Critical Reading and Writing Worksheet

Title of the text:

1. Overall subject/topic:  What is the article (or other source) about? This is usually a very brief phrase.
 

2. Persona:  Who wrote this piece?  What do we know about the writer?  (Name, level of education, career, background, personal life, personality, etc.) (Begin by looking in the text and thinking about how the piece is written. Then go to the Internet for more information about the writer.)


3. Author’s purpose:  Think of the purposes people have for writing.  What does the writer want the audience to think, feel, or do differently after reading the essay?  Note that there can be more than one purpose.  In fact, in professional writing, the purpose is almost never ONLY to inform. You'll usually have an answer for two, or even all three, of these.

  • To inform (Remember that professional writers rarely write only to inform.)
  • To entertain
  • To persuade (Professional writers almost always have a persuasive purpose.)

How well does the author achieve these purposes? Are you convinced?


4. Time period:  When was this piece written?  How might the time of writing affect the content and/or our response?  What time period is covered in the writing?  How is the content relevant to today?
 

5. Audience: Who is this essay written for?  What assumptions did the writer make about the readers? (age group, gender, ethnic and racial makeup, level of education, socioeconomic status, biases, previous knowledge)
 

6. Thesis: While we may be able to tell from the overall tone of the essay what the writer’s purpose is, it may be harder to find a precise statement of the thesis. Professional writers often "imply" thesis, rather than explicitly stating it. If you find a sentence or two that express the writer's purpose, copy them here, using quotation marks and an in-text notation with the page number.

 

  1. Main points in support of the thesis:  Look for "organization language" which introduces evidence. Then list the main ideas that follow each element of organization. This is the "brief outline" discussed in Exploring Language, page 9. This may take up a good bit of space here.

    2.  

     

  2. Evidence: What kind of evidence does the writer use?  How reliable is the evidence? Here are some common kinds of evidence:  examples, personal experience, scientific data, anecdotes ("real-people" stories), statistics, research results, historical data, allusions, appeals to authority including quoted material, expert testimony, etc. List kinds here:

    3.  Relevance: Does the evidence clearly support the writer's thesis?  

  3. Assumptions: What does the writer take for granted about the topic (seems to believe is or isn't true, widely understood, appropriate, etc.)?  For example, is there anything in the essay that is obviously (to YOU) a false assumption?

    4.  

  4. Fallacies: Using the list on pages 19 & 20 in Exploring Language as a guide, evaluate this writer's logic. Does s/he use any of the following logical fallacies? the personal attack tactic (ad hominem argument); the "pity" appeal; the bandwagon appeal; begging the question (ignoring the actual issue); circular reasoning; false analogy; hasty generalization; non sequitur; faulty cause-and-effect reasoning; slipper slope; stacking the deck

    5.  

  5. Other Limitations:
  • Language: Are there terms in the text that need to be defined? If so, list them here:
  • Biases: Is there any obvious bias or "slant" in the source that prevents it from being effective? Does the tone reveal a bias that might be damaging to the writer's case?
  • Omissions: Does the author ignore or disregard important elements of the issue? What would YOU have included that this writer didn't?
  • Opposing Views: Does the author address opposing views? If so, does s/he refute the opposition effectively?


12. What might one be asked to write about with this essay as a "jumping off" point?

  • Do you agree with him/her? Why? (This is the most common way to respond.)
  • How does the topic affect you personally?
  • How can you apply this writer's analysis to your own situation?
  • How do this writer's ideas compare/contrast with other sources on the same topic?

 

 

[This sheet is adapted from material found in Writing With Insight: Using Sources from the Disciplines, by Julie Bertch, Ph.D.]