missy

Essay text:

Writing a critical paper requires two steps: critical reading and critical writing. Critical reading: Identify the author's thesis and purpose Analyze the structure of the passage by identifying all main ideas Consult a dictionary or encyclopedia to understand material that is unfamiliar to you Make an outline of the work or write a description of it Write a summary of the work Determine the purpose which could be To inform with factual material To persuade with appeal to reason or emotions To entertain (to affect people's emotions) Evaluate the means by which the author has accomplished his purpose If the purpose is to inform, has the material been presented clearly, accurately, with order and coherence? If the purpose is to persuade, look for evidence, logical reasoning, contrary evidence If the purpose was to entertain, determine how emotions are affected: does it make you laugh, cry, angry? Why did it affect you? Consider the following questions: How is the material organized? Who is the intended audience? What are the writer's assumptions about the audience? What kind of language and imagery does the author use? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR CRITICAL ESSAY After the passage under analysis has been carefully studied, the critique can be drafted using this sample outline...