to a text read and a sharing of the reading experience. Critiques
can be used to carefully analyze a variety of works such as:
 Creative works – novels, exhibits, film, images, poetry
 Research – monographs, journal articles, systematic reviews, theories
 Media –  news reports, feature articles

Like an essay, a critique uses a formal, academic writing style and has a clear structure, that is, an
introduction, body and conclusion.   However, the body of a critique includes a summary of the work and a
detailed evaluation.  The purpose of an evaluation is to gauge the usefulness or impact of a work in a particular
field. 

Writing a critique on a work helps us to develop:

 A knowledge of the work’s subject area or related works.
 An understanding of the work’s purpose, intended audience, development of argument, structure of
evidence or creative style.
 A recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.

How to write a critique

Before you start writing, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the work that will be critiqued.
 Study the work under discussion.
 Make notes on key parts of the work.
 Develop an understanding of the main argument or purpose being expressed in the work. 
 Consider how the work relates to a broader issue or context.

There are a variety of ways to structure a critique. The following template, which showcases the main
features of a critique, is provided as one example.

INTRODUCTION

Typically, the introduction is short (less than 10% of the word length) 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 the 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 evaluation of the work will be. For instance, it
may indicate whether it is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation.

BODY

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; a critique of a research project would look at subject selection,
design of the experiment, analysis of data and conclusions.    

A critical evaluation does not simply highlight negative impressions. It should deconstruct the work and
identify both strengths and weaknesses. It should examine the work and evaluate its success, in light of its
purpose.

This evaluation is written in 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, and 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 very 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.
 In some circumstances, recommendations for improvement on the work may be appropriate.    

Reference list
Include all resources cited in your critique.
 
Checklist for a critique
Have I:
 Mentioned the name of the work, the date of its creation and the name of the creator?
 Accurately summarized the work being critiqued?
 Mainly focused on the critical evaluation of the work?
 Systematically outlined an evaluation of each element of the work to achieve the overall purpose?
 Used evidence, from the work itself as well as other sources, to back and illustrate my assessment of
elements of the work?
 Formed an overall evaluation of the work, based on critical reading?
 Used a well-structured introduction, body and conclusion?
 Used correct grammar, spelling and punctuation; clear presentation; and appropriate referencing style?

The format below shows how to write a critique.

I. Introduction: Describe the work and its creator.
II. Body
a. Summarize the work
b. Evaluate the work
c. State your agreement or disagreement to the work.
III. Conclusion: Give an overview of your critique, which is usually the restatement of the main
agreements and objections to the work.
📌 What I Have Learned
TASK 3: Go over the story Our Lady’s Juggler by Anatole France found in your ECAS 10 book on Page 204-
210. Read the overview of the story and its writer. Then, compose a critique for that selection. Use the format
used in the discussion and make sure to acknowledge the sources you used as references for writing your
critique.

📌 ASSESSMENT
Task 4: Write TRUE if the statement is correct. If incorrect, write FALSE. Write your answers before each
number.
_____1. Critiques can be used to carefully analyze a variety of works.
_____2. A critique uses informal language.
_____3. The purpose of a critique is to gauge the usefulness or impact of a work in a particular field. 
_____4. Before you start writing, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the work that will be
critiqued.
_____5. The introduction of a critique should include the summary and the critical evaluation of the chosen
selection.
_____6. It is important to include all the resources cited to avoid plagiarism.
_____7. The critic should form an overall evaluation of the work based on critical reading.
_____8. The use of correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, clear presentation, and appropriate referencing
style not essential.
_____9. The critic should accurately summarize the selection being critiqued.
_____10. A critique should contain an introduction, body, and conclusion.