Hints and Reminders for the Critical Response Essay

As you begin to draft your Critical Response Essay, remember to ask yourself the following initial questions:

• How does the author construct his/her argument?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What types of rhetorical appeals are being made?

Then, think through all of the rhetorical concepts we have been discussing in class: audience, metaphor, ethos, pathos, logos, style, tone, and evidence, etc.  Now, get much more specific and ask yourself which of these the writer uses most successfully or most interestingly or most problematically.  Which strategies are essential to the argument being made?  How do the various rhetorical strategies work in concert with each other? 

Remember that you will want to dwell on the question of how the author makes his or her point without getting bogged down in a mere rehearsal of what that point is.  How does the article strive to be compelling, interesting, important, appealing, and urgent?  Given your analysis, do you personally find the article's argument successful?  Where are its weaknesses most pronounced? 

An excellent rhetorical analysis takes context into consideration as well.  Always ask yourself in what context the argument functions and why that might be important.  Remember to be as specific as possible.  One way to do this is by honing in on one or two aspects of a particular rhetorical strategy (such as metaphor, or a specific use of pathos) and tracing it throughout the article.  Keep in mind that it is not enough to say that an author uses pathos.  Instead, show your reader how the author uses pathos specifically and to what end.

Before you begin drafting, think about the following questions:

• How does the article or essay strive to be compelling, interesting, important, appealing, and urgent?
• How can I describe what this article achieves (or fails to achieve)?
• Does the article or essay have a clear purpose, and does it accomplish this purpose?
• Does the article have a clear intended audience? How does the article connect with its audience?
• Which of its rhetorical features will likely influence the audience most? Emotional appeals? Style? Evidence?
• How do the rhetorical elements interact?
• What are the contexts (social, political, historical, cultural, etc.) for the article and for the argument the article is making? How does this argument fit into the world we are living in right now? Whose interests does it serve? Who gains or loses depending on the success or failure of the argument?
• What shape does the argument take? How is the argument presented in the article? How are the argument's components arranged in the article?
• How does the language or the style of the argument work to persuade an audience?
• How does the character of the author or speaker work to persuade the audience?
• Are claims supported by evidence?
• Do I personally find the argument successful?

Remember to maintain your academic distance and remain critical.  Even if you agree with the author, you might very well disagree with his or her methods.

After considering the above questions (and perhaps asking a few pointed questions of your own), you should begin your own analysis by forming your own clear and specific argument regarding how you think the article or essay you are analyzing works and why.  You can't include or deal with every aspect of the article or essay you are analyzing.  Therefore, only use what is most helpful and strategic in constructing your own more focused argument.

Please let me know if you have ANY questions. I am really excited to read these!!