Evaluating a literary work . . .

From Reading to Writing How do you decide

what movies to see, what books to read, or what

concerts to attend? You might read a critical

review, an essay in which a writer expresses a

personal opinion of a literary or artistic work by

referring to some of the elements of that work.

Critical Review

Evaluating a literary work . . .The word critical does not mean that the writer

must find fault; it means that the writer evaluates

a work based on certain criteria.

Critical Review

B a s i c s i n a B o x

Critical Review at a Glance

RUBRIC Standards for Writing

A successful critical review should

• identify the work you are reviewing

• briefly tell what the work is about

• state your opinions clearly

• state the criteria by which you judged the work

• use enough details from the work to support your review

• summarize your opinion

Introduces the literary work and provides a focused interpretation

Introduction

Summarizes the interpretation

Conclusion

Explanation

Proof

Proof

Proof

BodySupports the interp-retation with evidence from the literary work

The critic should describe, and not prescribe.

Eugène Ionesco

The critic should describe, and not prescribe.

Eugène Ionesco

Writing Your Critical Review

Writing Your Critical Review1 Prewriting

Begin by choosing a literary work about

which you have a strong opinion. You

might choose a work you like or one you

strongly dislike.

Planning Your Critical Review

1. Identify the key elements of your subject. Consider the theme, characters, plot, and setting of the work you plan to review.

2. Establish criteria for evaluation. How did you decide what makes an element especially strong or weak? By stating that you believe the theme is expressed clearly through the actions of the characters, for example, you are establishing criteria.

Planning Your Critical Review

3. Analyze each element of your subject. Now examine each element and make some notes about the way the literary work handled that element. As you make your notes, be sure to list specific things in the work that support your opinion.

Element Critique Support

plot

character

Planning Your Critical Review

4. Choose a focus. Your review doesn’t need to evaluate every element in the work. After you have examined most elements, you can choose to focus on one or two. Look for strengths and weaknesses in each area you choose.

Writing Your Critical Review2 Drafting

Begin writing even if you haven’t worked out all the details of your opinion about the work.

Start out by identifying the title, author, and type of work, and state a general opinion of it.

Let your subject guide your organization.

Support your opinions with specific details or examples.

End by summing up your opinion.

Writing Your Critical Review3 Revising

TARGET SKILL

USING APPOSITIVES

You can use appositive phrases in your

review to include important details without

being wordy. An appositive phrase renames a

noun by clarifying it or giving additional

information about the noun.

Writing Your Critical Review4 Editing and Proofreading

TARGET SKILL

MODIFIER REPLACEMENT

Modifiers can help make your review specific

and interesting. Some modifiers function as

adjectives and some function as adverbs. Be

sure to place each modifier, whether it is a

word or a phrase, close to the word it modifies.