WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS

Creative Nonfiction 12, Quarter 4, Week 5-6

WRITE A MINI CRITIQUE OF A PEER’S WORK
Name: ________________________________ Section: ________________
Learning Objectives:
Most Essential Learning Competency: Write a mini critique of a
peer’s work based on coherence and organization of paragraphs,
development of literary elements use of factual information, and other
qualities concerning form and content. (HUMSS_CNF11/12-IId-e-18)
Time Allotment:

Key Concepts:
Good creative nonfiction writing must have coherence and
organization of paragraphs, development of literary elements use of
factual information, and other qualities concerning form and content.

Organization is said that ideas are well-developed when there is

a clear statement of purpose, position, facts, examples, specific details,
definitions, explanation, justifications, or opposing viewpoints.
Organization is achieved when these ideas are logically and accurately
arranged. Organization means that your argument flows logically from
one point to the next.

Coherence means that sentences are arranged in a logical

manner,making them easily understood by the reader. Cohesion is the
connection of ideas at sentence level. Cohesion means that the
elements of your paper work together smoothly and naturally.

Your topic will suggest the Structure of your text. Structure is the
arrangement or organization of the text.
a. Chronological structure- an arrangement of events in a linear
fashion as they occurred in time.
b. Flashback structure- beginning in a certain point of the story
then moving back in the past.
c. Parallel structure- a type of structure that has several stories,
running side by side with occasional cross-cutting or convergence.
d. Collage or Mosaic structure- it involves pasting together of
small fragments, which all together build up the total picture of what
happened.
e. Question and Answer structure- it allows the reader to hear the
subject’s voice without awkwardness of having to repeat “he said” or
“she said” before or after every direct quotation.
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 f. Frame or The story-within-a-story- it is a good structure to use
when you want to say two stories- say, a travel narrative, where the
actual physical journey is paralleled by an inner journey.
Creative Nonfiction writing must have 3 parts: Introduction,
Body, and Ending/Conclusion.
The purpose of introduction is to grab the readers’ attention and
compel them to read further. It should have a strong and dramatic
beginning.
a. Title
It is not necessarily written before the piece is written, but it is
good to have a working title to help you focus.
➢ Catchy and clever tiles have an advantage
➢ Titles which are too long are at disadvantage
➢ Titles should not be misleading
➢ It should give the reader an idea of what to expect
b. The first paragraph
First paragraphs lead the reader to reading the whole text. Thus,
it must catch attention, give the reader a hint of what the subject is,
set the tone, and guide the reader to what comes next.
The key to good creative nonfiction is dramatic writing and the
key to good dramatic writing is action.
Ways of beginning:
➢ Passage of vivid description
➢ Quotation
➢ Dialogue
➢ Question
➢ Striking statement
➢ Reference to current event
➢ In medias res-plunge right into the middle of the action
In the body, highly effective use of sensory details and different
literary devices bring the story to life.

Literary Elements refer to particular identifiable characteristics

of a whole text. They are not “used”, per se, by authors; they represent
the elements of storytelling which are common to all literary and
narrative forms. For example, every story has a theme, every story has
a setting, every story has a conflict, every story is written from a
particular point of view, etc. In order to be discussed legitimately as
part of a textual analysis, literary elements must be specifically
identified for that particular text.

But, why use factual information?

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 Creative nonfiction is about fact and truth. The truth can be about
a personalexperience, event, or issue in the public eye. You can
research on your topic: primary (interview, personal experience, or
participant observation) and secondary research (books, magazines,
newspaper, Web)

➢ Never invent or change facts.

➢ An invented story is fiction.
➢ Provide accurate information.
➢ Write honestly and truthfully.
➢ Information should be verifiable.
➢ Provide concrete evidence.
➢ Use facts, examples, and qoutations.
➢ Use literary devices to tell the story
➢ Choose language that stimulates and entertains the reader
such as simile, metaphor, imagery.

Ending a creative nonfiction piece must be the logical conclusion

of the flow of your text or of the development of your ideas. The reader
must be left with the impression that the subject was adequately
discussed or presented.

Ways of ending:
➢ Dramatic denouement
➢ Note of quite lyricism
➢ Moral lesson
➢ Anecdote
➢ Point made at the beginning of the essay

You are done with the content knowledge in writing good creative nonfiction piece.
Now, can you give a feedback on your peer’s written piece?

Critique is a critical discussion or review that describes,

summarizes, analyzes, and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of
a work. It is written in paragraph form.
Peer critique or peer review is the practice of writers to review and
provide constructive criticism of each other’s works.

Peer Critique Guidelines

1. Be kind: Always treat others with dignity and respect. This means
we never use words that are hurtful, including sarcasm.
2. Be specific: Focus on particular strengths and weaknesses, rather
thanmaking general comments like “It’s good” or “I like it.” Provide
insight into why it is good or what, specifically, you like about it.
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3. Be helpful: The goal is to positively contribute to the individual or
the group, not to simply be heard. Echoing the thoughts of others or
cleverly pointing out details that are irrelevant wastes time.
4. Participate: Peer critique is a process to support each other, and
your feedback is valued!

How to Write a Critique: Suggested Critique Format

1. Summarize and interpret. At this first stage, you are not judging the
piece or offering suggestions. You are just telling the author what
you think it is about, and what you think it is trying to do. This is
important because it tells the author how well he or she has
succeeded in communicating. It also tells the author if you have
understood the piece correctly.

2. Say what you think is working well. Positive feedback can be as

useful as criticism. Point out the best parts of the piece and the
strengths of the author's writing. This can help the author write
more "best parts" in the future and develop his or her individual
talent.
3. Give constructive criticism. Make sure that criticism is
respectful and delivered in a form that allows the author to make
specific improvements. Give examples from the piece whenever possible
to show your points.

How to Write a Critique: Do's and Don'ts

DO:
➢ Read the piece several times ahead of time
➢ Try to experience the piece as an “ordinary reader” before
you consider it as an author or editor
➢ Try to understand the author’s goals
➢ Be specific in your feedback and provide relevant examples

DON’T:
➢ Impose your own aethetics, tastes, pr world view
➢ Rewrite the story the way you would have written it
➢ Discourage the author
➢ Offer criticisms that are too general to help the author make
specific improvements

NOTE: Don't expect your first critique to be perfect. Do expect your

ability to
critique it will improve with practice over time, just like your writing.

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Exercises / Activities:

Enrichment Activity 1: My Critique Process!

Directions: From what you have understood in the lesson, construct

your own process or steps in making a critique paper. Write your
answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Activity 2: Check your Understanding

Directions: Answer each question in not more than three (3) sentences.
Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. What are the things you considered to come up with your 5 steps in
critiquing a peer’s literary work?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
2. Why is there a need to create your own 5-step process or a cheat
sheet before doing the peer critique?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
3. How does the use of peer critique improve student writing?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

4. Is this statement true? Critique the writing, not the writer. Why or
why not?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
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5. What does the lines, “Allow yourself to fail at this in the beginning.
Just as writing takes practice, so does the art of critique.” mean?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
6. When you write your critique, do you still need to apply proper
organization, coherence, structure and form? Why?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

Activity 3: Writing-Critiquing
General Directions: The goal of a peer review is to help improve your
classmate's paper by pointing out strengths and weaknesses that may
not be apparent to the author. You will be asked to write and critique
an essay and reflect on it. Use a separate sheet for your outputs. The
scoring rubric on the following pages will be used by your teacher in
assessing your work.

Writing: Choose one topic from the following and write an essay in at
least 3 paragraphs incorporating the strategies you learned from this
module. Write a catchy title for your text.
a. My unforgettable travel before quarantine
b. My greatest learning during this pandemic
c. Environmental issues today

Critiquing: Exchange essays with a classmate (same barangay or

nearest to your home) and complete a peer review of each other’s
writing. Remember to give positive feedback and to be courteous and
polite in your responses. Focus on providing one positive comment and
one question for more information to the author. Use the questions for
peer review provided below to easily create an outline of the strengths
and weaknesses of your peer’s work.

Questions for Peer Review: Organization, Unity, and Coherence

Title of essay: _____________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________________
Writer’s name: ____________________________________________
Peer reviewer’s name: _____________________________________
This essay is
about_______________________________________________________.

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Your main points in this essay
are________________________________________.
What I liked most about this essay
is______________________________________.
These three points struck me as your strongest:
Point 1:
__________________________________________________________________
Why:
___________________________________________________________________
Point 2:
__________________________________________________________________
Why:
____________________________________________________________________
Point3:
___________________________________________________________________
Why:
____________________________________________________________________

These places in your essay are not clear to me:

Where 1:
_________________________________________________________________
Needs improvement
because_______________________________________________
Where 2:
_________________________________________________________________
Needs improvement
because_______________________________________________
Where 3:
_________________________________________________________________
Needs improvement
because_______________________________________________

The one additional change you could make that would improve this
essay significantly is
___________________________________________________________.
Critique Writing: Writing a peer critique is also writing an essay.
Combine all your answers from the questions for peer review to create
a critique essay applying also the strategies you learned from this
module.
Self-Critique: Fill out the checklist to realize the strengths and
weaknesses of your work. With this, you will know what will be your
next step on what you will do to your critiqued essay.
Name: ____________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________
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Name of Partner: __________________________________
Focus of Critique:
_________________________________________________________
My partner
liked___________________________________________________________
My partner
suggested______________________________________________________
My next
step(s)____________________________________________________________

Essay Rubric
Criteria 5 4 3 2
Focus & There is one There is one There is one There is one
Details clear, well clear, well topic. Main topic. Main ideas
focused topic. focused topic. ideas are are somewhat
Main ideas are Main ideas are somewhat clear.
clear and are well clear but are not clear.
supported by well supported
detailed and by detailed
accurate information.
information.
Organization The introduction The introduction The There is no clear
is inviting, states states the main introduction introduction,
the main topic, topic and states the main structure, or
and provides an provides an topic. A conclusion.
overview of the overview of the conclusion is
paper. paper. A included.
Information is conclusion is
relevant and included.
presented in a
logical order. The
conclusion is
strong.
Word Choice The author uses The author uses The author The writer uses a
vivid words and vivid words and uses words limited
phrases. The phrases. The that vocabulary.
choice and choice and communicate Jargon or clichés
placement of placement of clearly, but the may be present
words seems words is writing lacks and detract from
accurate, natural, inaccurate at variety. the meaning.
and not forced. times and/or
seems overdone.

Sentence All sentences are Most sentences Most sentences Sentences sound
Structure, well constructed are well are well awkward, are
Grammar, and have varied constructed and constructed, distractingly
Mechanics, structure and have varied but they have a repetitive, or are
& Spelling length. The author structure and similar difficult to
makes no errors in length. The structure understand. The
grammar, author makes a and/or length. author makes
mechanics, few errors in The author numerous errors
and/or spelling. grammar, makes several in grammar,
mechanics, errors in mechanics,
and/or spelling, grammar, and/or spelling
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 but they do not mechanics, that interfere
interfere with and/or spelling with
understanding. that interfere understanding.
with
understanding.

© http://www.readwritethink.org
Peer Critique Rubric
Criteria 1 2 3 4 5
Positive Positive Positive Positive Positive Very
Feedback feedback feedback was feedback feedback descriptive and
was not given and was relevant was relevant thorough
descriptive somewhat and and
descriptive, but somewhat description
not relevant to descriptive was fair
essay
Suggestions Suggestions Suggestions Suggestions Many Suggestions
were made were made, were made suggestions were well
but showed but lacked and were made, considered,
lack of detail descriptive but could thorough and
effort but not have been fair
effective more
towards descriptive
essay
Descriptive More Comments Comments Comments Comments
Comment comments were not need to be were fair but were thorough
should have descriptive more could have and
been made descriptive been more complete
thorough

©https://www.rcampus.com/
Reflection:
Directions: Write a reflective learning about what you have learned in
writing a mini critique of a peer’s work by answering the
questions inside the box. You may express your answers in a
more critical and creative presentation of your great learning.
Have fun and enjoy!
WHAT I LIKED THE WHAT I NEED TO WHAT I WANT TO
MOST ABOUT THE IMPROVE IN LEARN CONNECTED
LESSON UNDERSTANDING TO THE LESSON
THE LESSON

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Reference for Learners:

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Department of Education. (2020). Senior High School Core, Applied,
and Specialized Subjects, Most Essential Learning
Competencies. Pasig City, Philippines
Katrina Claire Landich (2018, February 17). Properties of a well
written text. Retrieved July 23, 2020 from
https://www.slideshare.net/KatrinaClaireLandich/properties-of-
a-well-written-text-88147656

Tara Horkoff. Chapter12: Peer Review and Final Revisions. Retrieved

July 24, 2020 from https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccess/
chapter/chapter-12-peer-review-and-final-revisions/

William Victor, S.L., (2009-2020). How to Write a Critique. Retrieved

July 24, 2020 from https://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-
to-write-a-critique.html
Writers:

RUBY S. BULATIN HAZEL H. MONTEDERAMOS

MARILOU C. CASTRO IMARC FERNAND C. VERGA

School/Station: Agusan NHS-SHS

Reviewers: DOLYNESSA J. GALEON

HUMSS 12 Group Head

AMALIA B. RINGOR
Track Head

RUTH A. CASTROMAYOR
Principal IV
Assistant Principal – SHS

ISRAEL B. REVECHE, PhD.

EPS-Values
Division SHS Coordinator

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