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Page1of4CRITIQUEESSAYWhatisacritique?Acritiqueisananalysisandanevaluationofatext.To“critique”atextdoesnotmeantoanalyzeinanegativeway.Acritiqueofatextcanevaluateboththenegativeandthepositiveaspectsofthetext.Acritiqueisnotmerelyasummary.Whileashortsummaryisimportant,mostofacritiqueshouldbeanalyzingandevaluating.Howdoyouanalyzeandevaluateatext?Youranalysiswillhelpyouandyourreadersgainanunderstandingofthetext.Toanalyzethetext,youshouldaskyourselfseveralquestions:·Whatisthemainpointtheauthorismaking?·Whyishe/shemakingthispoint?·Whataudienceistheauthorwritingfor?·Howdoestheauthorarguehis/herpoint?·Howdoestheauthorsupporthis/herargument?Toevaluateatext,judgehowwelltheauthormakeshis/herargument.Thisisthepartthatcommentsonthestrengthsandusefulnessofthetext,aswellasitsweaknessesoromissions.Asyouevaluate,youmightaskyourselfthefollowingquestions:·Doestheauthor’sargumentmakesense?·Isthetexteasytounderstandorisitconfusing?·Doestheauthorbackuphis/herpointwithevidence?·Doestheauthortakeopposingviewpointsintoaccount?·Istheauthorreliable?Doeshe/sheusereliablesources?TIPSFORANALYSISANDEVALUTATION:1.Takenotesasyoureadthetext.2.Highlightorunderlinethemostimportantpoints.Howdoyouactuallywritethecritique?Whenyouwriteyourcritique,youmightstructureyourpaperasfollows:INTRODUCTIONIntroducethetextyouarecritiquingandprovideashortsummaryofthattext.Yoursummarycanbeasshortasafewsentencesandisusuallynolongerthanaparagraph.Concludeyourintroductionwithyourthesisstatement,whichshouldstateyourmainpoint(s).BODYInthemainbodyofyourpaperyoushouldaddressyourmainpointsofcritique,pointingtospecificexamplesfromthetext.Thisiswhereyoucanshowhowwellyouhaveanalyzedandevaluatedthetext.TheanswerstothequestionsyouaskedyourselfPage2of4duringyouranalysisandevaluationofthetextcouldbegoodpointstoguideyourdiscussion.Whenyoumakeyourmainpointsofcriticism(positiveornegative)youhavetheopportunitytodiscussyourownopinionsandreactiontothetext.However,youmustremembertosupportyourpointswithevidencefromthetext.Whencritiquingthetext,avoidusingthefirstandsecondperson(I,we,you)unlessyourprofessorsaysotherwise.CONCLUSIONYoucanconcludeyourcritiquebyrestatingyourmainpointsanddiscussingtheirsignificance.Donotbringupanynewpointsorinformationinyourconclusion.TIPSFORWRITINGYOURCRITIQUE1.Makealooseoutlineorlistofthemainpointsyouwanttodiscussbeforeyoubeginwriting.2.Doublecheckyourassignmentsheettomakesureyouarefulfillingyourprofessor’srequirements.3.Rememberthatyourcritiqueofthetextismoreimportantthanthesummary.***SampleCritiqueEssayACriticalReviewofMan’sSearchforMeaningbyLauraBeresIntroductionInMan’sSearchforMeaning,ViktorE.FrankltellstheverypersonalstoryofhisexperienceasaprisonerinaconcentrationcampduringtheHolocaust.Hepresentsthisstoryintheformofanessayinwhichheshareshisargumentsandanalysisasadoctorandpsychologistaswellasaformerprisoner.ThispaperwillreviewFrankl’sstoryaswellashismainarguments,andwillevaluatethequalityofFrankl’swritingandfocusonanyareasofweaknesswithinthestory.SummaryThissectioncontainsasummaryofMan'sSearch.FranklbeginshisbookbystatingthathispurposeinwritingthebookisnottopresentfactsanddetailsoftheHolocaust,buttoprovideapersonalaccountoftheeverydaylifeofaprisonerlivinginaconcentrationcamp.Hestates,“Thistaleisnotconcernedwiththegreathorrors,whichhavealreadybeendescribedoftenPage3of4enough(thoughlessoftenbelieved),but…itwilltrytoanswerthisquestion:Howwaseverydaylifeinaconcentrationcampreflectedinthemindoftheaverageprisoner?”(21).Franklthengoesontodescribethethreestagesofaprisoner’spsychologicalreactionstobeingheldcaptiveinaconcentrationcamp.Thefirstphase,whichoccursjustaftertheprisonerisadmittedtothecamp,isshock.Thesecondphase,occurringoncetheprisonerhasfallenintoaroutinewithinthecamp,isoneofapathy,or“thebluntingoftheemotionsandthefeelingthatonecouldnotanymore”(42).Thethirdphase,whichoccursaftertheprisonerhasbeenliberatedfromthecamp,isaperiodof“depersonalization”,inwhich“everythingappearsunreal,unlikely,asinadream”(110).Inthisphase,releasedprisonersalsofeelasenseof“bitternessanddisillusionment”whenreturningtotheirformerlives(113).Frankldescribeseachofthesephasesusingpsychologicaltheoryandprovidespersonalexperiencestoexemplifyeachofthestages.Author’sArgumentsAsdescribedabove,Frankl’smainpurposeforwritingthisbookistopresentandanalyzetheaverageprisoner’spsychologicalreactionstotheeverydaylifeofaconcentrationcamp.Histhreemainargumentsarehispresentationandanalysisofeachofthepsychologicalstagesthattheaverageconcentrationcampprisonerexperiences:shock,apathyanddepersonalization.Hebaseshisanalysesofeachofthesestagesontheactionsoftheprisonersandhisownpersonalthoughtsandreactionsasheexperiencedlifeinaconcentrationcamp.Forexample,Franklarguesthatthesecondphaseofapathyforces“theprisoner’slifedowntoaprimitivelevel”(47)inwhich“alleffortsandallemotionswerecenteredononetask:preservingone’sownlifeandthatoftheotherfellow”(47).Hebasesthistheoryoneventshewitnessedwhilelivinginthecamphimself,andstates,“Itwasnaturalthatthedesireforfoodwasthemajorprimitiveinstinctaroundwhichmentallifecentere