Essay No. 2: Critique
Length: 1200 words; Value: 20% of course gradeThis assignment asks you to analyse a text using the various evaluation and critique strategies we
will discuss in class. Your critique should include a brief summary of the article to show that
your comments are based on an accurate understanding of it. Your comments should address
both the accuracy and effectiveness of the argument made in the article.
Before you begin this assignment, make sure you have read the selection Critical Reading and
Critique on pages 48-75 in Selected Readings.
Choose one of the following articles:
Fat Acceptance: A Basic Primer, by Cynara Geissler (160-163 in your Selected
Readings manual)
Guns, Sex, and Education, by Jamie OMeara (posted on the course Moodle page)
Below are guidelines on how to approach this assignment:
Introduction
Give some background information about the article such as the authors name, the title, the year
(if known and if relevant), the issue it addresses, and whats important about the issue. Include a
brief summary (a few sentences only) of the authors thesis and main points and your perspective
(thesis) on the article.
Response in the Body of Your Essay
What claims do you agree with, and why? What do you disagree with, and why? If you
disagree, state your perspective on the issue and support any claims you make. Remember,
agreeing entirely with everything the author says will defeat the purpose of writing a critique.
Your task here is to enter into some sort of dialogue with the text. You may make concessions to
some parts of the source text, but you should consider things that you do not agree with.
Conclusion
Return to your overall perspective on the article and remind the reader of the main reasons why
you have this perspective.
Notice that I am not asking that you structure your critique exactly as the sample in Selected
Readings (A Critique of Charles Krauthammers The Moon We Left Behind on page 68-73).
That critique contains much more summary as well as background information on the author. It
also offers a few paragraphs of support for Krauthammers argument. Only after this does the
critique focus on the problems with Krauthammers argument. The sample critique is
significantly longer than the critique you are writing for this class.
Instead, condense your summary as I suggest above, and in the body of your essay examine some
of the problems with the source text. You may agree with some elements of the source, but your
essay should not be all agreement and restatement of what is in the source.
___
Your Analysis of the Source Text
When you are analyzing the source text, it would be helpful to keep a few main questions in
mind:
What is the authors purpose?
Is the author successful in achieving his or her purpose?
To what extent do you agree with the author?
Other questions to consider might include the following:
Who is the intended audience?
Which appeals of logos, ethos, or pathos are used in the essay?
Are these appeals successful?
Could the evidence be interpreted in a different way?
Is the argument sound? Do we question the logic or assumptions that underlie the
argument?
Can you see evidence of any logical fallacies?
Are terms properly defined?
Has anything important been left out?
Is the author using sources fairly?
Make sure that you have a clear and focussed thesis statement and that you provide specific
evidence/examples from the text to support your claims.
Important note: while the model student critique in the Critical Reading and Critique section
of Selected Readings does not contain page numbers when it refers to the Krauthammer essay,
the subject of the critique, it is appropriate to include page numbers whenever you provide
direct quotes from an article you are responding to. Cynara Geisslers article was published
in a textbook and has page numbers; Jamie OMearas article was also published in a textbook
and has page numbers from that textbook.
Treat the article as though you found it in the source text I found it in and not as an entry in a
course manual. This means that you should use the page numbers in the photocopied originals
and not the ones in the bottom right corner of the manuals pages. Publication details for
readings in the course manual are included for each reading. Geisslers article was obtained from
a book called Readers Choice: Essays for Thinking, Reading, and Writing. Publication details
for the article by Jamie OMeara can be found at the bottom of the first page of the pdf
document: the article is from a book called The Contemporary Reader.
Standard practice when writing essays is to provide page numbers not just for quotes and
paraphrase but also for summaries, but since you are responding to only one text (your primary
source) and you could have several general references to what is said in the article (without
quoting), I will not ask for page numbers for each statement that is a summary. However, when
you provide a direct quote from the primary text, you should include the page number for the
reference.
Your essay must be word processed and set in 12-point double-spaced type. Follow the MLA
style as explained in class. Remember to include a separate works cited page.
Please provide a word count at the bottom of your essay.
A Reminder about Sources/Avoiding Plagiarism
You are not required to do research for this essay, but if you do, remember that any secondary
sources you quote, paraphrase, or summarize in your essay must be properly referenced. This
means that you must name your source in two places: in the body of your essay and on the
works cited page. If you quote a source exactly, you must use quotation marks. If you put the
ideas into your own words, you must still identify the source by name and give a page
number if there is one. Sources must be referenced properly regardless of what kind of source
you have used: even a dictionary definition must be referenced.
Be advised that plagiarism is quite easy to detect, especially if it is from an online source.
Any assignment containing plagiarism will receive a grade of F (0 percent) and reported
to the Dean as per policy ST2. If you are not sure whether something should be referenced
or how you should reference it, you can ask your instructor (or a librarian or Learning Centre
tutor) for assistance.
Also, make sure that any sources you use are reliable and suitable for an academic essay.
Wikipedia is not considered a suitable academic source. Similarly, information you find in
personal blogs may not be considered reliable or scholarly.
The library website offers information about evaluating sources (see the English subject
guide). See also your handbook, A Canadian Writers Reference, for information on how to
evaluate and cite sources.
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