Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Katedra Filologii Angielskiej, Szczecin 2014 ● ACADEMIC WRITING: CRITICAL COMMENTARY ESSAY

CRITICAL COMMENTARY ESSAY

WHAT IS A CRITICAL COMMENTARY ESSAY?

In a critical commentary essay students show their ability to formulate their critical response to a given article
presenting a controversial problem of scholarly, ethical, or social nature. They are supposed to show their ability
to recapitulate the author’s main idea and analyze it critically presenting their opinion in a carefully structured
form, with clearly defined thesis statement, and carefully selected arguments that would support their thesis.
The essay is to be 350 words long (I year MA students) or 500 words long (II year MA students).

WHAT IS CRITICAL COMMENTARY?

A critical attitude in writing could be understood as "detached evaluation". Therefore, a critical commentary
essay should be an academic, non-emotive, objective and argumentative comment on the article read by students,
paired with their own opinion on the issue. Criticism does not mean one has to attack the work or the author; it
simply means one is thinking critically about it, exploring it and discussing one’s findings.
The assessment of the article may include the following aspects:
 an assessment of the "facts" presented on the basis of correctness, relevance, and whether or
not pertinent facts were omitted;
 an evaluation or judgment of the logical consistency of the author's argument;
 an appraisal of the author's values, ideology and/or hidden agenda(s) visible in the article.

THE PROCEDURE
 read the text thoroughly;
 highlight the thesis of the article and its key points / arguments;
 think about the logic and relevance of the arguments presented in the text, and the values
which are expressed by the text;
 make notes of your own arguments/ counter-arguments for this issue;
 choose the most important/ strongest points you want to include in your essay;
 make an outline;
 write your paper;
 double check your paper for linguistic errors and general coherence.

ESSAY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

When evaluating the essay, the teachers of Academic Writing will take into account the following
criteria:
 how accurately the article author’s idea was grasped and how the student’s own thesis was
formulated;
 how the arguments to support the thesis were selected;
 whether the essay is logical, coherent and cohesive;
 whether proper register was maintained;
 what range of linguistic devices was used to express one’s ideas;
 what range of vocabulary was used to present the views;
 whether the essay is linguistically accurate.
 Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Katedra Filologii Angielskiej, Szczecin 2014 ● ACADEMIC WRITING: CRITICAL COMMENTARY ESSAY
THE OUTLINE
One can apply two possible approaches to the organisation of a critical commentary essay:
OPTION ONE: OPTION TWO:
It should include: the identification of the It should include: the identification of the article
ionIntroduct

article (author, title, other information if
available/ relevant); a brief statement of the
author's main idea/ thesis; the student’s
thesis as contrasted/ correlated with the
author’s idea.
1. paragraph:
Body
(author, title, other information if available/
relevant); a brief statement of the author's main
idea/ thesis and the important "facts" and lines
of reasoning the author used to support the
main idea, the author's explicit or implied
values, and the author's conclusion or
suggestions; the student’s thesis as contrasted/
correlated with the author’s idea.
1. paragraph:

The student summarises the important The student presents one of the most important
"facts" and lines of reasoning the author used arguments of the article and comments on it,
to support the main idea, the author's presenting their counter-arguments or
explicit or implied values, and the author's supporting arguments and evidence.
conclusion or suggestions for action in
2. paragraph:
paragraph one of the body.
As previously
2. paragraph:
3. paragraph:
The student comments on one of the ideas
mentioned in the previous paragraph, paired As previously
with the their opinion and argumentation. Etc.
3. paragraph
As previously
Etc.

The student summarizes their argumentation and draws conclusions. The conclusion may also
Conclusion

include further points for consideration, new questions/ points for discussion uncovered by this
critical assessment, etc.

NOTES:
 Other possible outlines are possible, as long as they include both features of the critical
commentary essay, that is: critical evaluation of the article and the student’s own opinion
 Please bear in mind that this is not a summary nor an opinion essay. Failing to keep a healthy
balance between the comment on the article and your opinion may result in producing these
two writing forms, but not a critical commentary essay
 You may quote from the article you comment on, but please remember to keep the quotes short
and scarce. Quote only the very necessary fragments of the article.
 You do not have to disagree with the article. However, please make sure that when you agree,
your arguments are not identical to the arguments in the article, and make sure your opinion is
clearly marked as distinct from the article you comment on.
 The number of paragraphs in the main body of the essay may vary, depending on the line of
argumentation and the length of the essay (350 or 500 words).