Summary: KIWI PHOTO Matariki Display at Massey University Albany Campus library ACADEMIC WORD A critique is a well-informed, fair and logical summary of the value of something. In news reporting, the word critique is often used to describe films, books or television programmes which explore ethical issues and contradictions in public life. For instance, a play produced at Massey University, called ‘The Invisible Foot’ is described as ‘a critique of contemporary business practices’. In academic writing, if you are asked to critique a journal article, theory, policy etc, it means you have to summarise the strengths and weaknesses of the article, so that you can assess its contribution to knowledge. This is quite a common university assignment, especially at postgraduate level. TEST Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out? The movie presents an unbalanced critique on the politicians whose selfish and corrupt practices caused the current crisis. The assignment question is asking you to critique ONE of the following social policy initiatives with reference to at least TWO different ideological positions (e.g. neo-liberalism / social democracy / Marxism / Feminism etc). Post-modernism can be understood as a critique of the narrowness and contradictions of rationalism in both the Arts and Society. In writing your critique, I advise you to keep your descriptive summary of the original research study to a minimum and to ensure that more than half of what you write is an analysis of the research methodology and conclusions of the article you have chosen. PRACTICE The film ‘Avatar’ has been described as a critique of multinational exploitation of natural resources and indigenous peoples. What other famous movies have you seen which critique social, ethical or political practices? KIWI QUIZ Why are Whakapapa and Turoa popular places for Kiwis to visit at this time of the year? VIDEO 1) What was Lisa Bu’s childhood ambition? Gymnastics Opera Engineering 2) Lisa found in books an alternative to which aspect of Confucian culture? Obedience Diligence Modesty 3) Which academic practice did Lisa adopt in her general reading? Comparison Research Citation 4) Which religious figure experienced three psychological temptations? Jesus Buddha Moses 5) Which of these practices has allowed Lisa to critique concepts in Chinese language and culture? Speed-reading Reading aloud Translation 6) Overall, Lisa views reading as an ____________ practice. Empowering Intellectual Abstract _____________________________________________________
