2.      Structure and planning

The following table presents the basic three-part structure of a critique and summarises the functions or ‘moves’ of each section. Note that your subject lecturer may require you to include or change some of the sections and moves according to different assessment purposes, subjects and disciplines.

Although the structure presented above can be a useful starting point for organizing your critique, remember that individual assignments may have extra or different requirements that should be included. Be sure to carefully read the assignment description or guidelines in order to better meet your instructor’s expectations of a critique.

As mentioned previously, an important aspect of preparing to write a critique is becoming more familiar with the work in question. This involves both a closer study of the work itself (e.g. rewatching a film, carefully rereading a story or article) and researching what experts in the field have already written about the work. In either case, you should take notes of your own thoughts and ideas that arise while revisiting the work and notes of relevant points that experts have made in journal articles and books. These will help you to arrive at some kind of initial stance in regard to your critical evaluation of the work, a working thesis statement, so to speak.

At this stage, some academic writers will draw up an outline and then begin writing a first draft. Other writers, however, might choose to revisit the work and expert sources and gather specific evidence from both in order to support their initial evaluation/stance/thesis. This further stage might also involve making adjustments to the working thesis statement so that it more accurately matches the evidence gathered. Although it requires more time and effort, this further stage can lead to a much better critique, because the evidence presented to support the critical evaluation is specific and directly relevant.