 Peter watched the new commercial of a popular brand of soap and wrote a

Lutucan Integrated National High School critique and analysis of the commercial, which was published in a reputable
Sariaya, Quezon journal.
 Martin attended a cheerdance competition with his friend; after the event, they
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES discussed how and why the winning team’s performance did not deserve the
(EAPP) award.
What common theme do you find in all the scenarios? All of them
involved evaluating something they read or watched using their reactions and
Lesson 5 opinions. If you think writing a reaction paper, review and critique is hard, think
again: you have been evaluating and reacting to different works without knowing
Appropriate Critical Approaches in Writing a Critique it.
Writing a Reaction Paper
What I need to know
What’s new
Learning Objectives: Read the text and answer the questions that follow.
At the end of the lesson, the learners are expected to:
1. Define critique; My Reaction Paper
2. Identify the various approaches writing a critique; I am so disappointed at what the author said. He is very
3. Criticize the texts using the different approaches of criticism; and wrong about what he said. I do not like what he wrote and I also hate
4. Apply the appropriate critical approaches in writing your critique. all his articles. He has been doing that almost often.
5. Determine the purpose of a reaction paper, review, and critique He is a very boastful writer. He only likes to talk about politics
6. Write an objective/balanced review or critique of a work of art, an event or but he does not know anything about it in reality. He simply copies
a program and pastes whatever he has read. He cannot even explain the ideas
very well.
7. Write a reaction paper, review, and critique objectively
The essay is very long. I hate reading long essays. They
8. Apply the guidelines in writing and effective reaction paper, review and make me very sleepy. There are many unfamiliar words. I had to
critique open a dictionary to find the meaning. The sentences are also long.
Why doesn’t he shorten it?
I do not recommend others to read his essay. They will surely
What I know feel the same way once they have read the essay.
Consider the following scenarios.
 Zeny had to write a reaction paper on the article that they have just read in class.
1. Is this how one should write a reaction paper? Why?
 Jack watched a movie and wrote a long post on his Facebook account to say he
2. What is a GOOD reaction paper?
liked it while analyzing the movie using a feminist perspective.
 Rossie is an art critic and she attended an art exhibition at the Ayala Museum,
after which she wrote a review on her blog about one of the paintings that caught The text above is not the correct way of writing a reaction paper. Views
her attention. must be based on facts and written in an appropriate language and approach. How
should you write a reaction paper?
 an evaluation is to gauge the usefulness or impact of a work in a particular field.

What is it The following are the different approaches in writing a critique:

A reaction paper, a review, a critique are specialized forms of writing in which a
reviewer or reader evaluates any of the following: 1. Formalist
 a scholarly work (e.g., academic books and articles)
Formalist Criticism emphasizes the form of a literary work to determine
 a work of art (e.g., performance art, play, dance, sports, film, its meaning, focusing on literary elements and how they work to create meaning.
exhibits)
 designs (e.g., industrial designs, furniture, fashion design) It examines a text as independent from its time period, social setting, and
 graphic designs (e.g., posters, billboards, commercials, and digital author’s background. A text is an independent entity. It also focuses on close
readings of texts and analysis of the effects of literary elements and techniques on
media)
the text.
Reaction papers, reviews and critiques usually range in length from 250 to
Two Major Principles of Formalism
750 words. They are not simply summaries but are critical assessments, analyses,
or evaluation of different works. As advanced forms of writing, they involved your  A literary text exists independent of any particular reader and, in a sense,
skills in critical thinking and recognizing arguments. However, you should not has a fixed meaning.
connect the word critique to cynicism and pessimism.  The greatest literary texts are “timeless” and “universal.”
Reviewers do not simply rely on mere opinions; rather, they use both
proofs and logical reasoning to substantiate their comments. They process ideas A formalist reading of “The 3 Little Pigs”
and theories, revisit and extend ideas in a specific field of study, and present an
analytical response to a book or article.  What does the wolf symbolize?
 Notice the consonance of “I’ll huff and I’ll puff…”
Critical Approaches in Writing a Critique  How does the story foreshadow the final fate of the pigs?
A critique is a careful analysis of an argument to determine what is said,  What does the wolf’s dialogue tell us about his character?
how well the points are made, what assumptions underlie the argument, what
issues are overlooked, and what implications are drawn from such observations. It
is a systematic, yet personal response and evaluation of what you read. It is a genre 2. Feminist criticism
of academic writing that briefly summarizes and critically evaluates a work or
concept. Feminist Criticism examines works by and about women. A critic using
Feminist Studies or Gender Studies might ask, "How is gender constructed or
Critiques can be used to carefully analyze a variety of works such as: deconstructed in this text? Is the view of the text gendered or sexist?" Feminist
 Creative works – novels, exhibits, film, images, poetry Criticism is concerned with the role, position, and influence of women in a literary
 Research – monographs, journal articles, systematic reviews, theories text.
 Media – news reports, feature articles
 Asserts that most “literature” throughout time has been written by men, for
Like an essay, a critique uses a formal, academic writing style and has a men.
clear structure, - introduction, body and conclusion. However, the body of a  Examines the way that the female consciousness is depicted by both male
critique includes a summary of the work and a detailed evaluation. The purpose of and female writers.
 mind of a reader. It attempts “to describe what happens in the reader’s mind while
4 Basic Principles of Feminist Criticism interpreting a text” and reflects that reading, like writing, is a creative process.
 Western civilization is patriarchal.
 The concepts of gender are mainly cultural ideas created by Reader-Response Criticism studies the interaction of reader with text,
patriarchal societies. holding the text as incomplete until it is read. This critical approach can be, and
 Patriarchal ideals pervade “literature.” often is, combined with other approaches. Also, it:
 Most “literature” through time has been gender-biased.  Focuses on the act of reading and how it affects our perception of meaning
in a text (how we feel at the beginning vs. the end).
A Feminist reading of “Goldilocks”  Deals more with the process of creating meaning and experiencing a text as
we read. A text is an experience, not an object.
As a single, young woman, Goldilocks finds herself without means or  Believes there is no single, fixed interpretation for any work.
opportunity because she is unattached to a father or a husband. Perhaps this is why
she’s alone in the woods. 5. Sociological focuses on man’s relationship to others in society, politics, religion,
An independent woman, then, is a threat to the “normal” nuclear family, and business. Sociological criticism:
represented by the three bears.  argues that social contexts (the social environment) must be
considered when analyzing a text.
 focuses on the values of a society and how those views are
3. Historical reflected in a text Emphasizes the economic, political, and
cultural issues within literary texts
This approach “seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the  Core Belief: Literature is a reflection of its society.
social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it—a context that necessarily
includes the artist’s biography and milieu.” A key goal for historical critics is to 6. Marxist Criticism
understand the effect of a literary work upon its original readers. - concerned with differences between economic classes and
It is concerned with how the author’s original audience would have implications of a capitalist system, such as the continuing
understood the writing. It takes into account the author’s biography and the time conflicts between working class and the elite.
and place in which the author wrote. - attempts to reveal that the ultimate source of people’s experience
For example— is the socio-economic system
 How accurate is Arthur Miller’s depiction of the Salem Witch
trials?
 Miller wrote the play in the 1950’s. Would his audience have Common aspects looked into when using Marxist criticism:
connected McCarthyism and the people of Salem?  Social class as represented in the work
 What aspects of America’s political climate from the 1950’s  Social class of the writer/creator
matter to this work?  Social class of the characters
 Conflicts and interactions between economic classes
4. Reader-Response Criticism

This approach takes as a fundamental tenet that “literature” exists not as an

artifact upon a printed page but as a transaction between the physical text and the
Structure of a Reaction Paper Reaction paper w/ no prescribed Guidelines in Writing a Reaction Paper, Review, or Critique
structure For Articles and Journals
Introduction (5%) Introduction ‣ Read to the work to be reviewed carefully.
‣ Title of the book/article or ‣ Basic details about the ‣ Relate the content of the work to what you already know about the topic.
work material (title, director or artist ‣ Focus on discussing how the book treats the topic
‣ Writer’s name name of exhibition/event) ‣ Report the type of analysis or mode of presentation.
‣ Thesis statement ‣ Main assessment of the ‣ Examine whether the findings are adequately supported.
Summary (10%) material (for films and ‣ Suggest points for improvement of the reasoning.
‣ Objective or Purpose performances) ‣ Point out other interpretations that the writer missed out.
‣ Methods used (if Analysis or interpretation
applicable) ‣ Discussion or analysis of the
‣ Major findings, claims, work (critical approach) For artworks and other media
ideas, or messages ‣ What aspects of the work ‣ Use speculative verbs (evoke, create, appear, & suggest).
Review/Critique (in no particular make you think it is a success ‣ Make sure to describe it to the reader (do not spoil key events).
order 75%) or failure. ‣ Describe the material in simple terms (artworks).
‣ Does the writer explicitly ‣Were there unanswered
state his/her thesis statement. questions or plot lines? If yes, General note:
‣ What are the assumptions how did they affect the story? ‣ Did the work hold your interest?
‣ What are the contributions ‣ How does the work relate in ‣ Did the work annoy or excite you?
of the work to the field where other ideas ore events in the ‣ Did the work prompt you to raise questions to the author?
it belongs? world? ‣ Did the work lead you to some realizations?
‣ What problems and issues ‣ What stood out while you ‣ Did the work remind you of other materials that you have read, viewed or
are discussed or presented in were watching the film or the
the work? performance? listened to?
‣ What kind of information Conclusion or Evaluation
are presented in the work? ‣ Reinforcement of main
Conclusion (10%) assessment What I know
‣ Overall impression of the ‣ Comparison to a similar Activity 2. Draw a smiling face  if the statement is true and a sad face , if the
work work. statement is false.
‣ Scholarly or literary value ‣ Recommendation of the ______ 1. A review or reaction paper involves higher order thinking skills.
of the reviewed article, book material (if you liked it) ______ 2. A reaction paper, review and critique generally used the same
or work. organization of ideas.
‣ Benefits for the intended ______ 3. A review must always be organized using a structure.
audience ______ 4. Feminist criticism relates to conflicts between ideas.
‣ Suggestion for future ______ 5. Marxist criticism involves the analysis of the intrinsic features of a text.
direction of research ______ 6. More than half of a review or critique should be devoted to the
summary.
______ 7. The name of an author and title of the reviewed article are placed at the
 end of a review or critique. Duterte has jailed critics, harassed journalists and waged a
______ 8. The reviewer’s overall impression of the material being reviewed should controversial drug war, exposing him to charges of autocratic rule. Rights
be placed in the introduction. advocates fear the new powers will make it dangerous for local
______ 9. When writing a review, reaction paper, or critique, only one perspective governments to express dissent over how best to combat the virus.
should be used. Fifty million Filipinos meanwhile remain under lockdown since
______ 10. Writing a reaction paper, review or critique is exclusive for scholars Duterte ordered half the population to stay home last week. The main
island of Luzon is a web of checkpoints to ensure people stay put.
What’s more The new law also gives Duterte the authority to reallocate items in
Read the following article and answer the questions that follow. the 2020 national budget for projects that would fight the spread of COVID-
19. Under a $5 billion emergency fund, some 18 million low-income
Concerns In Philippines After Duterte Given Emergency Powers households would receive assistance.
To Fight COVID-19 Spread The package also helps equip hospitals and bolster testing.
March 24, 2020 Any accurate measurement of the coronavirus in the Philippines has
Source: been severely constrained by a chronic shortage of test kits. As of
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/24/820906636/ Tuesday, only 1,793 individuals have been tested nationwide.
concerns-in-philippines-after-duterte-given-emergency-powers-to-fight-covid-19-s Last week, the Philippine Health Department said it has only 2,000
kits left. The Chinese Embassy in Manila said it will donate 100,000 test
In the Philippines, Congress granted President Rodrigo Duterte kits. Singapore contributed diagnostic kits on Tuesday that can perform
special temporary powers on Tuesday to manage the COVID-19 crisis that 3,000 tests.
continues to surge in the country of 110 million people. One bone of contention: who should be tested. Reports that VIPs —
To date, there are 552 confirmed cases, and 35 deaths. including senators, other officials and their relatives — were tested ahead
The measure granting Duterte the new powers was the first to be of ordinary citizens have generated predictable scorn.
approved by Philippine lawmakers using Zoom, the remote
teleconferencing service, and puts the country under a "state of national Now, answer the following questions
emergency." 1. What is the purpose of the given text?
However, Duterte failed to win approval to take over private
2. Who is the target reader?
companies and utilities, authority he had sought.
The president has been locked in battle with private concessionaires 3. Has the writer achieved his/her purpose? If yes, how?
who supply water to Metro Manila, accusing them of over-charging and
under-performing, and repeatedly threatening to put water under What I have learned
government control. 1. One must use appropriate language for a specific discipline.
Duterte's new powers extend to the narrower sectors of hospitals
2. It is important to raise legitimate, contrary views in an
and public transportation. He can direct private hospitals and medical
facilities to house health care workers and serve as quarantine centers, appropriate manner.
and take over public transport operations to ferry front-line workers. 3. There are different critical approaches that you can apply when
But even these measures have drawn criticism. making a critique and you need also to apply the appropriate
"No to emergency powers. The existing powers are already being
critical approach in your critique.
abused," University of the Philippines law professor Jay Batongbacal said
in a Facebook post, the South China Morning Post reported.
What I can do
Reader Formalism Feminist Marxist
Summarize what you have read by completing the table with what you understood. Response
Write your answers in your notebook.
What aspects of
the poem lend
Example: themselves to
APPROACHE WHAT IT IS HOW IT IS DONE this
S IN (DEFINITION) (TECHNIQUE IN particular lens?
LITERARY WRITING)
CRITICISM Cite specific
Example: This approach regards A primary goal for formalist textual
Formalism literature as “a unique form critics is to determine how passage(s) that
support
of human knowledge that elements of form (style,
this reading
needs to be examined on its structure, tone, imagery, etc.)
own terms.” work together with the text’s If you look
content to shape its effects through this
lens, what
upon readers. themes or
patterns are
brought into
sharp relief?
Additional Activities If you look
through this
Read the poem using the assigned theory and answer the table below.
lens, what
questions
DEAD STARS emerge?
(for Paz Marquez Benitez) Do you believe
by H.O. Santos in this reading?
Why or why
Source: https://www.sushidog.com/bpss/poems_staff/stars2.htm not?

If I still think of her today

Why didn’t I tell her long ago?
I could have saved all wondering Reflection
For I’d have peace if I did know.
If I had learned of metaphors Write your personal insights about the lesson using the prompts below.
Before I wondered ’bout the stars I understand that _ .
Would I have written verses then I realize that .
And worshipped Venus instead of Mars?
If I had found my tongue could rhyme
Would I have shown a face sans mask,
A heart unsure? But woe is me–
I’ll never know, I didn’t ask.
Assessment 8. Which critical approach focuses on understanding texts by viewing texts in the
context of other texts?
Answer the questions that follow. Choose the letter of the best answer.
A. Marxist
1. Which of the following is NOT true about the reaction paper?
B. Feminism
A. It may include the main purpose of the event.
C. Historicism
B. It conveys incisive insights into its analysis of events.
D. Reader-response
C. It is mainly written to communicate a fair assessment.
9. Which critical approach focuses on each reader's personal reactions to a text,
D. It purely expresses one’s opinions on certain issues and concerns.
assuming meaning is created by a reader's or interpretive community's personal
2. Which of the following can be a form of a reaction paper?
interaction with a text?
A. news report
A. Marxist
B. book review
B. Feminism
C. incident report
C. Historicism
D. romantic poem
D. Reader-response
3. Which of the following is needed to make objective assessment?
10. Which critical approach focuses on "objectively" evaluating the text,
A. facts
identifying its underlying form. It may study, for example, a text's use of imagery,
B. objectives
metaphor, or symbolism?
C. assessment
A. Formalism
D. personal views
B. Historicism
4. Which of the following is NOT a form of reaction paper?
C. Media Criticism
A. appeal
D. Reader-response
B. protest
C. reflection
D. sports Report
5. Why should we cite specific source?
A. It makes the reaction paper reliable.
B. It makes the paper more substantial.
C. It is an additional creative part of the paper.
D. It can attract many readers to read your paper.
6. Which critical approach focuses on understanding ways gender roles are
reflected or contradicted by texts?
A. Marxist
B. Feminism
C. Historicism
D. Reader-response
7. Which critical approach focuses on ways texts reflect, reinforce, or challenge the
effects of class, power relations, and social roles?
A. Marxist
B. Feminism
C. Historicism
D. Reader-response
Answer Key
References
What’s New
Activity 1
Answers may vary Book
Barrot, Jessie and Sipacio, Philippe John. Communicate Today
What I KnowActivity 2 English for Academic & Professional Purposes for Senior High
School. Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc., 2016.
1.  6. 
2.  7.  Melencion, M. English for Academic and Professional Purposes
Quarter 1 - Module 2 Academic Writing in Practice.
3.  8.  Cagayan de Oro. Department of Education. 2020.
4.  9. 

5.  10. 

What’s More
Activity 3
Answers may vary

What I Have Learned

Activity 4
Answers may vary

Additional activities
Answers may vary

Assessment
1. D 6. B
2. B 7. A
3. A 8. C
4. D 9. D
5. A 10. A