How to Write a
C ritic a l R espons e
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WRITING TUTORS
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Writing a Critical Response: A Guide for Effective Analysis and Argument, Study notes of History
A step-by-step guide on how to write an effective critical response. It covers the structure of an introduction, effective use of quotes, summarizing an article, analyzing an author's argument, and writing a conclusion. The document also includes examples and weak responses for better understanding.
What you will learn
- How should you analyze an author's argument in a critical response?
- What is the role of quotes in a critical response?
- How should you introduce an article in a critical response?
- What should be included in the conclusion of a critical response?
- What are the key elements of an effective critical response?
Typology: Study notes
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How to Write a
C ritica l R esponse
WE ARE
This PowerPoint is the property of Humber College’s Writing Centre and cannotbe reproduced without the consent of the Writing Centre - 2015 WRITING TUTORS
What is a Critical Response?
An opportunity to respond to a specific piece of writing.
How Do I Develop My Response?
- R ea d a ctively
- W ith a pencil in ha nd, highlight, underline, a nd identify importa nt elements of the writing tha t you wa nt to respond to.
- Determine the a uthor’s ma in point (the thesis)
- Determine your position on the topic
- Look for elements tha t will support your response
Ok, great.
Now, how do I write this thing?!
General opening statement
Relevant background information
Author’s thesis statement
Author’s supporting point(s)
Your thesis statement
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Sample: Effective Introduction
In J ohn S mith’s a rticle, The Failings of a Student, students are
described as bored and distracted in class. They pass notes to each other, play with their cell phones, tune out the teacher, hand in assignments late, and do as little as possible to prepare for tests. These students don’t try because they have no motivation to try. Even worse, they blame teachers when they fail. However, these students are shortchanging themselves. Rather than throwing their tuition fees away, as they do when they fail courses because of their lack of motivation, they should take responsibility for their own learning because they will gain independence, learn leadership, and feel pride in their accomplishments.
Sample: Effective S umma ry
“Our S chools Need to Help Our B oys B ecome Men” by C a lvin W hite is a n a rticle tha t wa s published in the Globe a nd Ma il on S eptember 9 th^ of 2013 to cover the growing a ca demic a nd support ga p between boys a nd their fema le peers. W hite’s a rticle goes a good job of ra ising the issue of the la ck of support services ta rgeted to boys.
Things to notice:
“Our S chools Need to Help Our B oys B ecome Men” by C a lvin W hite is a n a rticle tha t wa s published in the Globe a nd Ma il on S eptember 9 th^ of 2013 to cover the growing a ca demic a nd support ga p between boys a nd their fema le peers. W hite’s a rticle goes a good job of ra ising the issue of the la ck of support services ta rgeted to boys.
- The a uthor a nd title of the a rticle a re mentioned
- It’s direct, but to the point
- Mentions the a uthor’s thesis
- Limits persona l opinion a nd invites the rea der to wa nt to rea d more
Weak Example # In the a rticle “Don’t B la me the ea ter” written by Da vid Zinczenko, Zinczenko sta tes tha t the fa st food industry should not be a ble to ma rket product off to teens without a wa rning la bel. He thinks this beca use in his pa st he wa s not sure wha t wa s in his food? a nd how much ca lories he wa s ea ting beca use of the given a fforda ble prices. Throughout the a rticle he ta lks a bout the nega tives in wha t could ha ve ha ppened to him. How could these effected him if he were to continue his ea ting ha bits. Furthermore wha t could ha ve been the results of this, but instea d he took a hea lth wa y out.
- Using what you know, how could this be improved?
- If this were your own writing, how would you revise and edit it?
- If you could talk to the author of this sample, what questions woul you still have after reading the summary?
- What was missing? What else needs to be said?
Analysis
- A few pa ra gra phs
- Discuss HOW the author presented their argument/main point
- Comment on the validity of the author’s point of view
- Identify and review the author’s purpose
- Are they… persuading? explaining? informing?
- Use quotations, add support, and reference all of the information above
- Comment on the author’s persuasive techniques
Sample: Effective Ana lysis #
The a udience of students a nd tea chers ma y not find this a rticle very stimula ting, a nd will proba bly refer to it a s nothing more tha n a n opinion. As a rea der the messa ge in the a rticle, on E dmundson’s opinion a bout online educa tion wa s clea r, however the a rticle fa iled to deliver a ctua l fa cts a nd evidence to his a rguments. E dnumdson did offer ma ny persona l opinions on why he feel online educa tion isn’t the best form of lea rning, but no a rgument wa s ba cked up by a ny studies, surveys or opinions of a nyone else besides E dmundson himself, which ma kes it ha rd to convince a n a udience tha t online educa tion is not a s effective a s in cla ss.
Notice:
- Personal opinion is not used
- The author comments on how the piece was written
- It supports claims with evidence
- Discusses the author’s support to prove or justify the claim
Sample: Effective Ana lysis # S ince the a rticle wa s written by a professor from Ha rva rd University, it is directed to a more ma ture a udience. The a rticle uses la ngua ge like, dexterity, defia nt, dumbfounded, a nd impetus etc to specifica lly express how he feels. The a rticle wa s written in a logica l ma nner a nd progressed down the pa ge in a structured la yout. Lots of loa ded la ngua ge wa s used to show his opinion on the nega tive a ttributes of students, words like, hurt, lost, sa d a nd dumbfounded were used to prove his points. S cholzma n uses a big compa rison between the old a nd new genera tion throughout the a rticle, a s well to pa int a clea r picture to the rea der of the differences between these two different worlds. The tone of the a rticle is a brupt a nd stra ight to the point, not giving much brea thing room towa rds students.
Notice:
- Personal opinion is not used
- The author comments on how the piece was written
- It supports claims with evidence
- Discusses the author’s support to prove or justify the claim
Weak Example #
Throughout the a rticle Da vid Zinczenko expresses his opinion on the fa st food industry from his persona l experiences a nd provides fa cts a nd exa mples to prove how obesity is continuing to grow through time beca use of fa lse judgement a nd a fforda ble food. Fa lse judgement of food is becoming a big thing in the food industry a nd Zinczenko proves this by showing how a n a vera ge sa la d a t McDona lds is norma lly 150 ca lories not knowing tha t everything involved with tha t sa la d is not a dvertised with it, thus could be possibly ma king people even bigger without them seeing it. He a lso proves tha t even though its a fforda ble for mostly teens it’s not in fa ct the sa fest from how much the cost for hea lth ca re ha s gone up for dia betes. Furthermore, bringing up toba cco a ds a nd how much more efficient they ta ke their business. They a ctua lly show how the hea lth issues tha t could ha ppen wherea s fa st food ha s no wa rning la bels towa rds obesity. This a rticle met expecta tions beca use Zinczenko proved a lot of deta il a nd informa tion to support his fa cts a nd exa mples.
- How could this be improved?
- If this were your own writing, how would you revise and edit it?
- If you could talk to the author of this sample, what questions would you still have after reading this analysis?
- What is missing? What else needs to be said in the analysis?
Weak Example #
E dmundson, uses pa st tea ching experiences in his a rticle to support the cla im which is va lid. “C a n they gra sp the concepts of S ha kespea re’s plots? If not, it’s worth a dding a well-ma de film version of the next pla y to the sylla bus. (E dmundson, 2012, pa ra 8) using tha t a s evidence is supporting the cla im “online educa tion is one-size-fits-a ll endea vor (E dmundson, 2012, pa ra 12).” The writer ha s persua ded the rea der into believing tha t online courses a re ma de for selective people a nd proves his points in virtua l cla ssrooms a s a better route.
- How could this be improved?
- If this were your own writing, how would you revise and edit it?
- If you could talk to the author of this sample, what questions would you still have after reading this analysis?
- What is missing? What else needs to be said in the analysis?