SHS ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES (EAPP), SEM 2 Q3

Name: __________________________________________________________ Score: ______________

Grade and Section: _____________________________________________ Date: _______________

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET NO. 7

I. Introduction

There are various ways or standpoints by which you can analyze and critique a
certain material. You can critique a material based on its technical aspects, its approach
to gender, your reaction as the audience, or through its portrayal of class struggle and
social structure.

A review and a critique are specialized forms of writing in which a reviewer or reader
evaluates any of the following:
 a scholarly work (e.g., academic books and articles)
 a work of art (e.g., performance art, play, dance, sports, film, exhibits)
 designs (e.g., industrial designs, furniture, fashion design)
 graphic designs (e.g. posters, billboards, commercials, and digital media)

Reviews and critiques are not simply summaries but are critical assessments,
analyses, or evaluation of different works. As advanced forms of writing, they involve your
skills in critical thinking and recognizing arguments. However, you should not connect
the word critique to cynicism and pessimism.

II. Learning Competency

Writes an objective/balanced review or critique of a work of art, an event or a program

(CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-Idf-18)

III. Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. produce an objective assessment of an event, a person, a place or a thing
2. apply the guidelines in writing an effective review and critique
3. write a review and critique paper objectively

IV. Discussion

Structure of a Review or a Critique

For other types of reviews, there is no prescribed structure, but the following sections
are almost always present:

1. Introduction
 Basic details about the material, such as its title, director or artist, name of
exhibition/event, and the like
 Main assessment of the material (for films and performances)

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2. Plot Summary/Description
 Gist of the plot
 Simple description of the artwork

3. Analysis/Interpretation
 Discussion and analysis of the work (you may employ the critical approach here)
 It is best to ask the following questions during this part.
 What aspects of the work make you think it is a success or failure?
 Were there unanswered questions or plot lines? If yes, how did they affect the
story?
 Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced through
analogies, metaphors, or other figurative devices? How does this contribute to
the meaning?
 How does the work relate to other ideas or events in the world and/or in your
other studies?
 What stood out while you were watching the film or the performance?

4. Conclusion/Evaluation
 Reinforcement of main assessment
 Comparison to a similar work
 Recommendation of the material (if you liked it)

Guidelines in Writing a Review or Critique

1. For articles or journals

a. Read, view, or listen to the work to be reviewed carefully to get the main topic or
the concepts presented. Then revisit the work to further identify its arguments or
message.
b. Relate the content of the work to what you already know about the topic. This will
make you more engaged in the article or book.
c. Focus on discussing how the book treats the topic and not the topic itself. Use
phrases such as this book/work presents and the author argues.
d. Situate your review. This means that your analysis should be anchored on the
theories presented by the writer or creator.
e. Report the type of analysis or mode of presentation the writer/creator used and
how this type of analysis supports the arguments and claims.
f. Examine whether the findings are adequately supported and how the connections
between ideas affect the conclusions and findings.
g. Suggest points for improvement of the reasoning, explanation, presentation of
ideas, as well as alternative methods and processes of reasoning.
h. Compare the writer’s or creator’s explanation of the topic to that of another expert
from the same field of study.
i. Point out other conclusions or interpretations that the writer/creator missed out.
Present other ideas that need to be examined.
j. Show your agreement with the writer’s or creator’s ideas and present an
explanation for this agreement.

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2. For artworks and other media
a. When critiquing artworks or posters, make sure to use speculative verbs such as
evoke, create, appear, and suggest to show that your interpretation of the artist’s
work is just that – an interpretation.
b. Presume that the reader has not yet seen the material you are reviewing, so make
sure to describe it to them. For reviews of films or plays, make sure not to spoil
key events unless they figure in your review, in which case always add a
disclaimer.
c. For artworks, describe the material in simple terms to help your audience
visualize it; refrain from being vague or abstract.

3. On a general note, your paper’s conclusion may focus on the following ideas.
a. Did the work hold your interest?
b. Did the work annoy or excite you?
c. Did the work prompt you to raise questions to the author?
d. Did the work lead you to some realizations?
e. Did the work remind you of other materials that you have read, viewed or listened
to in the past?

V. Activities

A. Let’s Practice
Directions: Read the movie review of Heneral Luna. Evaluate the movie review and
summarize your general evaluation using the table below. Write your answer on a separate
sheet of paper.

Heneral Luna: A Review

Amidst pacing problems, Heneral Luna manages to tell a compelling story – allegorical and
timely to present day – supported by a fantastic script, an impassioned score, and inspired
cinematography.

At first glance, one might mistake Heneral Luna as your run-of-the-mill historical biopic
that showcases a hero of yore whose bravery and passion unite his people in the face of
dastardly foreign invaders. Well, this is only partly correct. There are invaders, Heneral
Luna (John Arcilla) is indeed fiercely brave and madly passionate, but there is no unity to
be found amongst country men – only infighting, personal interests, and politicking.

Directed by Jerrold Tarog and with a script co-written by him, Henry Hunt Francia, and
E.A. Rocha; Heneral Luna takes a different approach in telling the story of how we lost the
battle and got occupied by the Americans. Taking cues from Oro, Plata, Mata; the movie
deliberately puts the colonialists in the periphery, making them merely a backdrop whose
presence stirred the pot. The real focus here is the tension, the inner turmoil, that brewed
in the ranks of our so-called Filipino founding fathers. Heneral Luna is a tale of how a
dissenting voice can get swept away and ultimately perish under a wave of egos and
personal interest.

Carrying the weight of the story is the above stellar performance of John Arcilla in the title
role of General Antonio Luna. Arcilla plays with the whole spectrum of emotions in his
portrayal of the larger-than-life general. He is able to showcase the fierce, boisterous, and

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volatile man the general has been historically known to be, yet he is also able to flip the
coin and show the passionate, sympathetic, and battle-weary softer side of the character.
Here’s a man who rides head first screaming into battle just to rile up his troops’ morale,
but at the same time he is a one who can share warm moments and some banter with his
mother. He is an antihero – the Wolverine of the Filipino insurrection.

Criteria Evaluation

Good features of the review

Bad features of the review

Revisions needed

B. LET’S TRY

Directions: Choose one media material (e.g., performance art, play, dance, sports, film,
exhibits, industrial design, furniture, fashion design, posters, billboards, commercials,
and digital media) to review. The topic of your chosen material should be related to your
area of interest. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

I. Study of the work to be critiqued. Complete the following details:

Type of work: _________________________________________________________
Creator/Author: _________________________________________________________
Title/Name: _________________________________________________________

II. Complete the given information to come up with a writing situation for
your critique. Assume any writer’s persona you want.
General Purpose: _________________________________________________________
Specific Purpose: _________________________________________________________
Target Output: _________________________________________________________
Audience: _________________________________________________________
Writer’s Persona: _________________________________________________________
Tone/Formality: _________________________________________________________

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C. FINISH IT UP!

Directions: From the chosen media that you have reviewed on Activity B, polish your
critique paper by constructing the details and information given ahead. Write your finished
critique on a separate sheet of paper. Be guided on the rubrics given below.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Comprehension Student lacked Student evidenced Student Student evidenced
and response to clear some evidenced clear
article understanding of understanding of considerable comprehension
(Thinking/ Inquiry) the article and parts of the article comprehension of of the article and
10 Marks may or may not or did not the article and articulated a
have expressed a express a personal articulated a thoughtful
personal response. response. thoughtful response.
response.
Presentation Student gave a Student vague Student Student engaged
(Communication) disorganized about main somewhat audience in
10 Marks presentation with points of article. engaged presentation and
main points of audience in highlighted main
article lacking. presentation and points of article.
highlighted most
of the main points
of article.
Conclusions No personal Few personal Personal Personal
(Application) comments are comments are comments are comments are
Provide personal provided. No given. Student clearly stated. clearly stated.
comments relationship demonstrates Student clearly Student clearly
pertaining to the between article some working demonstrates a demonstrates a
article and how it and class material knowledge of working strong working
relates to the is provided. No class material knowledge of knowledge of
course material. references are relative to the class material class material
10 Marks given. article. Few relative to the relative to the
references are article. Some article. References
made to the references are are
course materials. made to the made to the
course materials. course materials.

VI. Assessment

Directions: Read the excerpt from the article entitled “Philippine Literature Today” by
H.O. Santos and write a 300-500-word critique using guidelines in writing a reaction
paper, review or critique. Write your answer on the separate sheet of paper. Be guided by
the rubrics below.

Philippine Literature Today (an excerpt)

H.O. Santos

LET me begin by telling you about my background and what I did to learn about Philippine
literature. This will give you an idea of how my impressions may have come about.

I started writing fiction about four years ago. Prior to that, I had read very few short stories,
and only a handful of them were Philippine stories. I read novels because they were easier
to obtain. In any library or book store you will find only one book of short stories for every
hundred or so novels. And because I have lived the major part of my life outside the
Philippines, I wasn’t familiar with Philippine writing—they’re not easy to find where I live.
It didn’t help that my school curriculum didn’t include Philippine literature—we only
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studied American and English literature. However, I have since made up for that by having
read a couple of hundred Philippine short stories in the last two years. That was in addition
to the 120 contemporary non-Philippine short stories I’ve been reading on the average
every year since 1998. Writer friends advised me I needed to read at least two a week if I
wanted to write short stories. They said reading novels provides little help to anyone who
wants to write short stories. At the same time, I started reading Philippine short stories, I
combed the Internet for news and information about what was going on in the Philippine
literary world. I read Philippine magazines and tear sheets mailed to me by friends. I
exchanged emails with writers to get their views and at least a second-hand look at politics
in the Philippine literary establishment. You can see that my views are those of an outsider
and the only thing that can color them may be my prior exposure to non-Philippine short
stories before I started reading Philippine stories.

ONE of the first things you hear in writing school is, “Show, don’t tell.” Let me explain
what this means to our readers who, like me, aren’t English majors. The concept is easier
shown through a simple example. Let’s take a scene where Jose is tired and hungry after
walking five kilometers from the bus stop to the factory where he is applying for a job. I
can merely tell you: “It was a five-kilometer walk from the bus stop to the factory where
Jose was applying for a job. He was tired and hungry by the time he got there.” Or I can
show you: “The factory was farther from the bus stop than Jose had anticipated. He was
sweating and his pace had slowed by the time he got there after walking five kilometers.
Near the factory entrance were stalls that sold food to the workers. The steaming trays of
food reminded him that he hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning.” Here, I show that he was
tired and hungry without using those adjectives—I give you images that show you his
condition. I get you involved and let you see for yourself his physical state at that moment
in the narrative. Likewise, the personality of a character can be told in the narrative
through the use of adjectives. Or his personality can be shown through scenes that
demonstrate his behavior and reaction to situations and people around him.

Philippine short stories tend to tell rather than show. Perhaps, this is a national
preference. Maybe Filipino readers want things explained to them because it is a cultural
predisposition. After all, I’ve seen Filipino comedians on TV—they also tend to explain their
jokes and repeat their punch lines as if to make sure their audience gets them.
Grandmothers traditionally told stories this way and the style must have gotten embedded
in the nation’s psyche. This predilection might also explain why Philippine short stories
have little or no dialog. Philippine writers hesitate to use dialog as a tool for showing
characterization or for moving the plot along. Dialog is one area where Philippine writers
are weak.

Components Highly Competent Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Your

Competent Score
Identification 4-5 points 3 point includes 2 point 0-1 points
of Premise and includes accurate accurate One of the More than one of
Supporting identification of identification of following is the following are
Points article premise, article premise, missing or missing or
(Argument) significant points importance to the insufficiently insufficiently
5 points in support of the course, analytical: analytical:
premise, and the significant points accurate accurate
significance of in support of the identification of identification of
these to the premise, and/or article premise, article premise,
course and/or field, but one or importance to the importance to the
field more of them course, course, significant
need significant points points in support
improvement in support of the of the premise,
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 premise, and/or and/or field; those
field included need
improvement
Application of 9-10 points 6-8 points 3-5 points 0-2 points
Analysis Includes several Includes some Includes few Includes general
10 points analyses that analyses that analytical opinionated
relate the article relate the article statements that statements that
to course content to course content relate the article are unrelated to
and real-life and real-life to course content the course content
situations situations and real-life and real-life
situations and/or are
substantiated.
Explains and 9-10 points 6-8 points 3-5 points 0-2 points
critiques the Includes critical Includes critical Student’s opinion Student’s opinion
methods, thinking that thinking that of the article is of the article is not
sources, clearly states the clearly states the stated, along with clear; critical
findings, student’s student’s opinion critical evaluation thinking is not
conclusions informed and and some of the article’s evident
(argument) substantiated evaluation of the premise and/or
10 points opinion, thorough article’s premise argument, but
evaluation of the and/or some significant
article’s premise, arguments but points are
and supporting overlooks some overlooked
points points
Writing 4-5 points 3 point 2 point 0-1 point
Mechanics Writing is clear Writing is mostly Writing lacks Writing lacks
5 points and concise. clear and concise. clarity or clarity and
Sentence Sentence conciseness. conciseness.
structure and structure and Minor problems Serious problems
grammar are grammar are with sentence with sentence
excellent. strong and mostly structure and structure and
Correct use of correct. Few some grammar.
punctuation. No minor errors in grammatical Numerous major
spelling errors. punctuation errors. Several and/or minor
and/or spelling. minor errors in errors in
punctuation and punctuation and
spelling. spelling.
Organization 4-5 points 3 point 2 point 0-1 points
5 points The organization The overall Arrangement is Arrangement is
results in clarity arrangement is less than clear, or haphazard and
and presents logical but can organization is difficult to follow;
logically arranged occasionally be clear but there paper strays
points difficult to follow are some substantially from
digressions topic
Total

VII. Reflection

Directions: Put a check mark (√) if you agree with the statement. If not, put an “X” mark.
Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. You can critique a material based on its technical aspects, its approach to gender,
your reaction as the audience, or through its portrayal of class struggle and social
structure.
2. When critiquing artworks or posters, make sure to use speculative verbs such as
evoke, create, appear, and suggest to show that your interpretation of the artist’s
work is just that an interpretation.

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3. For artworks, describe the material detailed by detailed to help your audience
visualize it.
4. A review and a critique are specialized forms of writing in which a reviewer or reader
evaluates any piece.
5. Reviews and critiques are not simply summaries but are critical assessments,
analyses, or evaluation of different works.

VIII. References

Barrot, Jessie S. Communicate Today: English for Academic and Professional Purposes for
Senior High School. C&E Publishing, 2016

Tiongson, Marella Therese A. and Rodriguez, Maxine Rafaella C. Reading and Writing
Skills. Rex Book Store, 2016.

Prepared by:

ANNA DOMINIQUE P. CALANGAN

Teacher II-Maruhat National HS

Note: Practice Personal Hygiene Protocols at all times.

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Reflection: Assessment:
1. √ Answers may vary.
2. √
3. X
4. √
5. √
A. Let’s Practice
Answers may vary.
B. Let’s Try
Answers may vary.
C. Finish It Up
Answers may vary.
IX. Key to Correction