English Composition I
Professor Jennifer Martin
Critical Analysis Essay Assignment
Becoming a critical reader is an essential skill in college. Not only do you have to read an immense amount
of information in college, but you also have to become critical of everything you read. You have to be able to
sort facts from opinions, identify author bias, and develop your own perspective on a limitless number of
issues.
In your college courses, you are often asked to read and analyze text, and by text, I am referring to books,
articles, websites, and even movies. You are then often asked to write papers in which you critically analyze the
text. These papers are known as critical analyses. A critical analysis judges ideas, recommendations, or
proposals. It assesses whether an argument is sound or whether an informative text is accurate and useful. It
answers questions such as, “Do the facts support the writer’s claims? Is the writer fair and reasonable? Is the
recommended action practical and more effective than other actions?” There is a sample student critical
analysis essay on pages 199-202 of your S&S Handbook.
For this assignment, you will read and write a critical analysis on one (1) of the following persuasive texts:


“The Fast-Food Factories: McJobs are Bad for Kids” by Amitai Etzioni, Norton Mix pp.
177-183
“The Case for Legalizing Marijuana” by Gore Vidal, Norton Mix, pp. 184-188
Critical analysis essays do not include lengthy summaries of the sources they are analyzing. Instead, essays of
this type analyze the effectiveness of a text. Therefore, your essay will mainly include a critique of the
effectiveness of one of the essays listed above.
The Writing Process
Follow the steps in the writing process to compose this essay:
1. First, critically read both of the essays listed above. Being a critical reader means that you carefully
consider and evaluate the text you are reading. You should use active reading strategies as you
read—i.e., slow your pace, annotate as you read, and ask questions as you read.
2. Select one of the above readings to focus your critical analysis essay on. You will probably want to pick
the essay you feel most strongly about—i.e., the essay you agreed with or disagreed with the most.
Consider how well (or not well) the writer crafted his argument. In particular, is the support the writer
gives for his claims reasonable/sufficient? Are there missing facts, viewpoints, or interpretations? Who
would disagree with this text? Freewrite your answers to these questions.
3. Review your freewriting and consider how to shape your raw material into an engaging essay. Start by
determining the point you want to make and drafting your thesis statement. Your thesis statement
for a critical analysis essay should state the overall evaluation of the text you are critically analyzing.
Next, determine your major supporting points and organize your ideas into an outline. Refer to the
“Frame for a Textual Analysis” on pages 197-198 of your S&S Handbook for suggestions on how to
outline your analysis essay. As you create your outline, keep in mind that your analysis essay must
include an introductory paragraph (in which you state your thesis), a brief paragraph that includes
summary information about the text you are analyzing, at least two (2) body paragraphs in which
you support your thesis with evidence, and a concluding paragraph.
English Composition I
Professor Jennifer Martin
4. Refer to your outline as your write your first draft. Make sure your introduction ends with a clear
thesis statement and each of your body paragraphs begin with a clear topic sentence. Use the
“Sentence and Paragraph Guides” on pages 198-199 for ideas of how to start you sentences/paragraphs.
You should also refer to the sample student analysis essay on pages 199-202 of your S&S Handbook for
more ideas on how to draft an essay of this type.
5. Take some time away from your first draft (at least a day) and then read it over with “fresh eyes.” Think
of ways that you can revise your writing to make it more clear and detailed. Consider whether you need
to include more specific examples from the source text, or whether you need to reorganize your points.
Pay special attention to your thesis to be sure it accurately conveys the central point of your analysis,
and make sure that each of your body paragraphs begins with a clear topic sentence. Participate in peer
review with other students who read/critically analyzed the same text as you. Listen to the reactions
and the feedback from your classmates. Make additional revisions based on the feedback you receive.
6. After you have revised your essay, read your essay over several times to proofread for mistakes in
grammar, word choice, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. It is also very important to catch any
citation mistakes you may have made. Refer to chapter 18 in your S&S Handbook for advice on how to
correctly quote, paraphrase, and summarize text.
Essay format & Due dates
Your essay must be MLA-formatted (consult class handouts and your S&S Handbook for more information on
MLA style). Your essay should also include a creative, attention-grabbing title. The final draft of your essay
should be at least three (3), double-spaced pages in length and must include a Works Cited page with citation
information for the essay you critically analyzed.
Due date for final draft: ____________________________________
* Please attach all pre-writing and rough drafts when submitting your final draft.