Highlight reflects amendments made to the assignment for clarity.
In your first written assignment, you will conduct a critique of McDonald or Adorno & Horkheimer. Unlike what we see on social media, in academic writing, you will rarely see a complete takedown or blazing criticism of an academic piece. Most critiques are subtle and targeted; they show respect for their subject, but offer reasoned disagreement. Accordingly, most critiques are brief and focused. They take issue with one aspect of an argument, and approach it very carefully, showing that the author made an improper assumption, overlooked an important perspective or fact, or misinterpreted something. Even when a writer does take on the entirety of an argument, they typically do so in a piecemeal way, breaking it down into parts, and analyzing each separately and then, subsequently, as a whole. In short, you have to earn your critical perspective by proving your point–brazen critique is rarely impressive.
Choose one quote or short passage that represents an idea that you find problematic; it does not have to be central to the whole text.
In a 750 word short essay, introduce the reading or chapter, and then clearly and concisely summarize the idea you’ve chosen. You SHOULD use a quote to do this, but select carefully and be sure to set it up well. Then transition from that summary/idea to your critique. Your critique should rely on something in the present day. In what ways did the author(s) get it wrong? What incorrect assumptions underlie their argument? What have they misinterpreted? Elaborate on this. Conclude your essay with a take-away message.
Your essay should be formatted using an APA title and your full name at the top of the page, centered above the text of your essay (no separate title page is required). It should be typed, double spaced, in a clear and legible font, with 1-inch margins. You are not required to have a running head. Please use APA style in-text citations and for your reference list. A rubric is available hereLinks to an external site..
Your critique should focus on one issue/problem. You’ll need to explain the author’s perspective as best you can, relying on both direct quotes and paraphrasing. And then analyze it, explaining what the author is saying and why they get it wrong.
You should include in-text citations with page numbers to show your engagement with the text; you may reference course lectures and videos shown in class as well with proper citation. You should also include a reference list. Outside sources are ok but absolutely not required. You should be relying on your own analytic skills and writing abilities. This assignment, therefore, is Chat GPT prohibited in terms of written content. If you use Chat GPT as a research tool, you must fact check the output the tool provides and cite it the way you would another website or article. Again, you need to rely on your own reading and synthesis of this material–not the tool’s.