At some point during college or university, you’ll probably be asked to write a critical review of a text related to what you’re studying. They aren’t commonly done during high school, and so it will probably be an unfamiliar task to start with. Here’s one approach to writing a critical review that I’ve used which has been very successful for me, and hopefully it can help you too!
What is a critical review?
Essentially, a critical review is a summary and evaluation of a journal article, chapter, or book. While critical usually gives a negative connotation, your review doesn’t necessarily need to attack the author’s view point, rather you question the information and opinions they present in an analytical manner, and assess how effective their argument is.
Get to know the text
Start by getting a broad understanding of the text. Skim read it by looking at chapter titles, headings, introduction, opening sentences of paragraphs, any tables, graphics, or diagrams, and the conclusion.
Briefly outline the author’s aim and their main points. You’ll come back to this when assessing how well they have argued their point!
Read the entire text. With the author’s aims and main points in mind, read the entire text and note what evidence they use to support their points, how convincing their reasoning is, how they deal with opposing arguments, how the text is structured and styled, etc. I like to use a physical copy of the text so I can highlight and annotate important parts!
Get to know the author! While not always necessary, getting to know the author, their area of specialisation, and if they associate with a specific approach to the subject can help you better review the text.
Read widely around the topic
So you’ve read the text you’re reviewing and have a good understanding of its content and how the author has argued their point, but how does it fit into the wider literature? Does the author hold a more mainstream view of the subject, or are they more radical in their thinking, presenting a view in opposition to other academics?
Look at their references. Did they cite another academic who holds a contrary opinion? Their work may be worth reading to assess what the author of the text you’re reviewing may have intentionally left out!
Read reviews of the author you’re reviewing. As students, we’re not always as fully aware of a topic as other academics who specialise in the area are. If you’re able to find reviews written by other academics on the author you’re reviewing, they may be able to highlight areas of further research for you to investigate!
Read completely different views of the topic! My most recent critical review was from the a social historian. To gain a broader perspective of the topic, I read interpretations from Marxists, to Revisionists, and other social historians. These different interpretations of the same event allowed me to assess each argument and form my own conclusions based upon how convincing the interpretation was argued.
Read the works of prominent academics in a field. They often inform other academics and help develop approaches to a topic. Note, however, that prominence doesn’t mean their argument is perfect!
Structure and content
Not every critical review will have the same structure, but I tend to follow a similar skeleton structure outlined below.
Introduction - identify the author, the title of the text, and when it was published. Briefly explain the main findings of your review and the key ideas.
Summary - to give the reader an understanding of the text, you need to provide a summary. Pull out the author’s main points and conclusions. Don’t give a lengthy narrative description of the text, focus on the author’s argument. This shouldn’t be more than one or two paragraphs!
Critique - this is the core of your review and will be the bulk of your essay. Here are a few things to think about when writing it
Identify the text’s strengths and weaknesses. You can do this by comparing it to other texts on a similar topic
Does the author present a particular approach to the topic?
How do they consider alternative approaches?
How do they use evidence to support their claims?
Does the text structure and style affect your understanding?
Has anything been left out intentionally?
Support your review with examples from within the text!
Conclusion - restate your overall opinion of the text. Discuss how it fits within the broader scope of literature on the topic and how useful it is. You could even suggest possible improvements and suggestions for further investigation!
I hope this is helpful, and good luck with any critical reviews you have to write! My inbox is open for any questions you might have!
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