THE APPROACHES USED IN

WRITING A CRITIQUE PAPER

By. Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT
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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
1. Formalist Criticism
- regards literature as “a form of
human knowledge that needs to be
examined on its own terms.”
Elements of form:
a. Style
b. Structure
c. Tone
d. Imagery

Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT

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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
2. Biographical or Historical Criticism
- begins with a simple but central insight that
literature is written by actual people and that
understanding an author’s life can help readers more
thoroughly comprehend the work.
Probing:
a. Social
b. Cultural
c. Political
d. Intellectual
Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT
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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
3. Gender Criticism
- examines how sexual identity influences the creation of
the literary text.
a. Masculinist Approach
-advocate by poet Robert Bly which focuses on the
desire to work with men’s issues and yields to the political
conviction that feminism does not fit with the facts.
b. Feminist Approach
-attempts to correct the imbalance of sexes by
analyzing and combating the patriarchal attitudes that have
dominated western thoughts.
Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT
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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
4. Psychological Criticism
- method, concept, or the form of the
material is influenced by psychoanalytic theories
changed our notions on human behavior in which
authors explore more controversial areas like wish
fulfillment, sexuality, the unconscious and
repression.

Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT

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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
5. Sociological Criticism
- evaluates a literary piece in the cultural,
economic, and political context that explores the
linkage between the author and his society.
Marxist Criticism highlights the economic and
political elements of art focusing on the
ideological content of literature.
Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT
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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
5. Moral/Philosophical Approach

Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT

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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
6. Moral/Philosophical Approach
-focuses on themes, views of the world,
morality, philosophies of the author and the
like for this approach establishes its purpose
of teaching morality and investigating
philosophical issues.

Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT

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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
6. Moral/Philosophical Approach
What view of life does the story present? Which character best
articulates this viewpoint?
According to this work’s view of life, what is mankind’s
relationship to God? To the universe?
What moral statement, if any, does this story make? Is it
implicit or explicit?
What is the author’s attitude toward his world? Toward fate?
Toward God?
What is the author’s conception of good and evil?
What does the author say about the nature of good or evil?
What does the work say about human nature?
Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT
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THE APPROACHES IN WRITING A

CRITIQUE PAPER
7. Mythological Criticism
-emphasizes “the current universal
patterns underlying most literary works.”
Combining insights from anthropology,
psychology, history, and comparative
religion, mythological criticism.

Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT

 STEPS IN WRITING A CRITIQUE PAPER

Determine
Choose the
Read to the author’s
Analyze literary Write
understand purpose of
criticism
writing

Ms. Mara Camille B. Nañez, LPT