Writing_a_Critical_Review

WritingaCriticalReviewSummaryandStrongResponseSummary/abstract:anessentialacademicskillStrongresponse/review:identifyandprobepointsinatext,byexamininghowapieceiswrittenandoftenbyinsertingyourownideasintothetext’sconversation.Youarecalledontodoyourowncriticalthinkingbygeneratingandassertingyourownresponsetothetext.Avarietyofways:RhetoricalcritiqueIdeascritiqueReflectionBlendedversionofallthreeoftheseCriticalReading1.RhetoricalCriticalReview:What:Analyzesatext’srhetoricalstrategiesandevaluatehoweffectivelytheauthorachieveshisorherintendedgoals.How:Inwriting,youdiscusshowatextisconstructed,whatrhetoricalstrategiesitemploys,andhoweffectivelyitappealstothelogic,credibilityoftheauthorandthereaders’emotions,sympathy,andvalues.Youcanagreewiththestrategies,showingtheeffectivenessofthetext’srhetoricalstrategies,ordisagree,discussingwhatisineffectiveorproblematicaboutthesestrategies,oryoucanpointoutboththestrengthsandweaknessesofthetext’srhetoricalstrategies.Questions-askingStrategiesAskquestionsaboutanyofthefollowing:AudienceandPurpose:Whoistheintendedaudience?Whatisthewriter’spurpose?Howwelldoesthetextsuititsparticularaudienceandpurpose?Author’sstyle:Howdoestheauthor’slanguagechoicesandsentencelengthandcomplexitycontributetotheimpactofthetext?ThelogicoftheargumentHowwellhastheauthorcreatedareasonable,logicallystructuredargument?Useofevidence:Howreputable,relevant,current,sufficient,andrepresentativeistheevidence?TheCredibilityoftheauthorHowwelldoestheauthorpersuadereadersthathe/sheisknowledgeable,reliable,credible,andtrustworthy?AppealtothereadersHowwelldoesthewriterappealtoreaders’emotions,sympathy,andvalues?Author’sangleofvisionHowmuchdoestheauthor’sperspectivedominatethetext,influencingwhatisemphasizedoromitted?Youwouldprobablynotchooseallofthesequestions,butwouldselectthreeorfourtohighlight.Yourgoalistomakeinsightfulobservationsabouthowatextworksrhetoricallyandtosupportyourpointswithexamplesandshortquotationsfromthetext.2.IdeaCriticalReviewWhat:focusesontheideasatstakeinthetext,oneperspectiveonanissueoronesolutiontoaproblemorquestion.How:examineshowtheideasoftheoriginalauthormeshorconflictwithyourown.Basedonyourcriticalthinking,personalexperiences,andresearch,towhatextentdoyouagreeordisagreewiththewriter’sthesis?Youcouldsupportallorsomeofthetext’sideas,whilealsosupplyingadditionalevidenceorextendingtheargument,perhapsapplyingitinanewcontext.Youcouldchallengethewriter’sideas,pointoutflawsandholesinthewriter’sthinking,andprovidecounterexamplesandrebuttals.Youmightagreewithsomeideasanddisagreewithothersinthetext.Youspeakfromyourownexperience,background,reading,andthoughtfulwrestingwiththewriter’sideas.Question-askingStrategiesWheredoIagreewiththisauthor?Whatnewinsightshasthistextgivenme?WheredoIdisagreewiththisauthor?Whatpointshastheauthoroverlookedoromitted?Whatnewquestionsorproblemshasthetextraised?(supportoroppose)Whatarethelimitationsorconsequencesofthistext?(supportoroppose)Dialecticalthinking:ThisotherwriterhasarguedA,butIamgoingtoargueB.Yourownviewresultsfromhavingwrestledwiththeviewsofothers.Thiskindofthinkingisessentialforacademicwritingandresearch,wherewriterssearchforthebestsolutionstoproblems.3.ReflectiveResponseWhat:introspective,invitesyoutoconnectthereadingtoyourownpersonalexperiences,beliefs,andvalues.How:howthereadinghasaffectedyoupersonally—whatmemoriesithastriggered,whatpersonalexperiencesitrelatesto,whatvaluesandbeliefsithaschallenged,whatdilemmasitposes,andsoforth.Itismoreexploratory,open-endedthantheabovetwo.Question-askingStrategiesWhatpersonalmemoriesorexperiencesdoesthistexttrigger?Whatpersonalvaluesorbeliefsdoesthistextreinforceorchallenge?Whatquestions,dilemmas,orproblemsdoesthistextraiseforme?Whatnewinsights,ideas,orthoughtsofmyownhavebeenstimulatedbythistext?So,ithighlightsyourownpersonalexperienceandbeliefsinconversationwithtext.Tosumup,Rhetoricalreviewfocusesonanalyzingthewaythetextworksrhetorically.Ideareviewfocusesontakingastanceontheideasatstakeinthetext.Reflectiveresponsefocusesonthepersonaldimensionofreadingthetext.4.BlendedReviewTheboundariesamongthethreeoverlapandyoudon’thavetoconfineyourselftoapuretypebutcanmixandmatchdifferentkindsofreview.Youcananalyzeandreviewatext’srhetoricalstrategies,showhowthetextchallengesyourownpersonalvaluesandbeliefs,andalsodevelopyourownstanceonthetext’sideas.Inwiring,youcanemphasizewhatismostimportanttoyou,whilenotlimitingyourselftoonlyoneapproach.PreparationforReviewwriting:1)IntroducestopicandsetscontextForexample,Mysisterhasone.Mybrotherhasone.Ihaveone.Justtakeastrolldowntownandyouwillseehowcommonplaceitisforsomeonetobedecoratedwithtattoosandhungwithpiercings.Infact,hundredsofteenagers,everyday,allowthemselvestobeetcheduponorpokedinto.Whatisthecauseofthisphenomenon?Whydosomemanyteenagersgettattoos?So,forthearticleyouaregoingtoreviewfortheassignment,trytosetcontextorbackgroundforthetopicorissuediscussedinthetext.2)SummaryofMartin’sarticle3)ThesisstatementAlthoughMartin’sanalysishasrelevanceandsomestrengths,Ithinkheover-generalizesandover-romanti