Critical Reading and Writing

Assignment: Critique

Length: 1600-1800 words

Write a critique on any one of the assigned essays in “Chapter 12: The Changing Landscape of Work in the Twenty-First Century” (pp.433-472). Follow the guidelines provided in “Chapter 2: Critical Reading and Critique” (pp. 51-77). Look carefully at the “Guidelines for Writing Critiques” (p. 68). Below is an overview of the five parts of a critique.

1. The introduction (one paragraph). Give the author’s full name, the title of the essay, and the author’s thesis in the first sentence or two. Explain the author’s purpose in writing the essay: what is he/she trying to get the reader to think or do? Provide some general information about the article’s topic and the issues involved. Explain your general opinion of the essay. Do you think that the essay was well written or persuasive? Why or why not? What is your position on the issue?

2. The summary of the article you are commenting on (one paragraph). Be objective, coherent, and complete in your summary. That is, do not add your opinion of the topic or your evaluation of the essay here. Use markers like “The author suggests that . . .” to make it clear that you are paraphrasing someone else’s opinion and not stating your own. Avoid unintentional plagiarism: use your own wording and sentence structures. Add one or two short quotations.

3. The analysis (two paragraphs). Evaluate the essay for accuracy, validity, fairness, significance, organization, language, audience in one paragraph. Is the author successful in persuading you? Why or why not? In a second paragraph, evaluate the author’s use of appeals (look at pages 132-136 in the textbook)—emotional, logical, and ethical. Give specific examples of each appeal. Are they appropriate or persuasive in the essay? Why or why not?

4. The response (two or three paragraphs). Find at least three articles from Academic Search Complete database and use at least two essays from Chapter 12 of the textbook (in addition to the essay that you are critiquing). Do not use online Google searches. Use your research to support your opinion concerning the topic. Do you agree with the author or not? Why or why not? Paraphrase all sources must be paraphrased. Quote, but do so sparingly – use lead-in phrases.

5. The conclusion (one paragraph). Return to the article, summarize your opinion about its validity and persuasiveness. What are its weaknesses and strengths? Restate (in new words) your major arguments on the topic.

Use APA documentation, and be sure to use a proper cover-page.

Provide a word count at the end of the document.—-rede3e2