A critical essay is an analytical writing about a work such as a book, film, article, or painting. The purpose of making a critical essay is to provide an overview or interpretation of an aspect of the work or the situation of the work in a wider context. For example, a critical analysis of a book could focus on the nuances of the writing in it to determine how those nuances affect the meaning of the book as a whole. Alternatively, a critical analysis of a film could focus on the significance of a symbol that appears repeatedly in it. A critical essay should include an argumentative thesis about a work and a large number of sources of written evidence to help support that interpretation. Here's how to write a critical essay.
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Part 1 of 4: Preparation for Critical Essay Writing
Step 1. Make sure you understand the assignment
As soon as you are assigned to write the essay, read the instructions and underline anything you don't understand. Ask your teacher to clarify any instructions you don't think are clear.
Step 2. Read the work you are going to review critically
A critical essay requires you to evaluate a book, article, film, painting, or other text. In order to do a critical analysis of a work, you must be familiar with its content.
Get to know the work inside and out by reading it over and over again. If you are asked to write about a visual work such as a film or artwork, watch the film several times or observe the painting from different angles and distances
Step 3. Record the details of the work
This will help you remember important aspects and encourage you to think critically about a work. Always keep the key questions in mind as you observe and try to answer them through your notes.
- What does the work highlight?
- What is the main idea?
- What is the interesting thing about the work?
- What is the purpose of the work?
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Did the work achieve its objectives? If not, what causes it? If successful, how? Avoid: summarizing the work once you are fully aware of it.
Do: write down your thoughts that can lead you in writing the essay, such as: Did he mean _? Is this related to _?
Step 4. Review your notes to identify patterns and problems
After you have finished reading and taking notes, read through your notes to determine certain patterns that emerged in the work and what issues stood out to you. Try to identify a solution to one of the problems you have identified. For example, you may notice that Frankenstein's monsters are often more sympathetic than Doctor Frankenstein. Make a hypothesis about the reasons behind it.
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Your solution to a problem should help you develop a focus on the essay. However, remember that you don't have to have a solid argument about your work at this point. As you continue to think about the work, you will move closer to a focus and a thesis for your critical analysis essay. Avoid: reading the author's mind: Mary Shelley wants to make Frankenstein's monster more sympathetic because…
Do it: paraphrase according to your own interpretation: Frankenstein's monsters are more sympathetic than their creators, so the reader will wonder who the monster between the two of them really is.
Part 2 of 4: Doing Research
Step 1. Find appropriate secondary sources if necessary
If you are assigned to cite sources in a critical essay, then you should do some research. Read the assignment instructions or ask the instructor what types of resources can be used in the assignment.
- Books, scientific articles, magazine articles, newspapers, and trusted websites are some sources that you can use.
- Use library databases instead of general internet searches. University libraries often subscribe to multiple databases. These databases provide free access to articles and other resources that you would not normally be able to find using a regular search engine.
Step 2. Evaluate the credibility of the sources you will use
It is important to use only reliable sources in an academic essay. If you use an untrusted source, your credibility as a writer will be damaged. Using library databases will help you to find many reliable sources. Here are some things you should consider in order to determine the level of trustworthiness of your source:
- Author and credentials. Choose sources that include the author's name and credentials that indicate why the author qualifies as an expert on the subject. For example, an article about an infectious disease will be more credible if the author is a doctor. If a source does not include the author's name or the author does not have credentials, the source may not be trusted.
- Quote. Check that the source author has researched the subject sufficiently. Check the bibliography. If the bibliography is too few or none at all, the source may not be very reliable.
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biased. Check that the author has provided an objective and reasonable discussion of the topic. Find out if there is a bias to one side of the argument. If there is bias, the source may not be very good. (It should be noted, however, that literary criticism often places a strong bias against a particular work; this is not usually considered a bias because the field of literature has a strong inherent subjectivity.) Avoid: discarding an author's opinion for favoring one point of view.
Do it: critically review their arguments and use facts-backed claims.
- Publication date. Check if a source has up-to-date information on the subject. The date of publication is very important to know, especially for the field of science, because the latest technology and techniques will make previous findings irrelevant.
- Information given in the source. If you are still questioning the reliability of a source, check some of the information in it with the information contained in a trusted source. If the information provided by the author contradicts other reliable sources, it is best not to use the author's work in your essay.
Step 3. Read your research
Once you have gathered all the resources, you should read them. Use the same reading strategies you use when you read primary sources. Read the sources several times and make sure you understand them.
Step 4. Take notes as you read
Underline significant sentences so you can easily see them again. As you read, draw on significant information from the source by writing it down in a notebook.
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Clearly indicate when you are citing a source, verbatim, by placing quotation marks and including information about the source such as the author's name, title of the article or book, and page numbers. Avoid: underlining a sentence just because it seems significant or meaningful.
Do it: underline the sentences that support or refute your arguments.
Part 3 of 4: Writing an Essay
Step 1. Develop a provisional thesis
Once you have developed your main source ideas and read them, you will be ready to write a thesis statement. An effective thesis statement will describe the main focus of an essay and provide a claim to argue for. You can also use several sentences for a thesis statement, with the first sentence to give the general idea and the second sentence to clarify it to make it more specific.
- Make sure your thesis provides sufficient detail. Avoid simply saying that something is good or effective. Specifically, explain what makes it good or effective.
- Place your thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph unless your instructor instructs you to put it elsewhere. The end of the first paragraph is the usual place for a thesis statement in an academic essay.
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For example, here is a few-sentence thesis statement regarding the effectiveness and purpose of the film Mad Max: Fury Road: “A large number of action films follow the same traditional pattern: a great man follows his instincts and gives orders to others, and they must follow him or die. Mad Max: Fury Road is an effective film because the plot doesn't follow that pattern at all. Instead, it is an action story with a number of main characters, many of whom are women, and effectively challenges the patriarchal standards of Hollywood summer films.” Avoid: listing obvious facts (Mad Max was directed by George Miller) or subjective opinions (Mad Max was the best film of 2015).
Do it: give an argument that you can support with evidence.
Step 2. Develop a rough outline based on your research notes
By writing an outline before starting a draft, you will be able to organize information more effectively. You can make the outline as detailed or as general as possible. However, always remember that the more details you include in your outline, the more material you will be ready to include in your essay.
You may want to use a formal outline structure that uses Roman numerals, Arabic, and letters. Or, you may want to use an informal framework such as a mind map that allows you to collect all of your ideas before you fully understand how they will fit together
Step 3. Begin the essay with an active sentence that brings the reader straight to the topic
The introductory section of the essay should begin discussing the topic head-on. Think back over what you will discuss in your essay to help determine what to include in the introduction. Remember that the introduction should identify the main idea of the critical essay and act as a preview of the essay as a whole. Avoid: starting with a cliché like, “In modern society…”; “Throughout history…”; or “The dictionary defines…”.
Do it: open with an interesting fact, an anecdote, or other content that can grab the reader's attention.
Another good technique you can use to open an essay is to use a specific and evocative detail that connects to your big idea, pose a question the essay will answer, or provide an interesting statistic
Step 4. Provide background information to help direct the reader
Having sufficient background or context will help the reader to understand your essay. Think about what the reader needs to know in order to understand the whole essay and provide information about these in the first paragraph. This information will vary depending on the type of work you are reviewing. Avoid: summarizing parts of the plot that are irrelevant for the essay.
Do it: organize the introduction according to your target audience. Example: a group of literature professors will not need as much background as a layman.
- If you are writing about a book, include the name of the book, the author's name, and a brief summary of the plot.
- If you are writing about a film, provide a short synopsis.
- If you are writing about a painting or other still image, provide a brief description for the reader.
- Remember that the background provided in the first paragraph should lead to the thesis statement. Explain everything the reader needs to know to understand the content of the topic, then sharpen the content until you reach the topic itself.
Step 5. Use the body paragraph to discuss the specific components of the work
Instead of discussing various aspects of a work in one paragraph, make sure each body paragraph focuses on a single aspect of the work. The discussion you make for each aspect should have contributed to proving the thesis. For each body paragraph, write:
- A claim at the beginning of the paragraph.
- Items that support the claim with at least one example from major sources.
- Support claims with at least one example from secondary sources.
Step 6. Develop a conclusion for the essay
A conclusion should highlight what you want to show readers about the work you are reviewing. Before you write your conclusion, take some time to reassess everything you've written in your essay and try to determine the best way to end it. There are several good ways to end an academic essay and the formats that work for them. As an example:
- Summarize and review the main ideas about the work you are reviewing.
- Explain how the topic you are discussing affects the reader.
- Explain how the narrow topic you wrote can be applied to a broader theme or observation.
- Invite the reader to take action or explore the topic more deeply.
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Describe new questions that arise from your essay. Avoid: repeating the same points you have made in the essay
Do it: refer back to the initial points that have been written and connect them all into a single argument.
Part 4 of 4: Revising the Essay
Step 1. Wait a few days before you revise the draft
By waiting a few days, you will give your brain time to rest. As you reread the draft, you'll have a better perspective.
It's important to start writing essays well in advance of the deadline to have a few days or weeks to revise them before they are submitted. If you don't have that extra time, you will be more prone to making mistakes and your grades will be poor because of it
Step 2. Allow sufficient time for substantive revisions to clarify confusing arguments
As you revise, rethink aspects of your writing to ensure that readers will be able to understand your essay. These aspects include:
- What is your main point? How can you clarify the point?
- Who are your target readers? Have you considered their needs and expectations?
- What is your goal? Have you reached that goal with your essay?
- How effective is your evidence? How can you strengthen it?
- Is each part of the essay connected to the thesis? How can you clarify the relationship?
- Is your language or sentence structure easy to understand? How can you explain it?
- Are there grammatical or spelling errors? How can you correct it?
- What are people who disagree with you going to say about your essay? How can you overcome oppositional arguments in your essay?
Step 3. Complete the essay by proofreading the printed version of the final draft
Read your essay aloud to make sure you have identified all spelling, writing, and grammatical errors. Once you have identified and corrected all remaining errors, reprint your essay and submit it.
If you have to submit the essay via an online system or electronic mail, ask your lecturer/instructor about the type of document you want. If you have a textual format in your essay, save your writing as a PDF to maintain that format
Tips
- Ask your friends, family members, or colleagues to review and provide constructive comments on your essay. It is normal for writers to have many drafts before reaching the final form of their writing.
- It's easier to write a rough introduction, finish the rest of the essay, and revise it at the end. If you are confused about how you can make an introduction, make a rough paragraph first.
- Sharpen the topic as you write. Many students make the mistake of choosing topics that are too broad because they expect to be able to say a lot. However, it will actually be easier to write a lot on a sharp topic. For example, it would be nearly impossible to write an essay questioning whether war is ethical or not. On the other hand, writing an essay on the justification for participating in a specific war is easier to do.
- Write in your own style. Use words you know rather than words that are too academic and you don't use often.
- Start as early as possible. You'll produce better writing-and much less stress-if you write an essay over several nights instead of a marathon session all night long.
- Work with your own process. For example: some writers need an outline while others think a formal outline actually hinders their ability to write. Identify the method that works for you.
- If you're having trouble structuring your essay, create a new outline based on the topic sentences of each paragraph. Within the framework, make a sentence that describes the relationship between the topic sentences. If you can't explain the relationships quickly, it means that your paragraphs are not well organized and you will have to rearrange them.
- Realize that you won't have enough time to read ten or a dozen books in depth. Use the table of contents and the book index to find the most relevant chapters.
Warning
- Essays written at the last second often have problems with grammar and logic. Keep in mind that your instructor has read hundreds, if not thousands of student essays, and as such, essays written by the deadline will be easy to spot.
- Make sure you include all the information from the research you have done, including citations, statistics, and theoretical concepts as accurately as possible. If in doubt, include more citations, because if you don't include the source of the information you used in your essay, you will be accused of plagiarism.
