How to Write a 5 Paragraph Review

A critique is usually written in response to a creative work, such as a novel, film, poem, or painting. However, reviews are sometimes designed for research and media purposes, such as articles or columns. A critique is slightly different from the traditional five-paragraph essay, because it focuses on the effectiveness and usefulness of the work it is criticizing, rather than making a rigorous argument that analyzes the work. . You can write a review in a 5-part structure to structure the flow of thoughts.

Table of Contents

Lay the foundation for the article

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Review writing direction or assignment. Make sure to understand exactly what to write. The question paper may mention words or phrases such as “criticism” or “critical review”, “critical review”, “critical assessment”. These reviews all require that you not only summarize but also evaluate the work in question.

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Read text. Ask questions and take notes as you read. This helps you guide your ideas forward. For example:

Does the author clearly state their point of view/goal? If not, what do you think that point of view/goal is?
What audience does the author target? This can be the key to determining the success of a work; For example, a children’s movie may be suitable for children, not adults.
What was your reaction when reading or viewing the work? Does it provoke an emotional response? Do you feel confused?
What question does the work raise in you? Does it suggest another path of discovery or observation?

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Study. Often you will need to do a lot of research, often to contrast the work within a larger issue or context, you will need to know what the work is responding to, the context in which it was created…etc ^{[ 1] X Research Source}

For example, if you’re reviewing a research paper on a new flu cure, it might be helpful to do a little research on current flu treatments to position the work in context.
As another example, if you’re writing a film review, you’ll need to briefly mention the director’s other films, or important films in the same genre (indie, action, drama, etc.) ).
High school/university libraries are the right place to conduct research, because their data provides information from authentic sources, by experts. Google Schpar is also a valuable resource.

Write an introduction

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Provide background information about the work. The first paragraph is used to introduce works, where you give background information about them. Include the name of one or more authors, the title of the work and the time of creation. ^{[2] X Research Source}

For published works of fiction or articles/research, this information is usually printed in the publication, as on the copyright disclosure page for the novel.
For movies, you’ll need to consult sources like IMDB to gather the information you need. If you’re critiquing a famous work, the art encyclopedia is the perfect place to look up creator info, title, key timeframes (start date, release date, etc.) ).

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Provide context for the work. The context to provide depends on the genre of work you are evaluating. You should give the reader some information to understand the issue the author is referring to, but not in too much detail. Just enough for the reader to understand your review. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

For example, if you are evaluating a scientific paper, it is important to give the reader an overview of the research’s place in the context of scholarly discussion (e.g., “Professor X’s research on fruit flies are part of the traditional study of ABCXYZ”).
If evaluating a painting, briefly state information such as where it was first exhibited, to whom the painting was drawn, etc.
If you are evaluating a novel, you should talk about the genre or literary tradition used for the novel (e.g., fantasy, higher modernism, romance). You can also include an author bio, which will usually be relevant to your commentary.
For a media publication such as news, consider the social/political context of the media in which it was published (such as Fox News, BBC, etc.) and the issue the article covers (such as immigration). , education, entertainment).

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Summarize the author’s goal/purpose when composing. This element should be considered the thesis or purpose of the work. Sometimes this is clearly stated, as in research papers, for example. For other creative writings or publications, you may collect yourself what you believe is the author’s intent.

Authors of research papers will often state very clearly in the abstract and introduction what they are researching, often in a sentence pattern like this: “In this research paper we provide a new framework for analyzing X and arguing its superiority over its predecessors for reasons A and B”.
For creative work, the author will not explicitly state their purpose, but you can still infer your own from the context of the work. For example, if you consider The Shining you could argue that Stanley Kubrick wanted to call attention to the poor treatment of Native Americans by the Native American setting presented in the film. You can state why you think so in the article.

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Summarize the main thesis of the work. Briefly describe how an argument is formed. For example, you could talk about how the work uses characters to reflect the face of society, or you could address questions and assumptions in an article.

For example, if you were writing about The Shining , you might summarize the main point like this: “Stanley Kubrick’s film is strongly symbolic, like the hotel booking on a Native American burial ground, the guest’s name The hotel is “Overlook”, with the presence of paintings and representations of Native American culture, to call attention to the way Americans treat Native peoples.

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Present your initial assessment. This serves as a step in presenting the thesis, making an assertion about the preliminary effect/effectiveness of the work. Is your assessment of the work negative, positive, or mixed? ^{[4] X Research Sources}

For research paper, you should focus your argument on whether the research and discussion support the author’s claim. You can also evaluate the research method if there are many obvious shortcomings.
For creative work, consider what you believe the author’s thesis is contained in the work and present in the assessment how well their intentions have been achieved.

Body of 3 paragraphs

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Share reviews. You should divide the body of your essay into evaluation paragraphs and should have at least 3 paragraphs. You can arrange it differently depending on how you want your readers to approach the article. However, each paragraph should be devoted to a main topic, follow the steps below to develop the discussion paragraph. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

If your essay has three clear points, you can divide each point into a paragraph. For example, if you analyze a painting, you can evaluate how the artist uses color, composition, lighting, dividing each point into a segment.
If you have more than 3 points to cover, you can organize your paragraphs by topic. For example, if you are criticizing a movie and want to talk about how it builds female image, the script, the rhythm, the use of color and framing, as well as the acting, you should put them in a larger category. such as “production” (rhythm, color and framing, scriptwriting), “social commentary” (female image) and “performance” (acting).
Alternatively, you can also divide the critique into “strengths” and “weaknesses”. The purpose of the review is not to criticize, but to point out where the author has done well and needs improvement.

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Discuss the technique or style used in the work. This is especially important when evaluating creative publications such as literature, art, and music. Please rate how effectively the author applies their techniques or style choices to serve the purpose of the work.

For example, if you are evaluating a song, you can comment on how the beat and tone of the song helps or detracts from the lyrics.
For a research paper or media publication, you might consider asking questions about how the data was collected for the experiment, or how the journalist used the information extraction method.

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Explain the type of evidence or argument the author uses. This is useful for media publication reviews or research papers. Consider how the author uses other sources, self-evidence, and reasoning. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Does the author use primary sources (such as historical documents, interviews, etc.) Secondary source? Quantitative data? Qualitative data? Are these sources relevant for the argument?
Is the evidence presented fairly without distortion or selection?
Does the author make a sound argument based on the evidence?

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Identify what the work does to help us understand more about the topic under discussion. There are several ways to approach this step. Here your goal is to evaluate the overall benefit of the work.

If it’s a creative work, consider how the author presents the idea in a unique or interesting way. You might also consider how the work relates to key concepts or ideals in society or popular culture.
If it’s research paper, you might want to see if the work helps you understand more about a particular theory or idea in the field. The research paper will often include a “further study” section, which is a discussion of the contributions the research has made and the contributions it hopes to make in the future.

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Use examples for each argument. Support your assessment with evidence from a text or work. For example, if criticizing a novel is boring, cite a boring passage as an example and explain why it doesn’t appeal to you.

Presenting the conclusion and references

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Give a general assessment of the work. This is the part where you affirm the overall success of the work. Did the author achieve his or her goals? If so, how? If not, is there anything that needs improvement?

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Summarize the key reasons for your review. Even though you’ve provided evidence in the body of your essay, you should also make it up again at the conclusion. It could be as simple as this “With its attention to detail, careful methodology, and clear presentation of results, the paper provides a useful overview of X”.

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Suggest points for improvement, if appropriate. When you’re assigned the article, you’ll be told if the proposal is a good fit. This element is commonly used in research reviews or media publications, but can also apply to creative publications. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Provide a list of references. The presentation of the source will depend on the instructor as well as the style appropriate to the discipline (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). Whatever presentation you use, you must include all sources used in the article.

Advice

Before you start writing, take notes when viewing or reading the critical subject. Remember specific aspects, such as how it makes you feel. What is your first impression? After careful consideration, what is your overall assessment? How did you come to that conclusion?
While the 5-paragraph structure is useful in helping you organize your ideas, some instructors will not allow this structure. Be sure to read and understand the topic. If you’re not sure if a 5-paragraph structure is acceptable, ask questions first!

Warning

Avoid using first and second person pronouns like “you”, “your”, “me”, “mine”. Please present your opinions objectively so that readers can approach more confidently.

Steps