How To Create Critical Analysis
How To Create Critical Analysis
How To Create Critical Analysis
Critical reading:
Consider the following questions: How is the material organized? Who is the
intended audience? What are the writer's assumptions about the audience?
What kind of language and imagery does the author use?
Remember:
Avoid introducing your ideas by stating "I think" or "in my opinion." Keep the
focus on the subject of your analysis, not on yourself. Identifying your opinions
weakens them.
Always introduce the work. Do not assume that because your reader knows
what you are writing about, you do not need to mention the work's title.
Support your thesis with detailed evidence from the text examined. Do not
forget to document quotes and paraphrases.
Remember that the purpose of a critical analysis is not merely to inform, but
also to evaluate the worth, utility, excellence, distinction, truth, validity, beauty,
or goodness of something.
Even though as a writer you set the standards, you should be open-minded,
well informed, and fair. You can express your opinions, but you should also
back them up with evidence.
Introduction
The length of an introduction is usually one paragraph for a journal article review and two or three
paragraphs for a longer book review. Include a few opening sentences that announce the author(s) and
the title, and briefly explain the topic of the text. Present the aim of the text and summarise the main
finding or key argument. Conclude the introduction with a brief statement of your evaluation of the text.
This can be a positive or negative evaluation or, as is usually the case, a mixed response.
Summary
Present a summary of the key points along with a limited number of examples. You can also briefly
explain the author’s purpose/intentions throughout the text and you may briefly describe how the text is
organised. The summary should only make up about a third of the critical review.
Critique
The critique should be a balanced discussion and evaluation of the strengths, weakness and notable
features of the text. Remember to base your discussion on specific criteria. Good reviews also include
other sources to support your evaluation (remember to reference).
You can choose how to sequence your critique. Here are some examples to get you started:
Most important to least important conclusions you make about the text.
If your critique is more positive than negative, then present the negative points first and the positive
last.
If your critique is more negative than positive, then present the positive points first and the negative
last.
If there are both strengths and weakness for each criterion you use, you need to decide overall what
your judgement is. For example, you may want to comment on a key idea in the text and have both
positive and negative comments. You could begin by stating what is good about the idea and then
concede and explain how it is limited in some way. While this example shows a mixed evaluation,
overall you are probably being more negative than positive.
In long reviews, you can address each criteria you choose in a paragraph, including both negative
and positive points. For very short critical reviews (one page or less) where your comments will be
briefer, include a paragraph of positive aspects and another of negative.
You can also include recommendations for how the text can be improved in terms of ideas, research
approach; theories or frameworks used can also be included in the critique section.
Conclusion
References
If you have used other sources in you review you should also include a list of references at the end of the
review.
A critical analysis examines an article or other work to determine how effective the piece
makes an argument or point. These reviews are usually applied to articles or books, but
you can also analyze films, paintings, and other less traditional works. While you can
examine the author's use of rhetorical appeals, your focus for a critical analysis should
be on the overall ability and effectiveness of the article. Keep reading to learn more
about the different steps involved in writing a strong critical analysis.
Part1
Critical Reading
1.
1
Identify the author's thesis. Determine what the author is arguing for or against.[1]
The thesis of an academic article might be easier to identify than the thesis of a creative
work, movie, or painting. If critiquing a work of fiction or creative nonfiction, in either
written form or film form, identify one main theme of the story. For a painting, analyze
what the the painter may be trying to establish.
Ask yourself what the context of the argument is and why the author may have felt the
need to argue it.
Ask yourself if the author offers a solution to any problems they raise in their thesis. If
so, ask if this solution is realistic.
2.
2
Note all main ideas. Identify the main ideas of the work in order to analyze its
structure.[2]
In an academic article, the main ideas can usually be found amongst the topic
sentences of each paragraph or section. For works of fiction or paintings, you will need
to ask yourself what evidence the author presents in an attempt to explain his or her
thesis.
3.
3
Research unfamiliar material. Use a dictionary and encyclopedia to briefly look up
words and other material that you know little to nothing about.
More in-depth research is not usually necessary. The only exception would be if the
entire work is built around an unfamiliar concept, at which point, you should consider
reading other articles that describe the concept more clearly in order to provide context
to the piece you are analyzing.
4.
4
Describe the work in your own words. One option is to make an outline of the work,
while the second is the write a brief summary. An especially thorough reading of the
work will include both.
If writing a summary of the work, it only needs to be one or two paragraphs. Try to
phrase the summary in your own words as much as possible.
5.
5
Identify any appeals used. The three basic types of appeals are pathos, logos, and
ethos.
Pathos is an attempt to appeal to a reader's emotions. Works meant to entertain
generally rely on pathos.
Logos is an attempt to use logic and reason to sway a reader's perspective or opinion.
Ethos is an appeal to credibility. An author who explains why he or she should be
trusted based on personal, professional, or academic merit is using ethos.
6.
6
Evaluate how well the author conveyed meaning. Determine how effective the
author's appeals were from your own perspective as a reader.
Ask yourself if you had an emotional response to an emotional appeal. Did you become
happy, upset, or angry at any point? If so, ask yourself why.
Determine if the author's attempts at logic and reason were enough to change your
mind. Also ask yourself if the material was clear, accurate, and cohesive.
Ask yourself if you believe the author to be credible. Determine why or why not.
2
Part
1
Choose several noteworthy areas to analyze.[3] Review your critical reading notes
and identify several observations that you can expand on in greater detail.
For a critical review, you will usually focus on how effective an author's appeals at
pathos, logos, or ethos were. You can focus on one area if it appears stronger than the
others, or you could look at two or three appeal types as they apply to a particular main
idea used in the work.
Alternatively, you can examine the author's overall ability at making his or her point.
Your analysis can examine how well the author's research was performed, how
cohesive the work is as a whole, how the author's use of structure and organization
impacted the work, and other similar matters that stand out to you.
Divide each major point into a separate paragraph. No matter which areas you choose
to write about, each major thought should be given its own paragraph. For more
complex ideas, you may need to expand your discussion into several paragraphs.
2.
2
Balance positive and negative.[4] Most critical reviews will be a mix of positive and
negative.
If your critique includes more positive elements than negative, begin with the negative
before defending the article with the positive.
If your critique includes more negative opinions than positive, identify the positive
elements first before defending your opposition with the negative.
If you have both negative and positive remarks to make about the same point or aspect,
you can write a mixed paragraph that reflects this. To do so, you will usually end up
stating the positive aspect first before explaining why the idea is limited.
3.
3
Identify any controversies surrounding the topic. If the author chose to write about a
disputable matter, include information about the other side of the issue and explain how
the author did or did not succeed in arguing against it.
This is especially significant when specific points or issues from the other side are
mentioned directly in the article.
Even if the author did not specifically mention opposing opinions, you can still mention
common oppositions in your critical analysis.
4.
4
Explain why the topic is relevant. Convince the reader of your essay that he or she
should care.
Let the reader know that the topic is relevant by contemporary standards. An article can
be considered relevant if the subject has implications for the current day and age, but it
can also be relevant if a notable writer or thinker is the author.
5.
5
Avoid turning the focus inward. Even though much of this is subjective, you should
keep your tone academic instead of personal.
Avoid phrases like "I think" or "in my opinion." In fact, you should stay away from the
first person completely. By identifying something as your own personal opinion, you
actually end up weakening them in an academic sense.
6.
6
Do not focus on summary. You need to provide enough summary about the work for
your critique to have sensible context, but the majority of the essay should still contain
your thoughts rather than the author's thoughts.
Part3
Organizing the Review
1.
1
Introduce the work being analyzed. Include both bibliographical information and more
in-depth information.
Specify the title of the work, the type of work it is, the author's name, and the field or
genre the work addresses.
Include information about the context in which the article was written.
Clearly state the author's purpose or thesis.
The overall introduction should only consume roughly 10 percent of your paper's total
length.
2.
2
Include your own thesis. Your thesis should be a brief statement that summarizes
your overall evaluation of the work being critiqued.
A thesis that is both positive and negative is common for a critical review, but it can also
be strictly positive or strictly negative.
Note that your thesis statement is technically part of your introduction.
3.
3
Summarize the work. Quickly sum up the key points the author of the original article
mentioned in his or her defense.
You can provide a limited number of examples, but be brief. Overall, the summary
should take up no more than one-third of your essay's body. Less is usually preferred.
You can also briefly describe how the text is organized.
4.
4
Break into your critique. The critical analysis itself should form the majority of the
body and should conform to the guidelines mentioned.
The analysis plus the summary should form roughly 80 percent of the overall essay.
Each separate idea should be addressed in its own paragraph.
5.
5
Conclude with your final judgment. In your concluding paragraph, clearly restate your
thesis or overall opinion of the analyzed work.
You should also use this space to briefly present recommendation on how the analyzed
work could be improved. Improvements can include ideas, appeals, and research
approach.
The conclusion should only take up about 10 percent of the overall paper.
What is meant by Critical analysis?
Okay, so what is critical analysis all about? It is basically subjective writing about an essay, research
study or report, book, theory or movie etc. in which the writer is expected to make an argument for
two main purposes; one, to introduce and explain why the author has made the argument and two,
to provide your own evaluation or opinion to that argument in such a way that it contributes to the
readers understanding of the subject.
Sounds complicated, right?
It really isn’t. Let me give you an example to simplify the concept more. Consider that you have just
seen a movie at the cinema with your friends. After it ends and you walk out of the hall, you give
your judgement about different aspects of it, and if your friend presents a different opinion, you
would argue, discuss and debate. While you may like and agree certain parts or views presented in
the movie, you would also disagree and dismiss other ideas. You will have your own logical
explanation of what the movie director did not do right and what could have been done to make the
movie more entertaining or interesting.
That’s exactly the approach you adopt when writing a critical analysis paper. Now that the concept is
clear (I hope), lets move on to how to write a critique. Please don’t get confused with these different
terms, critique, critical analysis and critical review, all mean the same.
10 Steps to Write a Critical Analysis Paper
Okay, so let’s begin.
1. First, create a rough draft in which you answer the following basic questions that will be incorporated
in your critical review paper afterwards.
What is the author’s stance on the subject?
In what context the argument was made; what is the theoretical background of the author and how
does it influence his/her opinion?
Has the author provided any solution to the issue? Is it reasonable in the given situation?
What tools have been used to support the argument? For example, emotional appeals, research
evidences, logic etc.
How effective and valid is the author’s tools of persuasion.
If the author’s purpose is to provide information, critique on whether the info is presented in a logical
and coherent manner.
If the author’s aim is to entertain the reader/audience, evaluate if the work triggers any emotion and
to what extent does it influence your emotions or feelings.
2. Once you have the answers to the above questions, it is now time to start writing your critical essay.
Start by introducing the book/ theory, etc that you will analyze in your paper by mentioning the title,
author, important publication details and the argument or topic to be analyzed. This will be your
thesis statement on which the entire critical review will be based. Keep it concise and clear.
3. Next, summarize the work of the author. You need to make sure that you don’t cover tiny little details
of the work. That will almost be like copying the author’s composition. Discuss the main points as
presented by the author and this should also be a concise explanation. You can decide on the length
of this part depending on the required word count, but it should not be more than 25-30% of the total
word count.
4. Next comes the analysis part, here you will need the answers you have already written down on your
rough draft. Describe each main point made by the author, say how he or she has supported it and
then evaluate how effective, efficient, valid and strong the argument is based on the given context.
5. One important thing you need to keep in mind while writing a critical review is that you can’t simply
dismiss or approve an argument on the basis of your personal opinion. You Support your opinion
and analysis by giving reference to a credible resource. It could be established facts, theories,
research findings, events, etc. In short, your analysis should be logical.
6. As mentioned earlier, you need to review the work from top to bottom. Analyse the first argument
made by the author (in case it’s a literary work) and then proceed to the next. Your critical essay will
also be marked on how coherent and logically structured your content is.
7. The next step is to discuss the implications of the author’s argument and any other questions that it
gives rise to. Assess whether the implications are good or negative. Also highlight how effectively (or
ineffectively) the issue has been dealt with by the author.
8. Conclude your paper by giving a brief review of what you have analyzed, what solutions or findings
have been achieved from the argument and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the topic,
methodology etc. which the writer has used.
9. It is extremely crucial that you keep a neutral and fair approach throughout your critical essay.
Critical analysis does not necessarily mean that you only bring out the negative aspects of the work
or try to disagree with every argument. Your writing should be fair, i.e. it should look at both the
positive and negative aspects of the writers work.
10. Last but not least, proofread your work. Yes, it is a step that is often ignored, yet it is as important as
the writing process itself because you get a chance to check your work from a second person’s view
and most likely, you will find out some grammatical, formatting or semantic errors that you can edit
and polish up your critical analysis paper.
HOW TO WRITE CRITICAL ANALYSIS
ESSAY
20 Feb 2017
Writing a critical analysis essay is a captivating process if you know the right structure of it and
use experience of the qualified experts who know all the intricacies of essay creation.
Creation of Title: formulate a “working” title which is able to help you to focus your ideas.
This will help your reader or another researcher to have a clear vision of the essay
problematic. For instance, critical analysis in literature may deal with the following
books:
INTRO. Note that introduction act as a preview to your critical analysis essay. It starts
with an engaging sentence that catches the reader’s attention. Outline the main ideas of
the piece along with the author’s thesis and present your own thesis statement. Begin
discussion of your topic.
BODY. Develop a discussion. Paragraphs of the body answer the questions stated in
the introduction and give evidence, examples, and quotes in order to support your
position. The body of the essay should be structured into separate sections. Follow the
classical formula for the separate paragraph: TOPIC sentence – SUPPORTING
sentences – CONCLUDING sentence.
Make time for writing you critical analysis in order to be concentrated on the work;
Follow the needed instruction and structure;
Make sure that you evaluate the authors work adequately.
Writing Critical Reviews
What is a Critical Review of a Journal Article?
A critical review of a journal article evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of an article's ideas and
content. It provides description, analysis and interpretation that allow readers to assess the article's
value.
Before You Read the Article
What does the title lead you to expect about the article?
Study any sub-headings to understand how the author organized the content.
Read the abstract for a summary of the author's arguments.
Study the list of references to determine what research contributed to the author's
arguments. Are the references recent? Do they represent important work in the field?
If possible, read about the author to learn what authority he or she has to write about the
subject.
Consult Web of Science to see if other writers have cited the author's work. (Please see
'How to use E-Indexes'.) Has the author made an important contribution to the field of study?
Prepare an Outline
Read over your notes. Choose a statement that expresses the central purpose or thesis of your
review. When thinking of a thesis, consider the author's intentions and whether or not you think
those intentions were successfully realized. Eliminate all notes that do not relate to your thesis.
Organize your remaining points into separate groups such as points about structure, style, or
argument. Devise a logical sequence for presenting these ideas. Remember that all of your ideas
must support your central thesis.
Write the First Draft
The review should begin with a complete citation of the article. For example:
Platt, Kevin M.F. "History and Despotism, or: Hayden White vs. Ivan the Terrible and Peter the
Great." Rethinking History 3:3 (1999) : 247-269.
NOTE: Use the same bibliographic citation format as you would for any bibliography, works cited or
reference list. It will follow a standard documentation style such as MLA or APA.
Be sure to ask your instructor which citation style to use. For frequently used style guides consult
Queen's University Library's Citing Sources guide.
The first paragraph may contain:
You may make major revisions in the organization or content of your review during the revision
process. Revising can even lead to a radical change in your central thesis.
NOTE: Prepared by University of Toronto Mississauga Library, Hazel McCallion Academic Learning
Centre.