600 word critical analysis answering 8 criteria with Chicago referencing (emphasis on analytical and not descriptive) of a 12 page paper + bibliography

Where was the text published? Who is its intended audience?

What does the author say is their purpose in writing the text, or the main point they wish to make? (If they don't say: what do you think it is?) What are the author's main claims (or interpretations) or arguments? What types of evidence does the author use to convince us of their claims?

How does the author use these kinds of evidence to support their main claims? On what basis does the author connect the claims with the evidence? Does the author invite us to interpret the evidence in particular ways?

Does the author use any theoretical approach (i.e. the ideas of others) to understand their topic and if so, how? (Some of our Themes and Frameworks are theoretical approaches, e.g. the idea of discourses.)

Is the author using any of these theoretical approaches as either a type of evidence, or to interpret other evidence?

Does the evidence match and uphold the claims successfully? Explain why this is successful or unsuccessful.

Does the author identify the limitations of their argument or evidence? Do they identify areas of uncertainty? Is this helpful, in your view?

A high scoring assignment will:

State its claims and arguments clearly

Provide strong evidence and well-argued analysis for its claims

Consist mostly of argument, and only contain a small amount of paraphrase and quotation

Involve sophisticated thinking

Use a clear, simple writing style

Include enough citations, in Chicago style (with page numbers!)

Contain a bibliography

There is absolutely no expectation that you will refer to academic sources outside the single text you're analyzing (and you can definitely get a High Distinction without doing so). However, you may do so if you wish.

Referencing

All quotations and paraphrases should be properly referenced, with page numbers, as for an essay.

If you copy text from the article you need both a footnote and quotation marks!

You MUST include a bibliography, even if it has only one source in it (we're at Uni!)

Purposes of the assessment

1. to develop your ability to analyze and think critically about what you read, to analyze an author's arguments, assess how theoretical ideas are used, and assess whether the evidence given demonstrates the claims being made;

2. ultimately also to improve your own ability to argue, make claims, use theory and convey ideas clearly while providing appropriate evidence. So, ideally you will apply what you learn here in your own written assignments, and perhaps also in other areas of life when you need to argue something.

600 word critical analysis answering 8 criteria with Chicago refere...