TASK:

 

You are required to write a formal academic critique of the following text: There’s More to Life Than Being Happy by Emily Esfahani Smith (see the article below).

 

Refer to the “Writing Critiques” and “Critique Essay Structure” documents on iLearn to remind you of what a critique is.

 

 

LENGTH & FORMATTING:

 

• Length: 700-1000 words
• Formatting guidelines: APA style (Times New Roman, size 12 font, double-spaced, with normal margins. Make sure you include page headers and a title page, in addition to in-text citations and a reference list, all in correct APA format,)

 

 

 

 

 

TIPS:

 

Consider the following when reading the assigned text:

• The elements of the rhetorical situation
• Content (including support, rhetorical appeals, etc.)
• Organization
• Language
• Style
• Structure of formal academic cri$ques
  Introduction
  Jones effectively convinces his audience that —- through the
  use of statistics and surveys paired with emotional stories.
  Although Myers includes many convincing logical arguments
  through the use of historical facts, her readers may doubt her
  objectivity because of her sarcastic tone.
  Thompson uses personal stories and tells of his extensive
  research in the area to make his readers believe in his
  credibility. These appeals to ethos, combined with his friendly
  tone, creates an effective argument for —-.
  Roberts employs the rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos
  effectively. However, his use of unsupported logical appeals
  causes his readers to doubt his claim that —- is supported by
  research.
  Mitchell’s attempt to convince the audience that —– is
  unsuccessful because of his insensitive word choice and
  angry tone.
  • A strong thesis statement is NOT…
  a simple statement of your topic
  a broad statement
  a statement of facts or statistics
  a summary of the author’s essay you are analyzing
  a statement of what you are going to do in the essay
  Examples of weak thesis statements:
  Abortion is a big issue in the United States à statement of fact
  The author claims abortion is a big issue in the United States à
  broad statement
  I’m going to examine how this author uses pathos, ethos, and logos
  to convince his audience. à announcing what you are going to
  do
  The author uses pathos, ethos and logos. à statement of fact
  Body (Development)
  • a balanced discussion and evaluation of
  the strengths and/or weaknesses of the
  article (based on specific criteria- refer to
  the “Writing Critiques” document on iLearn)
  • supported by evidence from the text
  (quoted and paraphrased) and welldeveloped
  explanations of your points
  Conclusion
  • summarize the main points of your critique
  • restate your overall opinion of the text (your
  thesis statement)