From Student’s Guide to Critical Thinking
I will attach the book that assignment is referring to as on where to get topic from on pages 210-217. I will also attach a SAMPLE essay that she gave for us to read. But a new paper has to be written from a selection topic on pages 210-217.
Writing a Critical Essay A critical essay is one in which you analyze and critically evaluate another persons argument. Write an 800- to 1,000-word critical essay on one of the selections on pages 210217. Your essay should include the following four elements.
Introduction: Identify the title, author, and context of the essay you are critically evaluating. Summarize very briey the writers basic position and state in general terms your overall evaluation of the argument.
Argument summary: Standardize the writers argument using the ve-step method presented in Chapter 7 (or, if your instructor prefers, summarize the argument in paragraph form).
Critical evaluation: Evaluate the argument; that is, say whether you think the argument is a good, convincing argument and give reasons to support your view. You may nd it helpful to keep in mind the following general guidelines on evaluating arguments, discussed earlier in this chapter: Are the premises true? ( Note: You may need to do some research to make an informed judgment on this issue.) Is the reasoning good? Is the argument deductively valid or inductively strong? Does the arguer commit any logical fallacies? Does the writer express his or her points clearly and precisely? Are the arguers claims logically consistent? Is the argument complete? Is all relevant evidence taken into account?
CHAPTER 8 Evaluating Arguments and Truth Claims
Is the argument fair? Is the arguer fair in his or her presentation of the evidence and treatment of opposing arguments and views?
Conclusion: Briey restate the key points of your critical response to reinforce them in the readers mind. If possible, end with a strong concluding line (e.g., an apt quotation) that nicely sums up your response or puts the issue in a larger context. A sample critical essay is included in an appendix to this chapter.
You may use other sources to support your points–be sure to include proper MLA in-text citing and works cited.
