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Guidelines for Writing Critiques
A critique is a brief report of what the original author actually said
along with your evaluation of it as a piece of writing and as a source of quality information.
1. Read the item to be critiqued carefully to identify its structure and determine the purpose
for which it was written in order to determine the main idea and to identify major details
in support of the main idea as well as details that are less important.
2. Annotate in the margins in order to easily locate your first impression of important
details. If you tend to use highlighting or underlining, save it for the next step.
3. Reread the article carefully and divide it into specific stages of thought. These sections
of thought will not necessarily be a single paragraph; instead, there may be several
paragraphs about a single main idea. Continue to annotate in the margins as you go.
Your annotations should include a very brief summation of each main idea and should
also include your reactions to the content of the article. Use your highlighter to identify
key terms or especially important details.
4. Write a one sentence summation of each of the stages of thought that you identify.
5. Now, consider the writing itself. Is it well-written? Does it appear to be a quality source
of information on the topic presented? (hint: expert?) Is the language too easy, too
difficult, or about right for the average reader? (use yourself as an example of the average
reader) If it cites sources, are they credible? If it doesn’t, would the article benefit from
some additional evidence? What else?
6. Finally, consider your reaction now that you have read it at least twice. Do you agree or
disagree with it? Are there parts you agree with while you disagree with other parts?
Why do you feel as you do? Is the author biased? How does that affect your reaction?
Does the piece adequately consider the target audience? What else?
7. Write a thesis statement for your critique. This will be a one or two sentence synopsis of
the basic purpose of the article as well as your reaction to it. How you approach this will
be determined by the article’s purpose. For example, if it is persuasive, explain the
author's point of view and conclusion in the thesis along with your response to it. If it is
descriptive or informative, present your reaction to the subject of the description or
information and the key points about it.
8. Write the first draft of your critique. As with a summary, always include the title of the
piece and the author's name in the first sentence of a critique. The thesis will be in its
normal position for an essay—at the end of the first paragraph (unless it is a very long
critique). Using your list of one-sentence summations from step 4, add significant details
only as needed to create a summary of the article. Minor details should be generalized.
For example, Twelfth Night, A Comedy of Errors, and A Mid-summer Night’s Dream
might be generalized as Shakespearean comedies. Use as few words as possible to
convey the necessary meaning in the summary portion of the critique.
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9. Compare your summary section to the original to make sure you have stayed true to the
author's intent and have included the main ideas with limited but adequate details. Make
content adjustments as needed.
10. Unlike a summary, you are required to make editorial comments in a critique. In other
words, you must agree or disagree and analyze both the author, the writing itself, and the
contents of the piece of writing.
11. Add your reaction and evaluations to the summary. This will be a section that follows
the summary. You might even select specific, small quotes to support your claims about
language, source information, and your reactions.
12. Revise your critique to make sure it flows well. Add transitions, combine sentences, and
check for punctuation and grammar errors as needed to polish the final draft.
13. Don’t forget to give your critique a title—NOT the article’s title; rather create your own
title that helps the reader understand where you are going in your critique.
Some critique title examples:
 Is Sex Really the Hidden Meaning Behind Shakespeare’s Use of Flowers in Hamlet?
 When Education Went Backwards: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
 Dying to be Beautiful: A Critical Look at the Tragedy of Youth in Marge Piercy’s
“Barbie Doll”
 The Truth Is Far More Than Inconvenient