Q3 English Reviewer

by amadeaa

Compose an Argumentative Essay

An Argumentative Essay is a writing piece meant to persuade someone to think the
way you do. It is a type of essay that presents arguments about both sides of an issue.
It could be that both sides are equally balanced, or it could be that one side is presented
more forcefully than the other. It all depends on the writer and what side he/she
supports the most.

Structure of an Argumentative Essay

Creating an Introduction and Thesis The argumentative essay begins with an
engaging introduction that presents the general topic, give background information of
the argument, outline the evidence, and state the thesis. The thesis typically appears
somewhere in the introduction and states the writer's point of view.

› Avoid forming a thesis based on negative claim. For example, "The hourly minimum
wage is not high enough for the average worker to live on." This is probably a true
statement but arguments should make a positive case that affirms something. Instead of
arguing something "is not...", an argument essay is stronger when it asserts something
"is..." Returning to the example above, a stronger thesis could focus on how the hourly
wage is low or insufficient.

Body paragraphs This part consists of three (3) or more paragraphs that explain the
reasons why you support your thesis. Each paragraph covers different idea or piece of
evidence and contains a topic sentence which explains why the reader should agree
with your position. The body paragraphs back up your claims with examples, research,
statistics, studies and text citations.

Conclusion This one paragraph restates your thesis and summarizes all the
arguments made in your body paragraphs. A good conclusion appeals to the reader's
emotions. In some cases, writers use personal anecdotes explaining how the topic
personally affects them.

Steps to Writing a Great Argumentative Essay

1. Research Before writing an argumentative essay, read and know more about your
argument.

2. State your proposition Define a short proposition or thesis statement as this is

important to help you concentrate and be focused on your topic. Make sure that the
statement is making a debatable assertion.

3. Think about the opposition Always remember that someone somewhere will
disagree with your opinion. Your objective is to anticipate what someone who is
opposed to your argument may say and to counter and overcome their objections by
noting the following subsequently

› Who may disagree with me?

› What points will they disagree with?

› How strong will the opposition be?

› How can I refute their opinions?

› Which points are the most debatable?

4. Structure your argument Think of your essay in terms of paragraphs, with each
paragraph addressing a separate element of the argument following a good
argumentative essay writing structure.

5 Types of Argument Claim that Can Drive Your Essay

1. Fact This technique presents the argument, whether true or false, clearly, and
concisely. It asks you to answer the question with a "Yes" or "No" that supports the
facts.
2. Definition This technique gives meaning to a concept that forms the argument
through the dictionary definition of what you are arguing, plus your interpretation of it.
3. Value This technique gives importance to the value of your stance. It usually asks
you to choose between things, ideas, beliefs, or actions and explain why you did so.
4. Cause and Effect This technique presents the causes of the problem in your
argument and its effects.
5. Policy This technique appeals to the reader's emotions by stirring up the reader's
thinking about why they should care about your stance and what they should do about it
after reading.

The Argument Claims Can be Presented Using 3 Approaches

1. Classical | Aristotelian This is the most popular strategy for making an argument
because it is the simplest line of thinking. Present the main argument, state your
opinion, and do your best to convince the reader why your stance is the right one.
2. Rogerian | Common Ground The writer acknowledges the opposing side of the
argument with the assumption you and the readers share common ideas, beliefs, and
arguments. Hence, the writer's task is to identify these commonalities and use them to
argue further. This type of argument is effective for polarizing topics, as it acknowledges
both sides and presents the middle ground.
3. Toulmin Present your claim, present grounds to back up that claim, and justify that
the grounds are linked to the claim. This type of argument is also effective for polarizing
topics, but rather than present both sides, it presents one, hinging particularly on facts
presented in a way that makes a claim difficult to argue with.

Critique
A critique is a careful analysis of an argument to determine what is said, how well the
points are made, what assumptions underlie the argument, what issues are overlooked,
and what implications are drawn from such observations. It is a systematic, yet personal
response and evaluation of what you read.
Moreover, critiquing a short story usually takes the form of an essay. It is an in-depth
evaluation of the story for the purpose of giving the reading public insight into the story.
Writing a critique requires you to reassemble the elements in such a way that your
intended audience has a better understanding of the story's strengths, weaknesses, and
highlights.

Several Criteria on How to Write a Critique Paper

Audience Students evaluate the appropriateness of an item to the audience. For
instance, outstanding critique papers show the weaknesses and strengths of the article
or the object under evaluation. Besides, they contain ways to improve the source and fit
the readers' needs discussed in critique essays.
Information Critique essays examine the usefulness of the material under analysis.
In particular, one considers if the information makes sense to the audience or
contributes to existing knowledge. This process on how to write a critique paper helps to
determine if the information expresses the intended meaning.
Logic Learners examine if specific information makes sense to readers. Possible
factors to consider may include conceivable jumps in logic, among other weaknesses,
As a result, this criterion determines the overall quality of a piece of work under review.
Bias Critique essays may focus on the balance between facts and fiction. Basically,
the criterion applies where two sides of an argument exist. In this case, students
determine the vagueness of the Information presented when organizing critique papers.

How to Write a Critique

Before you start writing it is important to have a thorough understanding of the work
that will be critiqued.
› Study the work under discussion.
› Make notes on key parts of the work.
› Develop an understanding of the main argument or purpose being expressed in the
work.
› Consider how the work relates to a broader issue or context.

First Step: Make your Introduction Typically, the introduction is short. Less than
10% of the word length.
› Name the work being reviewed as well as the date it was created and the name of
the author/creator.
› Describe the main argument or purpose of the work.
› Explain the context in which the work was created. This could include the social or
political context, the place of the work in a creative or academic tradition, or the
relationship between the work and the creator's life experience.
› Have a concluding sentence that signposts what your evaluation of the work will be.
For instance, it may indicate whether it is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation.
Second Step: Make a Summary | Part of Introduction Briefly summarize the main
points and objectively describe how the writer portrays these by using techniques,
styles, media, characters, or symbols. This summary should not be the focus of the
critique and is usually shorter than the critical evaluation.

Third Step: Develop a Critical Evaluation | Body This section should give a
systematic and detailed assessment of the different elements of the text, evaluating how
well the writer was able to achieve the purpose through these.
A critical evaluation does not simply highlight negative impressions. It should
deconstruct the work and identify both strengths and weaknesses. It should examine
the work and evaluate its success, in light of its purpose.
As a result, you must:
› Deconstruct the work.
› Consider questions like:
- What types of evidence or persuasion are used? Has evidence been interpreted
fairly?
- How is the work structured? Does it favor a particular interpretation or point of
view? Is it effective?
- What literary devices and techniques were used? Are they effective in conveying
the message of the writer?
- How did you respond to the piece? Did you like it? Did it appeal to you? Could
you identify with it?
- Do you agree with the main ideas in the text?
- Did you find any errors in reasoning? Any gaps in the discussion?
- Are the text's tone and language text appropriate?
› Identify the strengths and weaknesses; and examine the success of the source in
achieving the primary purpose.

Fourth Step: Make a Conclusion The closing paragraphs contain a summary of the
overall evaluation of the work.
› Key reasons identified during the assessment process
› Purpose of the evaluation
› Recommendations for improving the whole work
Additional Tips for Writing Critique Papers
The Analysis This section of critique papers serves as the heart of the analysis. In
particular, students should use compelling examples to support the main ideas and
arguments. Moreover, the inquiry method used must align with the one mentioned in the
thesis statement.
Closing Paragraph One must seek advice from the instructor on how to close the
paper for learning how to write a critique paper. For example, some instructors may
require students to restate the thesis statement at the end of critique essays. Effective
conclusions:
› Link body paragraphs to the introduction
› Do not present new information.

To Summarize Everything
› Context What genre is it? Adventure? Science fiction? Fantasy? Literary?
› Author’s Intention What is the author trying to accomplish with the story? If the
story is meant to be funny and isn't, or is meant to be a morality tale but doesn't quite
pull it off, then it has failed in at least one respect.
› Your Reactions Note your reactions as you read. Either keep a spare piece of
paper with you or mark your reactions on the margins of the text.
› Literary Devices Figures of speech used in the story and their purpose.
› Literary Technique Ask yourself if these literary techniques make the reading
experience more enjoyable or strengthen the story.
› Ending of the Story Decide how the ending relates both to the story as a whole
and to its beginning. Does the ending resolve the plot and bring closure to the crisis of
the characters?

Guy de Maupassant He wrote “The Necklace”

Critique and Literary Criticism

Critique is a literary technique that means to critically evaluate a piece of literary
work, or a political or philosophical theory in deal. A critique could be a critical essay, an
article evaluating a literary piece, or a review. It may be just like a summary that
identifies the central issue, raises questions, takes notice of theoretical and
experimental approaches, and reviews the significance of the results. Apart from that,
its purpose is to highlight both the shortcomings as well as strengths of a literary piece
or a work of art. Moreover, critical evaluation or assessment requires sufficient
knowledge about the subject matter. To critique a piece of work, one must read first the
text. After which, one may utilize any of the literary approaches that we are soon to
discuss.

Criticism Is an assessment of creative work, a considered judgment of or discussion

about the qualities of something, especially a creative work.
Criticism is sometimes taken negatively by others. When we say criticism, it doesn't
solely surround a very negative state. Criticism can also imply the positive qualities of a
certain thing, person, or literary work that a critic may see to fully understand it.

Literary Criticism is the comparison, analysis, description, interpretation, and/or

evaluation of works of literature. It is a way of looking at literature in different
perspectives. Things look very different if you look at them from a different perspective.
It is essentially an opinion, supported by evidence, relating to theme, style, setting or
historical or political context. It can be based on one work, one author's entire body of
work; or the works of different authors.
One reader writes down his or her views on what a particular work of literature
means so that others can respond to that interpretation. The critics typically engage in
dialogue or debate with other critics, using the views of other critics to develop their own
points.

Why Should We Interpret Literature?

Although the interpretation of literature can be challenging, it may also provide
unique and important rewards. Authors of fiction, poetry, or drama choose literature for
their expression because they believe that there are at least two valid sides to any
major issue-not just a simple right and wrong. Reading and interpreting literature, then,
nourishes us with a sense of the complexity of life's deepest mysteries; love, hate,
death, conflicts between the individual and society, and so on--so that when we
approach these problems we do so with greater self-awareness and greater tolerance
for the views of others. When we interpret literature, we are taking what we already
know about human nature and adding in the experience and wisdom of the author, even
if we don't share all of the author's convictions. Interpretation then is a social act--we
bring to it all of our past experiences with people, and we come away with an even
richer, more complex understanding.
The critic’s specific purpose in writing a critique may be:
› To make value judgments on a work or to evaluate somebody's work | a book, an
essay, a movie, a painting
› To explain his or her interpretation of the work
› To provide other readers with relevant historical or biographical information

The critic's general purpose, in most cases, is to enrich or increase the reader's
understanding of the literary work.

Why is Criticism Important for Students and Why do We Write

Critiques?
As a reader of literature, you may find the views of others very helpful in developing
your own interpretations. When you write an essay about literature, you will also find
criticism helpful for supporting your points. But criticism should never be a substitute for
your own original views--only in very rare cases would an assignment require you to
summarize a critical work without including your interpretation of the literature. Besides
being useful, good literary criticism can be fun in itself, like listening to and participating
in a lively discussion among friends. By reading the critic, you add yet another point of
view to yours and the author's.
Writing a critique helps us to develop knowledge of the work's subject area or related
works, gain understanding of the work's purpose, intended audience, development of
argument, structure of evidence or creative style, and it provides recognition of the
strength and weaknesses of the literary work.

Common Critical Approaches to Literature

There are common critical approaches | sometimes called lenses, to literature or to
literary criticism which are very useful in critiquing a literary selection and that reveal
how or why a particular work is constructed and what its social and cultural implications
are. These are different perspectives we can consider when looking / analyzing /
interpreting a piece or several pieces of literature. Understanding critical perspectives
will help you to see and appreciate a literary work as a multilayered construct of
meaning. Reading literary criticism will inspire you to reread, rethink, and respond.

Structuralist | Formalist Approach

 Moralist

Marxist

Feminist

Historical

Reader-Response

Structuralist | Formalist Approach

It regards literature as "a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined
on its own terms." All the elements necessary for understanding the work are contained
within the work itself. Of particular interest to the formalist critic are the elements of
form-style, structure, tone, imagery, figurative language, literary devices, symbolism,
etc.—that are found within the text. A primary goal for formalist critics is to determine
how such elements work together with the text's content to shape its effects upon
readers. In other words, the structure or form of a work of literature is inherently part of
its content.
This approach is based on the idea that a text should be critiqued on its inherent/innate
characteristics including the form of the text (how it is written). Formalist criticism is
about form over content. Form is the key, not the content, as it doesn't consider other
things such as the purpose of the analysis, content, or even cultural notions. Formalist
always treats an artwork as "its own distinct piece".
How to use formalist approach in poems and stories?
When poem is analyzed in terms of formalism or formalist approach, we criticize it
through its rhyme/thyming pattern meter, number of stanzas, number of lines in each
stanza, thythm tone, mood, among others.
In other words, determine the form, structure and devices used in the text.
In prose, when you criticize or evaluate literary texts (for example, a short story) it is
important that you are familiar with the intrinste literary features or the basic elements of
the story as the characters, settins, tone, point ef