Critical Thinking

ENG 101 Critical Analysis Essay

The Task:

Critical analysis involves breaking a text into its parts and examining them to determine the effectiveness of the text. For this assignment, you will analyze an instructor-provided article, using your own reasoning as well as an additional written source(s) to support your analysis.

Sources:

· Instructor-provided article which you will analyze

· Additional credible written source(s) located by you in a library database or the Internet which supports your analysis

· Your additional source(s) must be approved by your instructor

Process:

To complete this project, you should complete/submit the following:

· Read and annotate the instructor-approved article

· Review principles of information literacy and APA formatting

· Locate supplementary written source(s) approved by instructor

· Complete prewriting as required by instructor:______________________________

· Submit final Critical Analysis Essay in APA format

Format:

· Multi-paragraph essay

· APA format, including font, spacing, margins, title page, headers, embedded citations, and references page

· Headings for all sections except the introduction

· 1100-1,650 words (must meet minimum word count, exclusive of title and references pages)

· Text evidence should be paraphrased. Direct quotes should be used appropriately. All information from a text must be properly documented in APA format.

Point of View:

· 3rd person point of view only

· 1st and 2nd person points of view are NOT appropriate for this assignment

Content:

Begin with a brief summary that includes the title, author, source, and publication date of the article. The summary should also include the main idea of the article. Then analyze the text for its different pieces, examine how those pieces work alone and together, and evaluate the effectiveness of the author’s argument. You will use your additional source to provide further support for your analysis. You should address the following questions thoroughly in your analysis:

· Summary

· What is the text’s purpose (e.g. persuade, entertain, inform)?

· Who is the intended audience?

· Structure

· What kind of organizational structure does the author use (cause and effect, chronological/process, classification, comparison contrast, definition, example, listing, mixed, etc.)?

· Is this structure a logical choice and work for the evidence used (does it flow well and enhance understanding)? Give examples.

· Evidence

· What kind of evidence (testimony, facts and statistics, analogies, hypotheticals, etc.) does the author use (there may be more than one)?

· Is it relevant? Sufficient? Reliable? Accurate? (You may need to do research to determine accuracy.)

· Examine the interplay and effectiveness of logos (facts, statistics, examples, and authoritative statements), pathos (emotional appeal), and ethos (credibility and integrity) in the text. Discuss the balance of logos, pathos, and ethos and discuss how the weight of each relates to the intended audience. Has the author used or avoided one or more of these techniques based on how he or she views the intended audience (as either supportive/wavering/hostile)?

· Language

· What is the tone?

· Is there an interesting use of language? (Does the author use figurative language or language that is heavily connotative?)

· Author Credibility

· Is the author credible? How do you know? (You may need to do research to determine author credibility.)

· Is the author making a claim? Is it credible?

· Is there evidence of bias or assumptions in the writing?

· Does the author leave out any information that might change a reader’s view?

· From what worldview is the author writing?

· Conclusion

· Is this article effective in the arguments that it makes? Why or why not?

Structure:

Your Critical Analysis should include the following sections:

· Introduction: Identify the text (author, title, date, source) and the overall claim/thesis. Explain the author’s purpose and audience. Briefly summarize the article and end with your overall analysis/evaluation thesis statement.

· Body: Provide body paragraphs that clearly discuss structure, evidence, language, and author credibility by providing your analysis supported with your own reasoning, specific references to the text, and where appropriate, information from your supplementary source(s). Provide embedded citations for all source information. Headings should be used for all sections except the introduction.

· Conclusion: Concluding paragraph should restate the overall analysis/evaluation and re-cap the reasoning behind your conclusion. No new information should be included in the conclusion, but your conclusion should provide a sense of closure.