[EAPP2F] Lesson 1

Lesson 1: Writing a Reaction Paper, a Review, and a Critique

Reaction Paper

• to encourage students to think critically about texts and how they are in conversation with each other or a wider field of discourse

• involves personal feelings of a person towards a text

• students will be able to demonstrate their critical thinking and writing skills

Structure of a Reaction Paper

1. Introduction

2. Summary

3. Analysis

4. Conclusion

Review

• requires the writer to provide an overview of the work, analyze its strengths and weaknesses, and offer recommendations for improvement

• should be objective and unbiased and use evidence to support your opinion

Structure of a Review

1. Introduction

2. Summary

3. Evaluation

4. Conclusion

Critique Paper

• usually longer than a review and requires the writer to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the work, its context, and its contribution to the field

• should also provide recommendations for further research

• an evaluation of a work within its field

Structure of a Critique Paper

1. Introduction

2. Summary

3. Analysis

4. Evaluation

5. Conclusion

The 4 Critical Approaches in Writing a Critique

1. Formalism

2. Feminism/Feminist Criticism

3. Reader-Response Criticism

4. Marxism/Marxist Criticism

Formalism

• claims that the literary works contain intrinsic properties and treat each work as a distinct work of art

• in short, it posits that the key to understanding a text is through text itself

• focuses on the structure of the material and the different parts that make up the text

• the historical context, the author, or any other external contexts are not necessary in interpreting the meaning

Feminism/Feminist Criticism

• focuses on how literature presents women as subjects of socio-political, psychological, and economic oppression

• it reveals how aspects of our culture is patriarchal

Reader-Response Criticism

• concerned with the reviewer’s reaction as an audience of a work

• claims that reader’s role cannot be separated from the understanding of the work; a text does not have meaning until the reader reads it and interprets it

Marxism/Marxist Criticism

• concerned with differences between economic classes and implications of a capitalist system, such as the continuing conflicts between the working class and the elite