A written critique includes a minimum of four basic elements:
1. Proper identification of the material read.
2. An abstract of the major ideas, points of view, postulates, and contentions of the author.
3. Critical evaluation of these ideas, viewpoints, and contentions.
4. An analysis of the implications of the reading to a field of interest.
The first task is to identify the major ideas or contentions of the author. Try to determine the author’s justification for his viewpoint. Review the supporting
data presented. Examine the logic underpinning the author’s conclusions. Seek out similarities and differences between what is being reviewed and, perhaps,
what has been written by other scholars or writers. When writing a critique, develop your own most effective style. The abstract should be brief (it is not a
review) but incisive, e.g., an effort to single out the key hypotheses or major contentions of the author.
Your analysis section should center around the primary arguments of the author. The implications derived should follow from the analysis. A suggested
outline for a critique would be: 1. Abstract of major ideas. 2. Critical evaluation of major ideas; 3. The relationship of conclusions to content. (Substantiation
of ideas by good logic and adequacy of supporting arguments and reasoning.) 4. Summary and conclusions.