Useful Tips on Writing a Critical Essay
A critical essay has the same structure as any other type of essay. However, it has some peculiar features which distinguish it from other papers. Such piece of writing includes the following items:
Introduction
Each academic paper has an introduction and a critical essay is not an exception. This unit should tell readers the title of a work, its author and the type of writing they are going to deal with (book, story, etc). Besides, it also must include a comprehensive thesis statement. A thesis should present information about some strong points of the assignment. It may also focus on certain issues of the paper such as symbolism, central characters, for example. The purpose of a critical lens essay is not to strongly criticize but to give a critical analysis of the subject.
Summary
This section is an important element of the paper. Here, it is necessary to formulate one more time the main ideas of a critical analysis essay. You should explain the author’s position on some aspects of the work. There is no need to write a long summary. This passage should be a brief and reasonable part of the project. If you criticize the facts given by the author, it is necessary to take into account the author’s summary and discussed supporting issues. If you analyze the author’s writing style (literary devices, research methods), you need to consider only one facet of his/her essay you are going to focus on.
Do not forget that you should not analyze any items in the summary. It is used to remind readers about the explored matter. Depending on the type of essay, the summary can be written in one or two paragraphs. Summarizing information can also be included in each body paragraph. In this case, you should concisely present the author’s point of view and then perform your analysis of the issue.
Critical Analysis
What is a critical essay without a criticism part? It is absolutely impossible because it is the main section of the project. Here, you will prove the written thesis statement and develop the topic of your paper. This unit usually analyzes the chosen items of the work. Taking into account the thesis, you may examine different items such as the data provided by the author, use of various stylistic devices, etc. In this part it is necessary to cite examples from the discussed piece of writing and analyze them in order to support the above-mentioned thesis.
Conclusion
A concluding part is written to sum up your research. It is very important to know how to write a critical essay conclusion in a proper way. It should state the key issues of your paper. Here, you should address the thesis statement again and explain it briefly. It is good to arouse great readers’ interest in your college work. Therefore, you may also put some questions in this part to provoke readers to think about the analysis more deeply. You may also let the readers make their own conclusions about the debated subject.
