how to include critics in an essay

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Using Criticism  

You should cite, reference, and engage with criticism (also referred to as ‘secondary sources’) in your essays. Here is some advice on how to choose and use criticism effectively.

Think quality, rather than quantity

When your markers look at your work, they will look at which critics you use in your writing, and the way in which you use them to build your argument, rather than how many . If you are unsure about the quality of the critics you are using, see the section below, or ask your tutor for advice/help.

Scholarly vs. popular sources

Always use scholarly sources in your essays. A scholarly source consists of original research, which is normally published in academic journals, monographs (books), or edited collections.

A scholarly source is written by an expert in their field (ie your tutors at York!) and is generally peer-reviewed.

The peer-reviewing process ensures that the article’s original research has been evaluated and, often, improved by other experts in the field. This practice is really at the core of what your tutors do when they are not in the classroom.

Scholarly sources will also always include citations.

They will have been published by academic publishers (like University presses, but not exclusively) and will be available via academic databases such as JSTOR or ProjectMuse, which you can access via the library website).

On rare, but increasingly more frequent, occasions, scholarly sources are available online in open access. At York, we have plenty of resources and discipline-specific databases available via the Library website, as well as a dedicated library webpage for English and Related Literature and our own Faculty Librarian .

Popular sources, on the other hand, are more easily retrievable in open access.

They may well refer to research findings but they very rarely contain original research; they are often written by non-experts for a general audience.

Popular sources are normally not peer-reviewed, and so they do not undergo the same quality checks as scholarly, peer-reviewed sources.

If you feel you have found a popular source that is crucial for your essay, and you are unsure about its quality, do discuss the matter with your tutor. There are some exceptions for writing on very contemporary literature, culture, or film.

For recently published literature in particular, it is important to look at the critical reception of a text, particularly when there may be very little literary criticism published on such texts.

You will need to draw on theory and criticism on a topic rather than on the author or text, to build your own body of research. Try not to be daunted though—you have the opportunity to original here.

Also ensure you take the time to read interviews with and/or essays by contemporary writers too, as you may find ideas or a turn of phrase or two that is useful in helping you develop your own argument. 

A community of scholars

While reading for your degree, you will become an integral part of a scholarly community not just your tutors or your peers, but also the academics behind scholarly sources. Think of your essay as entering a conversation on a topic that you find interesting: you want to listen and respond to the other people in a respectful but engaged way.

Use critics to provide support

Reading criticism on the topic you are researching on will enable you to make more informed judgements, and will offer support to your statements. Reading criticism will also help you develop your own critical and argumentative skills, and get a better picture of the critical debate you are entering. Never rely on one single critical source, and show you have read widely.

Argue against critics

You should not simply select criticism that supports your argument, but you should also consider points of views that may differ from your own, and engage actively (but always respectfully) with them. Ponder their values and their shortcomings.

Borrow terms from critics

Another way of using criticism is to borrow (and reference) terminology other critics have used, in order to advance your own argument. For example, your own investigations may be prompted by a critic’s words, or you may find their terminology particularly compelling for a facet of your own argument.

Read critics for style

Do not only read criticism to borrow terminology or inform your understanding of a field, text, or topic, but also to get inspiration for your own writing style. Which critics do you find most inspiring? Which ones are less convincing from a stylistic point of view?

Always, always reference

Always acknowledge your sources in your essay (footnotes, or in-text citations) and in your bibliography or list of works cited. Failing to do so may cause you to be accused of plagiarism, which is a very serious offence. At the University of York, you can find out more about plagiarism in the Guide to Assessment and in the University’s Integrity website .

Department of English and Related Literature University of York , York , YO10 5DD , UK Tel: work +44 (0) 1904 323366 | [email protected]

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Essay Critique Guidelines

Whenever you read an essay, use the following questions to guide your response.

First, keep in mind that, although you may not be a writing expert, you are THE reader of this essay and your response is a valid one . I have found that almost every reader, regardless of experience, can identify the primary strength and weakness in an essay, although their method of describing those issues may be different. The author will welcome your response and your ability to explain your reaction in a new way. Although the author is not required to, and really shouldn’t, respond to everything you say, he or she will take your comments seriously and consider how the essays has enlightened or confused you. Therefore, comment freely, although respectfully. Keep in mind that it is better to begin by noting the strengths of the essay before pointing out the areas that need improvement. I would always include a personal response to questions like the following: What about the essay most connects with your experience? Moves you? Provokes you? Entertains you?

So that is how to respond. So how do you critique? For every essay, regardless of the mode, consider the broad categories of content, organization, style, and correctness.

• Content : Consider the topic (its appropriateness and interest for the assignment as well as a clear focus suitable to essay length) and the way the topic is developed (clarity sufficiency of its argument, its scope, subcategories, amount and type of examples, anecdotes, evidence, etc.).
• Organization : Consider how the essay is introduced and concluded (especially looking for a “frame” to the essay, where the intro and conclusion refer to the same idea), whether the thesis is located in the most helpful place (direct or implied), how the essay is structured, whether the order or extent of development is successful, as well as how individual paragraphs are organized (clear topic sentences, appropriate and concrete evidence, logical organization of evidence).
• Style : Style can refer to the overall style of an essay: whether the tone is appropriate (humorous, serious, reflective, satirical, etc.), whether you use sufficient and appropriate variety (factual, analytical, evaluative, reflective), whether you use sufficient creativity. Style can also refer to the style of individual sentences: whether you use a variety of sentences styles and lengths, whether sentences are worded clearly, and whether word choice is interesting and appropriate.

Rolling around in the bottom of the drawer, Tim found the missing earring. [certainly the earring was rolling, not Tim!]

You could also easily tell that the following sentence actually contains two sentences that need punctuation between them:

The new manager instituted several new procedures some were impractical. [You need to add punctuation (period) after “procedures” and capitalize “some.”]

Further Directions for Specific Assignments

Below are more detailed questions to consider when responding to individual types of essays. First, make sure that you have reviewed the description of the essay mode in the Essay Assignment Guidelines. Use at least one or two of these when responding to an essay. Do not simply answer yes or no; offer specific evidence from the text and elaborate on the reasons behind your answer.

Personal Essay Critique:

• Does the writer have a clear but understated purpose to the essay?
• Does it avoid being overly moralistic or heavy-handed?
• Does the essay contain suspense or tension that is resolved in some way?
• Do you have any suggestions for organizing the essay, such as focusing in on one event rather than many, providing more background, turning explanation into action, etc.?
• Does the essay make good use of concrete description, anecdote, and dialogue?
• Does the essay help you to feel the emotions rather than just describe the emotions of the author?
• Does the essay reveal a significant aspect of the writer’s personality?
• Does the writer seem authentic?
• Is this a passionate piece? Is it creative?

Critical Review Critique

• Does a direct thesis convey both the subject and the reviewer’s value judgment?
• Does the review provide a summary or description to help you experience the film, music, event, etc.? Note places where the author provides too much or too little detail.
• Does the essay clearly identify relevant criteria for evaluation? Are they appropriate, believable, and consistent?
• Are any important features of the reviewed subject omitted?
• Logos (logic, content) : Does the essay provide sufficient, relevant, and interesting details and examples to adequately inform and entertain?
• Ethos (author) : Does the author’s judgment seem sound and convincing?
• Pathos (emotional appeals) : Does the author responsibly and effectively utilize emotional appeals to the audience?
• Does the author include adequate reference to the opposition and respond to that opposition appropriately?

Information Essay Critique : The questions posed about an informative essay will vary, depending on the purpose and strategy of the essay. The SMGW suggests evaluating for the following issues:

• Is topic clearly explained and sufficiently focused?
• Does the content fit the audience?
• Is it organized effectively?
• Are definitions clear?
• Are other strategies (classification, comparison/contrast, analysis) used effectively?
• Are sources used sufficiently, effectively, and appropriately?

You might also assess the following criteria:

• Does the author utilize vivid detail, interesting examples, and lively language?
• Does the essay avoid emphasizing judgment over explanation?
• Does the essay have a clear focus or implied thesis?

Comparison/Contrast Essay Critique

• Is the purpose for a comparison or contrast evident and convincing?
• Does the essay identify significant and parallel characteristics for comparison?
• Does the author adequately explain, analyze, or reflect on the comparison or contrast?
• Does the author provide appropriate transitions words to indicate comparison and contrast?
• Is the treatment of each side of the comparison or contrast in balance?
• Does the essay provide sufficient, relevant, and interesting details?

Feature Article Critique

• Does this article interest you? Do you think it will interest the intended audience? Can you suggest ways to increase interest?
• Can you tell what the “angle” or implied thesis is? Does the author avoid editorial judgment on the subject while still keeping the purpose clear?
• Has the writer done sufficient research? What questions have gone unasked or unanswered? Whose point of view or what information would add further to the completeness of the feature?
• Is the subject presented vividly with sensory images, graphic detail, and figurative language? Do you have suggestions of details or images to include?
• Does the writer use an appropriate mixture of anecdote, quotation, description, and explanation? Would more or less of one of these improve the essay?
• Are the beginning and ending paragraphs interesting and appropriate for the specific audience? Consider the need for a “lead sentence” if intended for a newspaper.

Documented Argument Critique

• Is the thesis clear, argumentative, and effective? Why or why not?
• Are the topic and thesis are reasonable for the assignment, audience, and context of the essay?
• Does the author define his or her terms and provide sufficient background information? What ideas or terms are undefined or inadequately explained?
• Is the thesis supported by clear reasons? Are the reasons clearly worded and supported sufficiently?
• Do the reasons fit logically together and are they placed in the right order?
• Does the author adequately address the opposition? What is another opposing argument he/she should or could have addressed?
• Has the author done adequate research?
• Are the works cited adequately introduced and explained before citing from them?
• Does the paper contain an appropriate blend of well-placed quotations within a context of the author’s own words and paraphrases from other sources?
• Is the writer clearly in charge, naturally introducing and interacting with sources rather than merely reporting on them?
• Do you find the argument convincing? What might you add or omit?

Business Writing Critique

• Does the memo begin with the most important information?
• Does the memo build rapport by involving the reader in opening paragraph?
• Does the memo provide sufficient, relevant, and interesting details? Is it focused and brief?
• Does the memo focus each paragraph on one idea?
• Is the memo informed, accurate, demonstrating the author’s grasp of the situation?
• Is the final paragraph calling for a specific action? Is it brief? Does it build good will?
• Is the memo form correct, with concise subject line, initialed name, correct spacing?
• Is the information arranged (indentations and numbering) in a way that makes it easy to skim and still get central information?

Cover letter

• Does the first paragraph identify who the author is, briefly state why he/she is writing, and refer to how he/she found out about the job?
• Does the second paragraph highlight specific strengths, special abilities, or features of the résumé to be noted?
• Does the third paragraph make a specific request of the reader or address what action is to be taken?
• Does the letter provide sufficient, relevant, and interesting details to make the request convincing?
• Is the letter brief and focused? What elements could be eliminated?
• Does the writer achieve his or her purpose? Does it make you want to consider the résumé more carefully?
• Is the tone of the letter courteous without being too formal, relaxed without being too familiar?
• Is the letter’s form appropriate (heading, spacing, greeting, salutation)? Is the letter addressed to a specific person rather than a general “Dear Madam/Sir”?
• Does the résumé contain the necessary features for the position (name/address, position desired, education, work experience, achievements, relevant personal information, references)?
• Does the résumé contain only essential, relevant information for the position required?
• Does the résumé emphasize the applicant’s strengths?
• Does the résumé emphasize what is unique about this person’s experience? Does it demonstrate a common interest or ability (leadership, teaching experience, dedication, creativity, etc.)?
• What additional information might you like to have about this applicant?
• If you were leading an interview based on this résumé, what are two questions you might ask?
• Does the résumé look neat (appropriate spacing, clear headings, good quality paper)?
• Is the résumé easy to read?
• Is the information presented as concisely as possible?
• Are the elements of each section of the résumé presented in a parallel format and style (begin w/ active verbs, put date in consistent place, use of parallelism for elements, consistent underlining or italics)?

Writing Critiques

Writing a critique involves more than pointing out mistakes. It involves conducting a systematic analysis of a scholarly article or book and then writing a fair and reasonable description of its strengths and weaknesses. Several scholarly journals have published guides for critiquing other people’s work in their academic area. Search for a  “manuscript reviewer guide” in your own discipline to guide your analysis of the content. Use this handout as an orientation to the audience and purpose of different types of critiques and to the linguistic strategies appropriate to all of them.

Types of critique

Article or book review assignment in an academic class.

Text: Article or book that has already been published Audience: Professors Purpose:

• to demonstrate your skills for close reading and analysis
• to show that you understand key concepts in your field
• to learn how to review a manuscript for your future professional work

Published book review

Text: Book that has already been published Audience: Disciplinary colleagues Purpose:

• to describe the book’s contents
• to summarize the book’s strengths and weaknesses
• to provide a reliable recommendation to read (or not read) the book

Manuscript review

Text: Manuscript that has been submitted but has not been published yet Audience: Journal editor and manuscript authors Purpose:

• to provide the editor with an evaluation of the manuscript
• to recommend to the editor that the article be published, revised, or rejected
• to provide the authors with constructive feedback and reasonable suggestions for revision

Language strategies for critiquing

For each type of critique, it’s important to state your praise, criticism, and suggestions politely, but with the appropriate level of strength. The following language structures should help you achieve this challenging task.

Offering Praise and Criticism

A strategy called “hedging” will help you express praise or criticism with varying levels of strength. It will also help you express varying levels of certainty in your own assertions. Grammatical structures used for hedging include:

Modal verbs Using modal verbs (could, can, may, might, etc.) allows you to soften an absolute statement. Compare:

This text is inappropriate for graduate students who are new to the field. This text may be inappropriate for graduate students who are new to the field.

Qualifying adjectives and adverbs Using qualifying adjectives and adverbs (possible, likely, possibly, somewhat, etc.) allows you to introduce a level of probability into your comments. Compare:

Readers will find the theoretical model difficult to understand. Some readers will find the theoretical model difficult to understand. Some readers will probably find the theoretical model somewhat difficult to understand completely.

Note: You can see from the last example that too many qualifiers makes the idea sound undesirably weak.

Tentative verbs Using tentative verbs (seems, indicates, suggests, etc.) also allows you to soften an absolute statement. Compare:

This omission shows that the authors are not aware of the current literature. This omission indicates that the authors are not aware of the current literature. This omission seems to suggest that the authors are not aware of the current literature.

Offering suggestions

Whether you are critiquing a published or unpublished text, you are expected to point out problems and suggest solutions. If you are critiquing an unpublished manuscript, the author can use your suggestions to revise. Your suggestions have the potential to become real actions. If you are critiquing a published text, the author cannot revise, so your suggestions are purely hypothetical. These two situations require slightly different grammar.

Unpublished manuscripts: “would be X if they did Y” Reviewers commonly point out weakness by pointing toward improvement. For instance, if the problem is “unclear methodology,” reviewers may write that “the methodology would be more clear if …” plus a suggestion. If the author can use the suggestions to revise, the grammar is “X would be better if the authors did Y” (would be + simple past suggestion).

The tables would be clearer if the authors highlighted the key results. The discussion would be more persuasive if the authors accounted for the discrepancies in the data.

Published manuscripts: “would have been X if they had done Y” If the authors cannot revise based on your suggestions, use the past unreal conditional form “X would have been better if the authors had done Y” (would have been + past perfect suggestion).

The tables would have been clearer if the authors had highlighted key results. The discussion would have been more persuasive if the authors had accounted for discrepancies in the data.

Note: For more information on conditional structures, see our Conditionals handout .

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How to use literary criticism in your own essays

I recently asked my YouTube subscribers about the topics they’d like to see from the channel, and the one that came out top was ‘how to use literary criticism in your own essays’. 

Being able to incorporate literary criticism in literature essays is a skill that any top grade lit students should master.

In this post, then, I’ll explain what literary criticism is, why we should care, and suggest 3 steps to using lit crit in an essay. I’ll also demonstrate how I’d use two sets of critical views in an essay on Macbeth .

Primary text vs secondary text – what’s the difference?

Let’s start by clarifying the difference between ‘primary texts’ and ‘secondary texts’. 

In literature, ‘primary texts’ refer to the original creative works, like novels, short stories, poems, plays, personal essays etc.

In most cases, they should be the focus of a lit course, which is why we tend to regard dramatists like William Shakespeare, novelists like Jane Austen, poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley, or even essayists like Joan Didion as primary text authors. 

When it comes to ‘secondary texts’, as the name itself would suggest, these are the critical responses to original creative works, otherwise known as ‘literary criticism’. 

Often, we refer to people who write ‘literary criticism’ as ‘literary critics’, but that’s not to say they are always ‘critical’ about literature in a negative, detractive way. Remember, criticism in literature simply means a professional evaluation and appreciation of written works.  English professors are by default also literary critics, and in fact, you – as an English lit student – are also a literary critic everytime you write an essay analysing a literary text. Professional literary critics are often categorised according to different literary theories or approaches, such as femininst, postcolonial, historicist, structuralist, psychoanalytical, Marxist etc.

Okay… but why bother with lit crit at all?

Literary criticism can be a divisive topic in literary studies – it’s kind of like marmite: you either love it and see criticism as its own field of literary genre, or you hate it and can’t see the point of reading dense, academic prose that doesn’t seem to lead anywhere. 

But love it or hate it, being able to incorporate critical views in your own analysis can help you gain higher marks, as it shows sophisticated engagement with texts, and if you’re planning on studying literature at a higher level, literary criticism will be a regular presence on your course. 

In general, literary criticism carries great value in that it preserves the intellectual tradition of a culture, and it also helps us appreciate how language transcends time and space to communicate universal ideas about human nature and existence. 

To use a travel analogy, creative works are like beautiful exotic cities steeped in history, culture and their own unique customs, while critical works are like the tour guides, who curate for us the local highlights, uncover the hidden alleyways, and decipher the mystique of the sites and attractions for a more enlightened experience. 

Technically, this is what a lit crit should do, and indeed, what good lit crits do do. But of course, there are such literary critics who confuse more than clarify with obfuscating and convoluted prose. 

How to use literary criticism in your own essay – 3 steps

Step 1: find different views and evaluate where you stand between them.

They say that the first rule of fight club is that you don’t talk about fight club. Well, I say the first rule of using literary criticism is that you don’t focus on the literary criticism. Because at the end of the day, it’s your analysis and your essay, so your view on the novel, play, or poem is the point – not the critic’s. 

Once upon a time when I first came to know about lit crit, I was so enchanted with the seeming sophistication of it all I would turn my essays into an echo chamber of everyone else’s opinions on a text, in the process completely neglecting to express my own thoughts. 

Instead, I’ve learnt through the hard way that the right thing to do is to read a good amount of quality secondary criticism around a topic or text, then identify opposing critical viewpoints, and finally, evaluate where you stand between them. 

Step 2: Understanding the critics’ angle and approach

This brings us to the next step – how do we go about finding ‘opposing’ views in the wild west of literary criticism? 

The way to do this is to understand the critic’s angle and approach – which usually stems from their theoretical or ideological agenda. 

Is the critic a historicist (someone who reads literature as a product of historical developments)? A feminist (someone who reads literature for gender tensions and power dynamics)? A structuralist (someone who reads literature as a compendium of codes, signs and structures)? A psychoanalyst (someone who reads literature through the lens of psychoanalysis and psychiatric ideas)? Or a Marxist (someone who reads literature for systems of class struggle between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, or the exploiters versus the proletariats. 

Even for critics who don’t come from a specific theoretical discipline, they still have an agenda – for instance, if a critic focuses only on what’s presented in the text – the language, form, devices – ignoring whatever contextual influences that may have gone into the writing of the text, then that makes them a textualist or formalist . In literary scholarship, this is referred to as Practical Criticism, otherwise known as close reading, which is the approach that most schools tend to teach. 

Once you figure out where a certain critic is coming from, you should be able to discern what other types of critics are likely to disagree with this critic, and most importantly, decide whether or not you agree with their respective views vis-a-vis the text you’re analysing. 

For a deeper understanding of critical approaches and theoretical angles, I recommend Mary Klages’ Key Terms in Literary Theory , which is a comprehensive glossary of advanced literary concepts. 

Step 3: Challenge over concur; interpret over parrot

It may sound counterintuitive, but often, the best way of using lit crit is to disagree with it. Because most of the time, it’s only by challenging someone’s view do we really get to consider our own stance. Agreeing with a critic’s view is much less interesting – and there’s only so much we can say if we agree. 

Of course, that’s not to say we must always seek to be contrarian, but a good approach is to conduct an imaginary discussion with multiple critics who hold different viewpoints, and to consider that if we disagree with a critic’s view, why that is and make our case, and if we do happen to agree with another critic’s view, what else we can add to it based on our own interpretation of the text. 

In general, if all we do is say ‘this is what I think and prominent critic so-and-so also says this’, we run the risk of coming across insipid and uninspired in our arguments, or worse, that we’re just parroting the critic’s ideas and repurposing it as our own. 

Example – Stephen Greenblatt and Emma Smith on Macbeth

Now, I’m going to demonstrate how we can write a paragraph incorporating opposing critical viewpoints. 

For my primary text, I’ll be using Macbeth; and for my secondary texts, I’ll be citing from Stephen Greenblatt’s ‘ Shakespeare Bewitched ’ and Emma Smith’s This is Shakespeare , largely because they present rather different views on the presentation of witchcraft in the play.

In addressing an essay topic like ‘How are the witches presented in Macbeth ’, I’ll first consider what I think about this prompt. 

Well, I see the witches as playing various roles: on the one hand, they function as a theatrical device for the effect of sensationalist spectacle, which would have appealed to superstitious playgoers back in Shakespeare’s time. 

But on a deeper level, the witches are a magnifier of human flaws – it isn’t so much their curses and temptations that are the point, as it is how Macbeth reacts to these ‘supernatural solicitings’ that’s central to the message of the play. 

So you’ll notice that I’m adopting a hybrid approach that looks at Macbeth from both performative and humanistic angles. 

But for someone like Stephen Greenblatt, who I believe is one of the best Shakespearean critics alive, he sees the witches as playing a more metaphysical function, and argues that Shakespeare uses these Weird Sisters to interrogate the limits of theatre: by presenting on stage in concrete form what’s supposedly taboo, supernatural and therefore, unreal, the bard confuses the line between truth and imagination, and in a way, doesn’t so much suggest witchcraft and potions as a great source of danger, as it is perhaps that drama and language are a great source of power, having the capacity to make ‘real’ what’s not – like magic. 

As Greenblatt writes:

… Shakespeare is staging the epistemological and ontological dilemmas that in the deeply contradictory ideological situation of his time haunted virtually all attempts to determine the status of witchcraft beliefs and practices. And he is at the same time and by the same means staging the insistent, unresolved questions that haunt the practice of the theatre. For Macbeth manifests a deep, intuitive recognition that the theatre and witchcraft are both constructed on the boundary between fantasy and reality, the border or membrane where the imagination and the corporeal world, figure and actuality, psychic disturbance and objective truth meet. The means normally used to secure that border are speech and sight, but it is exactly these that are uncertain; the witches, as Macbeth exclaims, are “imperfect speakers,” and at the moment he insists that they account for themselves, they vanish. (‘ Shakespeare Bewitched ’) 

Let’s now bring in an alternative critical view, this time, by Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford, who often takes a broad, diverse approach to reading Shakespeare, but on the whole leans towards the historicist camp. 

Unlike Greenblatt, she posits that the witches don’t actually serve such a serious role in the play, and are less “active agents than passive predictors of how things will turn out”. 

She also argues that Shakespeare, in writing Macbeth , was to a large extent stroking King James’ ego buttons and establishing himself as a staunch Jacobean loyalist, being “a mouthpiece for Jacobean hereditary monarchy, for his new king James, and for the Stuart dynasty safely cushioned by two young princes” ( Ch. 16, This is Shakespeare ). 

However, this strong royal consciousness underlying Macbeth isn’t something Greenblatt agrees with, as he writes in his analysis that “no one in the [Jacobean] period, least of all [Shakespeare’s] players themselves, understood the designation ‘King’s Men’ to imply an official, prescriptive function, […] Neither Shakespeare nor his company were speaking dogmatically or even indirectly on behalf of any institution except the marginal, somewhat disreputable institution of the theatre, disreputable precisely because it was the acknowledged house of fantasies”. 

So – if I were to write up a paragraph triangulating Greenblatt, Smith and my own views, then it could look something like this:

In This is Shakespeare, Emma Smith argues that Shakespeare wrote the play with a strong political consciousness in mind, and in writing Macbeth , was to a large extent stroking King James’ ego buttons and establishing himself as a staunch Jacobean loyalist, being “a “a mouthpiece for Jacobean hereditary monarchy, for his new king James, and for the Stuart dynasty safely cushioned by two young princes”. As such, the witches are not meant to play a key role in the play, least of all be associated with the human realm, as they are less “active agents than passive predictors of how things will turn out”.  Yet this strong royal consciousness underlying Macbeth isn’t something Greenblatt agrees with, as he writes in his analysis that “no one in the [Jacobean] period, least of all [Shakespeare’s] players themselves, understood the designation ‘King’s Men’ to imply an official, prescriptive function, […] Neither Shakespeare nor his company were speaking dogmatically or even indirectly on behalf of any institution except the marginal, somewhat disreputable institution of the theatre, disreputable precisely because it was the acknowledged house of fantasies”. Rather, his view of the witches is that they carry metaphysical currency, being these theatrical devices which help Shakespeare interrogate the limits of theatre. By presenting on stage in concrete form what’s supposedly taboo, supernatural and therefore, imaginary, the bard confuses the line between the real and the imaginary, and in a way, doesn’t so much suggest witchcraft and potions as a great source of danger, as it is perhaps that drama and language as a great source of power, having the capacity to make ‘real’ what’s not – like magic.  Notwithstanding the political and epistemological concerns that may have been at the back of Shakespeare’s mind, it is perhaps undeniable that the witches hold a central function in the play as a theatrical device for the effect of sensationalist – if not entertaining – spectacle, which would have appealed to superstitious playgoers back in Shakespeare’s time and contributed to the company’s professional success. On a deeper level, the witches serve as a magnifier of human flaws, with prophecy and temptation eliciting a definitive response from Macbeth that exposes the depths of his troubled psychology. So, while the witches aren’t as ancillary a character as Smith suggests, nor as solemn a motif as Greenblatt posits, they occupy a singular, important position in the play as a concave mirror for the tragic hero’s flaws, on which every reaction Macbeth gives to their “supernatural soliciting” eventually compose a map of his own demise. 

Want more study tips on English Lit? Check out my other blog posts below:

• How to write about context in literary analysis essays
• How to analyse any unseen poem – 3 tips
• How to analyse prose with Of Mice and Men and Lord of the Flies

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Strategies for Engaging with Critics

At-home/in-class exercise.

In this exercise, students practice engaging with critics (argument and theory sources in the BEAM/BEAT framework ). The templates provided scaffold students’ responses to the critics before students need to engage more deeply with critics in an essay. This exercise can be done individually or in pairs.

To use templates to practice different strategies for engaging with critics about an issue or text.

argument source; theory source; BEAM/BEAT

When writing essays, we use critical sources in part to demonstrate that we are familiar with the conversations that are already going on about our topic. We may also use them to develop our thinking or to provide a motivation for our own arguments. It’s important to figure out how critics are talking to each other, and to ask: where does your argument fit in the existing conversation? Here are some strategies for engaging with critics; on your own or with a partner, see if you can write an example for each strategy using our class texts.

• Pick a Fight : disagree with a critic

Possible Language : I agree that _____, but where I depart from [Critic] is…

• Kiss-Up/Piggyback : agree with and build on the critic’s foundation, and apply their principles to a new reading

Possible Language : Following [Critic’s] approach, …

• Play Peacemaker : find a middle ground between critics who disagree.

Possible Language : I both draw on and contribute to the conversation about [topic]…

• Do a New Reading : analyze a seemingly important aspect of the text that no critic has paid attention to

Possible Language : What few have discussed…

• Crossbreed : bring together two critics or texts that appear to have nothing in common.

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• Writing Paragraphs

How to Write a Critique in Five Paragraphs

Last Updated: January 20, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 973,830 times.

A critique is usually written in response to a creative work, such as a novel, a film, poetry, or a painting. However, critiques are also sometimes assigned for research articles and media items, such as news articles or features. A critique is slightly different than a traditional 5-paragraph theme, as it is usually focused on the overall effectiveness and usefulness of the work it is critiquing, rather than making a strictly analytical argument about it. Organizing your critique into 5 paragraphs can help you structure your thoughts.

Laying the Groundwork

• Does the creator clearly state her/his main point or goal? If not, why do you think that is?
• Who do you think is the creator’s intended audience? This can be crucial to determining the success of a work; for example, a movie intended for young children might work well for its intended audience but not for adult viewers.
• What reactions do you have when reading or viewing this work? Does it provoke emotional responses? Do you feel confused?
• What questions does the work make you think of? Does it suggest other avenues of exploration or observation to you?

• For example, if you're critiquing a research article about a new treatment for the flu, a little research about other flu treatments currently available could be helpful to you when situating the work in context.
• As another example, if you're writing about a movie, you might want to briefly discuss the director's other films, or other important movies in this particular genre (indie, action, drama, etc.).
• Your school or university library is usually a good place to start when conducting research, as their databases provide verified, expert sources. Google Scholar can also be a good source for research.

Writing the Introductory Paragraph

• For a work of fiction or a published work of journalism or research, this information is usually available in the publication itself, such as on the copyright page for a novel.
• For a film, you may wish to refer to a source such as IMDb to get the information you need. If you're critiquing a famous artwork, an encyclopedia of art would be a good place to find information on the creator, the title, and important dates (date of creation, date of exhibition, etc.).

• For example, if you’re assessing a research article in the sciences, a quick overview of its place in the academic discussion could be useful (e.g., “Professor X’s work on fruit flies is part of a long research tradition on Blah Blah Blah.”)
• If you are evaluating a painting, giving some brief information on where it was first displayed, for whom it was painted, etc., would be useful.
• If you are assessing a novel, it could be good to talk about what genre or literary tradition the novel is written within (e.g., fantasy, High Modernism, romance). You may also want to include details about the author’s biography that seem particularly relevant to your critique.
• For a media item, such as a news article, consider the social and/or political context of the media outlet the item came from (e.g., Fox News, BBC, etc.) and of the issue it is dealing with (e.g., immigration, education, entertainment).

• The authors of research articles will often state very clearly in the abstract and in the introduction to their work what they are investigating, often with sentences that say something like this: "In this article we provide a new framework for analyzing X and argue that it is superior to previous methods because of reason A and reason B."
• For creative works, you may not have an explicit statement from the author or creator about their purpose, but you can often infer one from the context the work occupies. For example, if you were examining the movie The Shining, you might argue that the filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's goal is to call attention to the poor treatment of Native Americans because of the strong Native American themes present in the movie. You could then present the reasons why you think that in the rest of the essay.

• For example, if you were writing about The Shining, you could summarize the main points this way: "Stanley Kubrick uses strong symbolism, such as the placement of the movie's hotel on an Indian burial ground, the naming of the hotel "Overlook," and the constant presence of Native American artwork and representation, to call viewers' attention to America's treatment of Native Americans in history."

• For a research article, you will probably want to focus your thesis on whether the research and discussion supported the authors' claims. You may also wish to critique the research methodology, if there are obvious flaws present.
• For creative works, consider what you believe the author or creator's goal was in making the work, and then present your assessment of whether or not they achieved that goal.

Writing the 3 Body Paragraphs

• If you have three clear points about your work, you can organize each paragraph by point. For example, if you are analyzing a painting, you might critique the painter’s use of color, light, and composition, devoting a paragraph to each topic.
• If you have more than three points about your work, you can organize each paragraph thematically. For example, if you are critiquing a movie and want to talk about its treatment of women, its screenwriting, its pacing, its use of color and framing, and its acting, you might think about the broader categories that these points fall into, such as “production” (pacing, color and framing, screenwriting), “social commentary” (treatment of women), and “performance” (acting).
• Alternatively, you could organize your critique by “strengths” and “weaknesses.” The aim of a critique is not merely to criticize, but to point out what the creator or author has done well and what s/he has not.

• For example, if you are critiquing a song, you could consider how the beat or tone of the music supports or detracts from the lyrics.
• For a research article or a media item, you may want to consider questions such as how the data was gathered in an experiment, or what method a journalist used to discover information.

• Does the author use primary sources (e.g., historical documents, interviews, etc.)? Secondary sources? Quantitative data? Qualitative data? Are these sources appropriate for the argument?
• Has evidence been presented fairly, without distortion or selectivity?
• Does the argument proceed logically from the evidence used?

• If the work is a creative work, consider whether it presents its ideas in an original or interesting way. You can also consider whether it engages with key concepts or ideas in popular culture or society.
• If the work is a research article, you can consider whether the work enhances your understanding of a particular theory or idea in its discipline. Research articles often include a section on “further research” where they discuss the contributions their research has made and what future contributions they hope to make.

Writing the Conclusion Paragraph and References

Sample Critiques

Community Q&A

• Before you begin writing, take notes while you are watching or reading the subject of your critique. Keep to mind certain aspects such as how it made you feel. What was your first impression? With deeper examination, what is your overall opinion? How did you come to this opinion? Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• While the 5-paragraph form can work very well to help you organize your ideas, some instructors do not allow this type of essay. Be sure that you understand the assignment. If you’re not sure whether a 5-paragraph format is acceptable to your teacher, ask! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Avoid using first and second person pronouns such as, “you”, “your”, “I”, “my”, or “mine.” State your opinion objectively for a more credible approach. Thanks Helpful 39 Not Helpful 14

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-a-critique
• ↑ https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/writing-article-critique
• ↑ https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/writing-well/critique.html
• ↑ http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/book-review
• ↑ https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-1/invention/Writing-a-Critique
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/esl/resources/writing-critiques/

About This Article

To write a 5-paragraph critique, provide the basic information about the work you're critiquing in the first paragraph, including the author, when it was published, and what its key themes are. Then, conclude this paragraph with a statement of your opinion of the work. Next, identify 3 central positive or negative issues in the work and write a paragraph about each one. For example, you could focus on the color, light, and composition of a painting. In the final paragraph, state your overall assessment of the work, and give reasons to back it up. For tips on how to take notes on the piece your critiquing, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• Subject Guides

Being critical: a practical guide

• Critical writing
• Being critical
• Critical thinking
• Evaluating information
• Reading academic articles
• Critical reading

This guide contains key resources to introduce you to the features of critical writing.

For more in-depth advice and guidance on critical writing , visit our specialist academic writing guides:

What is critical writing?

Academic writing requires criticality; it's not enough to just describe or summarise evidence, you also need to analyse and evaluate information and use it to build your own arguments. This is where you show your own thoughts based on the evidence available, so critical writing is really important for higher grades.

Explore the key features of critical writing and see it in practice in some examples:

Introduction to critical writing [Google Slides]

While we need criticality in our writing, it's definitely possible to go further than needed. We’re aiming for that Goldilocks ‘just right’ point between not critical enough and too critical. Find out more:

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Quoting, paraphrasing and synthesising

Quoting, paraphrasing and synthesising are different ways that you can use evidence from sources in your writing. As you move from one method to the next, you integrate the evidence further into your argument, showing increasing critical analysis.

Here's a quick introduction to the three methods and how to use them:

Quoting, paraphrasing and synthesising: an introduction [YouTube video]  |  Quoting, paraphrasing and synthesising [Google Doc]

Want to know more? Check out these resources for more examples of paraphrasing and using notes to synthesise information:

Using evidence to build critical arguments

Academic writing integrates evidence from sources to create your own critical arguments.

We're not looking for a list of summaries of individual sources; ideally, the important evidence should be integrated into a cohesive whole. What does the evidence mean altogether?  Of course, a critical argument also needs some critical analysis of this evidence. What does it all mean in terms of your argument?

These resources will help you explore ways to integrate evidence and build critical arguments:

Building a critical argument [YouTube] |  Building a critical argument [Google Doc]

• << Previous: Critical reading
• Last Updated: Mar 25, 2024 5:46 PM
• URL: https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/critical

How to Write a Critical Essay

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Olivia Valdes was the Associate Editorial Director for ThoughtCo. She worked with Dotdash Meredith from 2017 to 2021.

• B.A., American Studies, Yale University

A critical essay is a form of academic writing that analyzes, interprets, and/or evaluates a text. In a critical essay, an author makes a claim about how particular ideas or themes are conveyed in a text, then supports that claim with evidence from primary and/or secondary sources.

In casual conversation, we often associate the word "critical" with a negative perspective. However, in the context of a critical essay, the word "critical" simply means discerning and analytical. Critical essays analyze and evaluate the meaning and significance of a text, rather than making a judgment about its content or quality.

What Makes an Essay "Critical"? 

Imagine you've just watched the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." If you were chatting with friends in the movie theater lobby, you might say something like, "Charlie was so lucky to find a Golden Ticket. That ticket changed his life." A friend might reply, "Yeah, but Willy Wonka shouldn't have let those raucous kids into his chocolate factory in the first place. They caused a big mess."

These comments make for an enjoyable conversation, but they do not belong in a critical essay. Why? Because they respond to (and pass judgment on) the raw content of the movie, rather than analyzing its themes or how the director conveyed those themes.

On the other hand, a critical essay about "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" might take the following topic as its thesis: "In 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' director Mel Stuart intertwines money and morality through his depiction of children: the angelic appearance of Charlie Bucket, a good-hearted boy of modest means, is sharply contrasted against the physically grotesque portrayal of the wealthy, and thus immoral, children."

This thesis includes a claim about the themes of the film, what the director seems to be saying about those themes, and what techniques the director employs in order to communicate his message. In addition, this thesis is both supportable  and  disputable using evidence from the film itself, which means it's a strong central argument for a critical essay .

Characteristics of a Critical Essay

Critical essays are written across many academic disciplines and can have wide-ranging textual subjects: films, novels, poetry, video games, visual art, and more. However, despite their diverse subject matter, all critical essays share the following characteristics.

• Central claim . All critical essays contain a central claim about the text. This argument is typically expressed at the beginning of the essay in a thesis statement , then supported with evidence in each body paragraph. Some critical essays bolster their argument even further by including potential counterarguments, then using evidence to dispute them.
• Evidence . The central claim of a critical essay must be supported by evidence. In many critical essays, most of the evidence comes in the form of textual support: particular details from the text (dialogue, descriptions, word choice, structure, imagery, et cetera) that bolster the argument. Critical essays may also include evidence from secondary sources, often scholarly works that support or strengthen the main argument.
• Conclusion . After making a claim and supporting it with evidence, critical essays offer a succinct conclusion. The conclusion summarizes the trajectory of the essay's argument and emphasizes the essays' most important insights.

Tips for Writing a Critical Essay

Writing a critical essay requires rigorous analysis and a meticulous argument-building process. If you're struggling with a critical essay assignment, these tips will help you get started.

• Practice active reading strategies . These strategies for staying focused and retaining information will help you identify specific details in the text that will serve as evidence for your main argument. Active reading is an essential skill, especially if you're writing a critical essay for a literature class.
• Read example essays . If you're unfamiliar with critical essays as a form, writing one is going to be extremely challenging. Before you dive into the writing process, read a variety of published critical essays, paying careful attention to their structure and writing style. (As always, remember that paraphrasing an author's ideas without proper attribution is a form of plagiarism .)
• Resist the urge to summarize . Critical essays should consist of your own analysis and interpretation of a text, not a summary of the text in general. If you find yourself writing lengthy plot or character descriptions, pause and consider whether these summaries are in the service of your main argument or whether they are simply taking up space.
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🤔 What is a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style.

It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.

The generated references can be copied into a reference list or bibliography, and then collectively appended to the end of an academic assignment. This is the standard way to give credit to sources used in the main body of an assignment.

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Harvard is the main referencing style at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also very popular in other English-speaking countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. University-level students in these countries are most likely to use a Harvard generator to aid them with their undergraduate assignments (and often post-graduate too).

🙌 Why should I use a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator solves two problems:

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A well-formatted and broad bibliography can account for up to 20% of the total grade for an undergraduate-level project, and using a generator tool can contribute significantly towards earning them.

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's Harvard Referencing Generator?

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• Choose the most relevant results from the list of search results.
• Our generator will automatically locate the source details and format them in the correct Harvard format. You can make further changes if required.
• Then either copy the formatted reference directly into your reference list by clicking the 'copy' button, or save it to your MyBib account for later.

MyBib supports the following for Harvard style:

🍏 What other versions of Harvard referencing exist?

There isn't "one true way" to do Harvard referencing, and many universities have their own slightly different guidelines for the style. Our generator can adapt to handle the following list of different Harvard styles:

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Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.