Paper 2: EVERYONE’S A CRITIC (REVIEW)

Goal
For this assignment, you will become the critic of a work of art or consumer
product. The critical review you write will combine personal reaction,
detailed description, and original analysis, and will make some kind of
argument about the piece’s worth or lack thereof. (In other words, would
you recommend it to the general public or not?)

Subject Matter: You may review anything EXCEPT a movie, book, or CD.
You could choose to review a provocative exhibit in one of the campus art
galleries, a theater/dance performance, piece of architecture, television
show, concert, music video, or restaurant. If you want to, feel free to get
creative and review something more unusual, like a pair of running shoes, a
car, or a breakfast cereal. No matter what you choose, remember that you
must include sophisticated, in-depth analysis of the work, and you must
demonstrate your capacity to use critical language.

Suggested Process: Select two to four areas of critical assessment for the
work you’re reviewing, such as reliability and appearance for a car review or
set design and acting for a theater performance review. Analyze these
elements in-depth, specifically describing what you think is good or bad,
original or boring, flashy or blasé, about each of them. Focus on critiquing
your work or product instead of just summarizing or describing it.
Remember to always use specific details, and to try adding some of your
own unique voice or even humor to the review to give it color! Besides
closely studying the work/product you’re reviewing, any outside research for
this assignment is unnecessary. This is all your opinion, and that’s OK – as
long as you back it up with insightful analysis and description.

Your goal in the review is to make some kind of recommendation either for
or against the work/product. Think of the recommendation as your argument
or thesis statement – it must be backed up with specific reasons why you
would or would not recommend the work/product to someone else. Your
recommendation doesn’t have to stop at a simple “yes” or “no,” either. For
example, the new Thai restaurant in town may be a great place to try – but
only if you love spicy food, or the latest comic book movie adaptation may be
great, but only if you’re already familiar with the source material.

It may help to use a published review as a model to help you in writing your
own review. In class, we will read and discuss a few published reviews. If
you want to find more, try using the local newspaper, searching the Internet,
or asking the reference librarian for help. Remember: NO plagiarism –
simply look for examples of critical writing as inspiration!

Specifications
The essay should be between three and four double-spaced pages (12-
point Times New Roman Font, with one-inch margins on all sides). No

outside research is required or allowed—this should come entirely from your
own analysis.
English Department Grading Standards (a reminder)
A "C" level grade (70-79%) denotes average college-level writing
and achievement. The essay is a competent response to the
assignment: it meets, to some degree, all the assignment
requirements, and demonstrates that the author has put
significant time and effort into communicating his/her ideas to
his/her targeted audience. It has a thesis, presents some
support, and moves from point to point in an orderly fashion;
sentence-level errors do not significantly prevent comprehension.
Essays that do not meet these criteria will not earn a "C."
A "B" level grade (80-90%) highlights a strong example of college
writing and thinking. In addition to meeting the "C" level
requirements, such an essay goes further in some way(s): it
demonstrates some insight into the "gray areas" of the topic,
provides original or very thorough support that is tightly woven
into the overall argument, reads smoothly at both the sentence
and paragraph levels, and/or exhibits a personal "voice" or
style. It has few sentence-level errors.
An "A" level grade (90-100%) marks an essay that is a delight for
the reader. Even more than in a "B" essay, its author
anticipates and responds to possible reader questions, uses a
wide range of supporting evidence, engages the reader in a
provocative conversation, provides unexpected insights, and/or
uses language with care and facility.
"D" and "F" level essays do not meet the basic expectations of
this assignment.