Offer constructive suggestions in critiques.
Offer constructive suggestions in critiques.

Find Your Writing Niche: Write Critiques

Cynthia Price’s December 30, 2014 blog “Three Words” at cynthiapricecommunique.com asks readers to “use three words to describe their career and their search.” This thought-provoking directive forces readers to dig deep and go beyond the obvious fact of saying they want to write clear prose.

One of the words that I chose for myself was “critiquer.” There is no such word, but I don’t want to use critic because that’s too formal. I use that word when I critique a published work, which is labeled a review when I write it for a newspaper or magazine.

When I read unpublished works, I consider myself a “critiquer.” Other writers are looking for feedback and want honest comments on their work.

There is a method to critiquing, though. I believe in being honest without being cruel. The crux of the matter is giving suggestions on how the work being critiqued can be improved so it’s a published work with a wide readership.

The Web sites and blog that concern critiquing say basically the same thing: be constructive, offer suggestions, don’t destroy.

Some of the Web sites with quality suggestions on critiquing are on the Web at:

“How to Write a Critique” at http://www.creative-writing-now.com/how-to-write-a-critique.html

“Ten Tips for Critiquing Other People’s Writing” at http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-tips-for-critiquing-other-people%E2%80%99s-writing

“How to Write a Critique at http://sites.stfx.ca/writingcentre/sites/sites.stfx.ca.writingcentre/files/How_to_Write_a_Critique.pdf

“Guidelines for Writing a Critique” at http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/bobtam/website/guidelines_for_writing_a_critiqu.htm

Writers appreciate getting encouragement and constructive comments from their fellow writers.

Article By: Jo Ann Mathews

I published three ebooks in 2020: Women and Adversity, Honoring 23 Black Women; Women and Adversity, Recognizing 23 Notable Mothers; and Women and Adversity, Saluting 23 Faithful Suffragists to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. These books are meant to be study guides for all students from grade school through college to help in choosing topics for assignments and to learn more about these noteworthy women. Go to amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and goodreads.com to learn more.

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