Writing a Critique

Be sure to read several times Underline, circle words that you notice Organize as you go

READ thoroughly

What do you observe? How might your observation lead you to

draw a conclusion about the work?

Use Inductive Reasoning

Find out where the work was first published Find out something about the author Think about his/her likely audience(s)

Consider “para” text

Does he or she use pathos? Ethos? Logos? Or some combination?

Look for rhetorical modes

Voice? Audience? Purpose? Ideas? Details?

Now, go through VAPID

Organize by rhetorical points (VAPID) rather than in the order of essay

Avoid summary, but use specific examples Start to construct TEA paragraphs

Organize your points

Establish the framework for your essay Now, you are ready to write the first draft Don’t forget your thesis and that your intro

should be more than one sentence!

Construct Thesis

According to Ellen Ullman, we are “Dining With Robots.” The general idea is that with our long hours at work, well organized lives and automated lifestyles we lose human qualities and are becoming robots. She questions the idea of building robots versus becoming the robots. Our “appetites” for making life easier with robots becomes a reality check. When looking in the mirror, we no longer see ourselves but the robots we have become

Don’t forget to revise If possible, leave some time between

revisions.

Write and Revise