The image above might give you a bad flashback to the dreaded "hamburger essay" graphic that is unfortunately still taught in many high schools across America. It makes me angry because it's so tremendously wrong.
However, the graphic above is not about essay structure, it's about critique etiquette. You never want to start out a response with something blazingly negative. You also don't want to start out with gushy admiration. A tone that is either too negative or too positive makes the actual critique difficult. I wish the graphic represented the middle part a little bit larger. I also don't think it's an accurate description of what happens in a real critique. The categories of "compliment" and "critique" are not a binary; they overlap.
Too often people think of the words critique and criticism as signifying fault-finding and negativity. I think these words signify a two-part move:
1) close attention to detail
2) constructive ideas for possible revision and improvement.
Tomorrow's full class will be dedicated to a critique of student artwork for the Delaware Contemporary Project. Next Tuesday, April 13, we're going to critique the piece of writing that accompanies your artwork.
Questions: csmith@dcad.edu
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