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Writing Critical Analysis Papers

A critical analysis paper asks the writer to make an argument about a particular book, essay, movie,

etc. The goal is two fold: one, identify and explain the argument that the author is making, and two,

provide your own argument about that argument. One of the key directions of these assignments is often

to avoid/minimize summary – you are not writing a book report, but evaluating the author’s argument.

Potential points of criticism

Sometimes it can seem intimidating to “criticize” a book or article; after all, they are professors and

experienced policymakers. However, part of this exercise is to expose the fact that even though these

authors are highly qualified, they are still advancing an argument and providing evidence--their aim is to

persuade you that their argument is true, not to just present facts. Once you recognize that these authors

are making arguments, you can analyze whether or not you find their argument compelling. Following are

some possible questions you could ask to evaluate arguments:

• Theoretical questions – How does the author understand the situation? What is his/her

theoretical background? How would this influence their view of the situation?

o If the author is a clear proponent of Western, liberal forms of democracy, how will this influence

his/her study of authoritarian states?

• Definitional questions - Are all the concepts in the text clear? Does the author define a concept

vaguely to allow it to travel across different situations? If a concept can relate two seemingly

different situations, is the concept meaningful?

o Can we really compare the existing communist government in China to the communist government

in the former Soviet Union?

• Evidence questions:

o Does the author’s evidence support their argument? Do they have enough specific

evidence to prove the more general point?

Does the revolutionary government in Venezuela reflect a more general trend to the left in

all of Latin America?

o Does the author underemphasize or ignore evidence that is contrary to their argument?

Is an argument compelling if it ignores an obvious exception – Can we really say that

democracies are inherently peaceful given the 2003 Iraq invasion?

o Is the evidence credible? Can you identify a bias in the evidence?

Was the study done by a political action committee, and environmental NGO, or a non-

partisan research group? How might a group affiliation or funding influence the outcome

of research?

• Implication/Policy relevance questions – What are the implications of this argument? Are

those implications positive or negative? How has the author dealt with this issue?

o If Western modes of thinking are the only efficient path for economic development, what does this

mean with societies that have different cultures and values?

• Other approaches:

o Is the author’s argument consistent throughout the book? Or, does the conclusion seem to

offer a different argument than he/she presented in the introduction?

o Does the author’s background have important implications for their argument?

o Do the specific language choices of the author betray a certain ideology or bias, or frame

the argument in a certain way?

Adopted from J.L. Beyer, “Critically Analyzing an Academic Article or Book”

Writing Critical Analysis Papers

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