Critiquing an Argument

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Critiquing an Argument
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An Argument

• An Argument (Review)
• 1) Tries to change the readers attitudes or
  beliefs.
• 2) Tries to get the reader to do something based
  on that change.
• 3) Deals with an issuea reflection of attitudes
  and opinions, a point of disagreement, a
  statement of opposing points of view.

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A Critique

• A critique is a point by point evaluation of an
  essay.
• A critique should focus on the central idea and
  the main points of the essay being
  evaluatedjudging the logic, accuracy, and
  validity of the central idea and each supporting
  point.
• A critique should also evaluate the overall
  argument for style, target audience, and overall
  effectiveness.
• A critique should be written mostly in the
  students own words, but detailed with examples
  from the target essay, documented with
  quotations, and written using 3rd person pronouns
  and present tense verbs.

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Organization of a Critique

• I. Introduction
• a) identifies title, author, general subject
• b) identifies central idea (claim)
• c) identifies points which support the central
  idea
• d) gives an overall judgment of the entire
  argument

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Organization of a Critique (continued)

• II. Body Paragraph
• a) each body paragraph should give details and
  examples about one supporting point
• b) each point should be evaluated according to
  logic
• c) each point should be evaluated according to
  accuracy
• d) each point should be evaluated according to
  validity
• III. Body Paragraph
• IV. Body Paragraph

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Organization of a Critique, continued

• V. Conclusion
• brings it all together by relating the points to
  the central idea and giving an overall judgment
  of the effectiveness of the whole
• identifies the authors target audience
• evaluates the essays style
• gives at least one example of a particularly
  effective, or particularly inept, section of the
  essay being critiqued

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Part One Introduction

• A critique should begin with a statement that
  identifies the title, the author, and the works
  general subject.
• The second sentence in your introduction should
  state the works central idea (claim).
• The claim should be followed by statements
  describing the organization of the work, telling
  what sections the work is divided into, the topic
  of each, and the order in which these sections
  come.
• The final sentence in your introduction should be
  your overall evaluation of the argument as a
  whole.

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Part Two The Body Paragraphs

• Each body paragraph should focus on one
  supporting point of the writers argument. Each
  body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence
  that identifies the point and gives an overall
  evaluation of the point as a support for the
  writers claim.
• Details about the point should follow (What kind
  of support is given for the point Direct or
  indirect? How/why?).
• An example, in the form of a quotation, should
  come next. At least one quotation is needed in
  each body paragraph.
• Finally, the point should be judged specifically
  for its logic (does it make sense?), accuracy (is
  it correct?), and validity (does it apply to the
  claim?).

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Part Three Conclusion

• The conclusion brings the entire critique
  together by connecting the central idea (the
  writers claim) with his/her supporting points.
• You should begin by restating your overall
  evaluation of the whole argument.
• Next the claim and supporting points should be
  reviewed and related to the overall argument.
• You should identify the writers target audience.
  
• You should comment on the essays style.
• Finally, you should give an example of an
  especially effective or a particularly inept
  section of the essay.

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Critiquing an Argument

• Step One Summarize the Argument (see Section 2)
• Carefully read the persuasive essay.
• Annotate the essay, noting the writers claim and
  his/her points of support.
• Make a formal outline (see St. Martins, pages
  571-575) of the argument put forward by the
  writer in the persuasive essay.
• Choose quotes from the essay to use as examples.
• Expand your formal outline into a summary, using
  Formal MLA Style.

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Critiquing an Argument, continued

• Step 2 Expand the Summary into a Critique
• Re-read the persuasive essay.
• Re-annotate the essay, evaluating the claim and
  supporting points as to logic, accuracy, and
  validity.
• Comment on the effectiveness of the argument as a
  whole, the style, and the target audience.
• Expand your summary outline into a critique
  outline.
• Expand your summary essay into a critique essay
  using Formal MLA Style.

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An Example

• An example of a critique of an argument,
  including a sample Formal Outline for Paper 2 and
  a Paper 2 essay using Formal MLA Style, is
  provided in Section 3.
• To view the example, please click on the sample3
  hyperlink directly below the link for this
  presentation.
• Pay special attention to the parenthetical quote
  citations and the Work Cited page. Both must be
  completed correctly in order for Paper 2 to be
  accepted.

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A Critique Checklist

• A Critique Checklist is provided in Section 3,
  directly below the Assignment for Paper 2.
• You should go through this checklist carefully,
  applying the questions to your own critique
  before you submit it to your instructor.
• Remember Paper 2 is a formal essay. You must use
  3rd Person pronouns and write in the present
  tense about the work being summarized.
• You must use parenthetical citations and do a
  Work Cited page.

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