READING

and
WRITING
SKILLS
Lesson 1: Evaluative Statements
about a Text
Lesson 2: Writing a Critique
Evaluative Statements
about a Text
 What is an
argument and how
does it connect with
claims and evidence?
 An “argument” is a statement that others are trying to
convince you is true in order to persuade you. The argument
contains two elements…
The Claim: This is a conclusion that someone is
attempting to get you to believe.
The Evidence: This is the information used to
support the claim.
 
FOR EXAMPLE:

Our company’s new sexual harassment seminars are not

working (the claim) because reported sexual harassments are
up 50% ever since the seminars began (the evidence).

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 But are these arguments valid? Here are the elements to check:
 Look for alternate explanations for the claim
 Realize that correlation is not the same as causation
 Avoid being misled by “hard facts”
 Consider the credibility of the source of the claim
 Don’t be misled by the presenter’s spin & exaggerations
 Don’t be misled by your own biases

Other Learning Resource/s: (To know more about these key

elements to consider, refer to RW Handout No. 2.1)

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 FOR PRACTICE, read “Time to clean house on torture” and see
how analyzing evidence steps can be applied in this text.

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Writing a Critique
How does a critique is
written?
 Writing a critique involves
more than pointing out
mistakes. It involves conducting
a systematic analysis of a
scholarly article or book and
then writing a fair and
reasonable description of its
strengths and weaknesses.
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 To critique a piece of writing is to do the following:
 describe: give the reader a sense of the writer’s overall
purpose and intent
 analyze: examine how the structure and language of the text
convey its meaning
 interpret: state the significance or importance of each part of
the text
assess: make a judgment of the work’s worth or value

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How a critique is
formatted?
 The Critique Format for Nonfiction
Introduction
 name of author and work
 general overview of subject and summary of author's argument
 focusing (or thesis) sentence indicating how you will divide the whole work for
discussion or the particular elements you will discuss
Body
 objective description of a major point in the work
 detailed analysis of how the work conveys an idea or concept
 interpretation of the concept
 repetition of description, analysis, interpretation if more than one major concept is
covered
Conclusion
 overall interpretation
 relationship of particular interpretations to subject as a whole
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critical assessment of the value, worth, or meaning of the work, both negative and positive
 The Critique Format for Fiction/Literature
Introduction
 name of author and work
 brief summary/description of work as a whole
 focusing sentence indicating what element you plan to examine
 general indication of overall significance of work
Body
 literal description of the first major element or portion of the work
 detailed analysis
 interpretation
 literal description of second major element
 detailed analysis
 interpretation (including, if necessary, the relationship to the first major point)
 and so on
Conclusion
 overall interpretation of the elements studied
 consideration of those elements within the context of the work as a whole
critical assessment of the value, worth, meaning, or significance of the work, both positive and negative
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 Want big impact?
Use big image.

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 Values Integration:

Most (if not all) of what we say is a CLAIM because in everything that we say, we say the
truth we believe to be true that we want others to believe too. However, even if we claim it
to be true, unless we have reliable evidence to support this claim, this claim may be
countered by another claim which we call “counterclaim”.

Thus, for others whom we communicate with to really believe in us, we have to speak the
truth and be true in our judgments. How do you say the truth?
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 READ and UNDERSTAND BEFORE
ANSWERING THIS ACTIVITY.

HAVE COMPLETE ANSWERS.

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 Please feel
free to
contact me
if you have
questions or
concerns.

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