Paper Three: Critical Review

Purpose

Evaluate an object or phenomenon that interests you and merits your attention. Write to a specific audience, one who can act upon or respond to your evaluation, and write with a specific purpose in mind.

Invention

Keep the following in mind as you brainstorm/draft:

1.          Choose a specific object/phenomenon to evaluate, and explain why it merits evaluation.

2.          Identify the category in which you are placing your subject, and develop evaluative criteria   for that category. For example, if you are going to evaluate The Office, you would determine whether or not you want to categorize it as a mockumentary, an American or British comedy, an Emmy-award winning show, intelligent comedy, etc.

3.          Once you know the subject and category for this paper, brainstorm a long list of evaluative criteria that could be applied to your subject/category and then determine which criteria are most important for your subject/purpose, keeping your specific audience in mind.

4.          Develop an argument that either explicitly states whyyour subject meets the evaluative criteria for the category you have chosen or specify why the subject needs to be re-categorized.

5.          Consider your purpose and intended audience--is your evaluation of your subject informative, entertaining, and/or persuasive?

6.           Revisit your exigence for your paper. How does your subject of evaluation correspond to your exigence?

Expectations

A successful critical review will:

1.     Have an introduction that explains why the subject merits evaluation;

2.     Place the topic in a precise category;

3.     Develop evaluative criteria by which you will make your key judgments, negative and/or positive (these criteria should be agreeable to your audience, or you should make the case as to why they are valid criteria);

4.     Use concrete evidence and examples that illustrate the ways in which the subject/phenomenon does or does not meet each evaluative criterion; and

5.     Compare and contrast your subject with others in the same category in order to help the reader understand your claims.

Length: 3-4 pages (double-spaced)

Rough Draft Due: October 21, 2011

Final Assignment Portfolio Due: October 26, 2011