ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Critique Paper
Structure & Iterations
(Week 3 Day 1)
What do the given pictures refer to?

RE V I EW
2
What do the given pictures refer to?

CR I T IQ U E

3
What do the following pictures show?

4
REACTION PAPER/ REVIEW/ CRITIQUE
Evaluates any of the following:

q Scholarly work
q A work of art
q Designs
q Graphic designs
REACTION PAPER/ REVIEW/ CRITIQUE

q Range in length from 250 to 750

words
q Use both proofs and logical
reasoning
q Significance is societal
MODERN ITERATIONS OF REACTION PAPER
1. movie review
2. gadget review
3. trip advisor post
4. editorials (newspapers, magazines, weblogs)
5. travel reviews
6. restaurant reviews
7. essays
 ANSWERS

TRAVEL REVIEW / TRIP POST ADVISORY MOVIE REVIEW

 ANSWERS

BOOK REVIEW / BOOK CRITIQUE GADGET REVIEW

ANSWERS

RESTAURANT REVIEW ART CRITIQUE

STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE OF CRITIQUE

1. Accessible to the audience.

2. Relating your critique to
greater realities
ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF A CRITIQUE
1. Introduction – provide readers a sense of the ideas you want to tackle
2. Summary – states the objective or purpose, methods used (if
applicable), major findings, claims, ideas or messages
3. Review / Critique – strengths and weaknesses should be part of the
critique
4. Conclusion- overall impression of the work, scholarly or literary value
of the reviewed work, benefits for the intended audience or field,
suggestion for future direction of research, final recommendations of the
author
Introduction / Synopsis

What’s the Sense of The Sixth Sense?

By: Camille Anjela Curitana
The Sixth Sense is often regarded as one of the classic
thrillers in film history. Produced under the direction of M. Night
Shyamalan it tells the story of how the child psychologist Malcom
Crowe (Bruce Wills) helps the boy Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment)
to cope with day-to-day life as the latter is often ridiculed
because of his claims that he sees dead people a few months
after the former has been shot by a former patient who ends up
being more depressed than ever. Determined to redeem himself
after his failure with the depressed patient, Crowe does
everything within his power to help Cole Sear only to encounter
a shocking revelation about himself at the end of it all.
General Impression
Being a thriller, one would expect its plot to
have surprising twists and turns. Nonetheless,
right from the very onset, the supposed twist of
the film is already a giveaway, and this somehow
defeats the very purpose of the movie. Despite
Willis’ and Osment’s great acting and its eerie
and often depressing production design, I really
do not think that The Sixth Sense should even be
labeled as a thriller, for there is nothing to be
thrilled about in the first place.
Critique of the Author on the ACTING

As expected, veteran actor Bruce Willis once

again delivers his part well. His often confused
looks, persistent spirit, and calm reassuring voice
all fits the description of a typical psychologist.
This is rightly complemented with Osment’s
unpredictable fits. At times, Osment would look
like a very calm, self-assured young boy, but
whenever he would throw a fit, he would start
shouting and shaking as if he were really going
mad.
Critique of the Author on the CINEMATOGRAPHY and MUSICAL SCORE

Such a good acting is also packed in a

relatively dismal production design.
There is no background music to match
the depressing sets such as Will’s home,
which is often portrayed as dark, the
small apartment where Cole Sear
stayed, and even the hospital’s eerie
silence.
OVERALL EVALUATION OF THE FILM
Nonetheless, the acting and production design are all for naught
simply because of the film’s lousy plot. Right at the beginning of the
film, the twist to happen in the end is already very obvious, and it
seems that Malcom Crowe, in spite of his doctorate degree and
intensive experience in the field of psychology, is the only one who
does not have a clue about what is going on. He does not recognize
the fact that he was already dead even after months of roaming
around; how could he be so blind not to notice that no one else can
see and hear him save for Cole, who apparently have a sixth sense?
His wife has never noticed his presence; the guy that she was
seeing did not notice him either. Even Cole’s mother never had a
conversation with Malcolm where in fact, it is a protocol when
dealing with children that professionals report their diagnosis to
their parents. Such a display of naivete is very inconsistent with his
character as a highly esteemed academic. Everything is such a
giveaway, and many of these scenes violate even common sense
knowledge.
STRUCTURE OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW

1. Synopsis of the movie

-to inform the readers what it is all about
2. General impression
-second paragraph
3. Critique of the author
-body of the review
4. Overall evaluation of the film
-ending
ASPECTS OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW
1.Plot • Is the sequence of the
events logical and
entertaining?
• Are there twists and turns
in the story?
• What story telling
techniques were used in
the film?
ASPECTS OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW

2. Acting • Were the actors and

actresses in character?
• Are their acting
compelling?
• Do they project their
voices well?
ASPECTS OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW
3. Cinematography • Are the shots
able to
contribute to
the overall
mood or
theme the
author wishes
to convey?
ASPECTS OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW

4. Musical Score • Does the

background
music
contribute to
the beauty of
the story?
ASPECTS OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW
5. Special • Were there special
Effects effects in the
movie?
• Were these special
effects appropriate?
• Are they
aesthetically
pleasing?
ASPECTS OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW

6. Editing • Were the scenes

logically arranged?
• Are there
unnecessary
scenes in the
movie?
ASPECTS OF A FILM/MOVIE REVIEW

7. Script • Were the lines

uttered in the movie
characteristic of how
people would act in
the given context?
• Are the lines original
and catchy, or are
they cliché?
Application

What do you think are the

practical uses of these reviews
and critiques in our daily lives?
Abstraction

1. What are reviews and

critiques?
2. When should we make
reviews and critiques?
QUICK CHECK
Introduction Summary Conclusion
Criteria Critique

Identify the following parts of a reaction/critique paper.

1. It contains the overall impression of a work.
2. It states the objective or purpose.
3. It provides the readers an idea on the topic you want to tackle.
4. It contains the strengths and weaknesses of the object being evaluated.
5. It refers to one’s bases for one’s critique or review.
 Group 1
1.1. Technical Aspect

GROUP ACTIVITY: Group 2

Watch and React 2.2. Approach to gender

Watch the trailer of Titanic

and make a presentation Group 3
on it focusing on the 3.3. Your reaction as
following: audience

Group 4
1.4. Its portrayal of class
struggle and social
structure.