how to write a critical analysis- 17 steps - wikihow

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8/4/2014, ow to Write a Critical Analysis: 17 Steps - wikiHow

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How to Write a Critical AnalysisCritical Reading Writing an Effective Analysis Organizing the Review Sample Analyses

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.

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Identify the author's thesis.Determine what the author is arguing for or against.

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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.

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 fict ion or paintings, you

will need to ask yourself what evidence the author presents in an attempt to

explain his or her thesis.

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.

Part 1 of 3: Critical Reading
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysishttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#_note-2http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#_note-1http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#Sample_Analyseshttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#Organizing_the_Reviewhttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#Writing_an_Effective_Analysishttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#Critical_Readinghttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis


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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.

Balance positive an negative.[4]

Most critical reviews will be a mix of positive andnegative.

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.

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 st ill

mention common oppositions in your critical analysis.

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.

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.
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6 Do not focus on summary.You need to provide enough summary about the workfor your critique to have sensible context, but the majority of the essay should stillcontain your thoughts rather than the author's thoughts.

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Introduce the work being analyzed.[5]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.

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 strict ly negative.

Note that your thesis statement is technically part of your introduction.

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.

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.

Part 3 of 3: Organizing the Review
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5 Conclude with your final judgment.In your concluding paragraph, clearly restateyour 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.

Sample Research

Article Critique

Sample Historical

Critical Analysis

Sample Literary

Critical Analysis

1. !

http://www.tacoma.uw.edu/sites/default/files/global/documents/library/ho

wtowriteacriticalanalysis.pdf

2. !

http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/elejeune/critique.htm

3. !

http://www.wesley.edu/fileadmin/editors_images/Academics/Dept._Acad

emic_Resources/Writing_Handouts/General_Writing_Helps/Writing_a_

Critical_Analysis.pdf

4. !http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/critrev.html

5. !

http://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/82798/criticalreview.

pdf

Sample Analyses

Sources and Citations
http://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/82798/criticalreview.pdfhttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#_ref-5http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/critrev.htmlhttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#_ref-4http://www.wesley.edu/fileadmin/editors_images/Academics/Dept._Academic_Resources/Writing_Handouts/General_Writing_Helps/Writing_a_Critical_Analysis.pdfhttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#_ref-3http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/elejeune/critique.htmhttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#_ref-2http://www.tacoma.uw.edu/sites/default/files/global/documents/library/howtowriteacriticalanalysis.pdfhttp://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Critical-Analysis#_ref-1http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Literary-Critical-Analysishttp://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Literary-Critical-Analysishttp://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Historical-Critical-Analysishttp://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Historical-Critical-Analysishttp://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Research-Article-Critiquehttp://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Research-Article-Critique


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how to write a critical analysis- 17 steps - wikihow

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