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Welcome to the English 10 Self-Learning Module (SLM).

This learner's guide is specifically created to pave the way for

cooperative, collaborative, and individual learning of the target
themes, concepts, and competencies that will help you acquire 21st-
century real-world abilities. It gives you relevant exercises to help
you enhance your abilities for academic achievement in the
workplace. It is based on the general concepts, goals, and objectives
of the K–12 Basic Education program for Grade 10, which will enable
you to become a self-actualizing, productive, and effective member
of society and the global community.

It includes a wide range of books, including world literary

works that are both relevant and significant to your life. It provides
you with opportunity to engage in a variety of exercises that are
varied, fascinating, stimulating, demanding, significant, and
worthwhile in order to improve your listening, speaking, viewing,
vocabulary, literary, grammar, and reading skills. These exercises
are created as communicative and real-life activities that are
centered on the integration of literature and language abilities. I
hope that this material will give you with valuable learning
experiences and applicable competencies that will enable you to
successfully fulfill the challenges of the 21 st century.

This module belongs to

_____________________________________________________
of ________________ from South Central Mindanao
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College of Science and Technology, Inc.
Compose an Independent Critique of a Chosen
Selection
While going through this module, you are expected to:

a. identify the common elements of a narrative;

b. evaluate sample critiques about works of fiction; and
c. write an in-depth evaluation of a story in the form of a critique.

Activity 1: REMEMBER ME?

Read the following sentences taken from Anton Chekhov’s “A Day in the
Country,” and identify what narrative elements are described. Write your answers
on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Every act of kindness is an expression of love.

2. A dark leaden-colored mass is creeping over the sky towards the sun. In a
minute there will be a spurt of May rain and a real storm will begin.

3. Terenty is a tall old man with a thin, pock-marked face, very long legs, and
bare feet, dressed in a woman’s tattered jacket, looking with drowsy eyes.

4. Terenty and Fyokla’s feet are covered with lumps of heavy, wet clay. It is
slippery and difficult to walk, but Terenty strides on more and more rapidly.
The weak little beggar-girl is breathless and ready to stop.

5. “It’s terrible how it is thundering,” the boy says again, rubbing his hand.

LESSON 1: define
What is critique?
A critique is an in-depth evaluation of a story, novel, film, or other
reading/viewing materials for the purpose of giving the public an insight into the
text. Although a critique shares the same root with the word “criticize,” it does not
mean that the write-up merely points out the faults or flaws in a story or film.
Instead, a critique seeks to shed light on the content of a “text” (the story, novel,
song, movie etc.) in order to help future readers or viewers understand better the
material that they are reading or viewing.
Critical essays about texts are indeed very important in helping us make
sense of what we just read or viewed. At times, it can also inform our decisions on
what other good materials we can read or watch next. What are the elements that
make a critique so informative? What aspects of a story or movie are assessed or
studied by a critic?
Critiques contain a careful evaluation mainly on the following elements of a
narrative: characterization, setting, conflict, plot, dialogue, theme, and style. These
aspects, as well as the manner that they were presented in the material, are
studied so that the critic can come up with a valid evaluation on whether or not the
material is good, beautiful, or significant especially for the readers or viewers.
In assessing the said elements, there are certain questions that the critic should
ask. David Farland (2017) and other critics enumerated some questions one might
use to \judge a story or other narratives:

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Setting: How well was the setting developed? Does it appeal to more than
one of the senses? Does it inform or connect to other aspects of the story
such as character development and narrative style?

Characterization: How well-drawn are the characters in the story? Do we

know enough about them (life, attitudes, some type of history, etc.) to make
them interesting and relatable? Are there unnecessary characters?

Conflict and Plot: Is there a conflict in the story? Is the plot interesting,
original and well-developed? Are there unnecessary and confusing subplots?

Theme: How well does the story speak to the readers? Does it raise
questions about life, or provide profound insights?

Style: How distinctive or unique is the writing style? Are there literary
devices or techniques used? Is it purposeful? Does the style remind you of
any other authors you have read?
Having the answer to all these questions does not mean that the
critique is complete. There are other minor yet necessary details to include,
and everything must be properly organized into a cohesive essay. Structure
is equally important. Now, try organizing the following steps to develop a
coherent and cohesive critique. Copy the statements and write them in the
correct box.
1. State your overall assessment of the story’s value, worth, and significance
(both positive and negative).

2. Mention the name of the author and the title of the work.

3. Give a systematic and detailed assessment of the different elements of the

work, but make sure that your discussion and judgement will be supported by
specific details such as quotes or examples from the work itself. (This is the
main bulk of the critical essay, and it may run for more than three
paragraphs.)

4. Give recommendations for improvement if necessary.

5. Give a brief summary, including a description, background or context of

the work.

6. Indicate the elements you want to examine and state the purpose of your
critique.

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 Are you confident with your answers? To check, refer to the following:
Introduction (2,5,6), Body (3), and Conclusion (1,4).
Finally, here are some additional reminders that budding critics need
to take note of when writing a critique:

 Avoid introducing your ideas by stating “I think” or “In my opinion”

because this weakens the analysis.
 Always introduce the work. Do not assume that the readers know
what you are writing about and that you don’t need to mention
some details anymore.
 To be able to write a good critique and help readers understand the
story, you yourself should know well what you are writing about.

Now, go over this sample critique which is part of your English 10

Learner’s Material “Celebrating Diversity through World Literature.” Read the
essay, and reflect if it is informative, in-depth, and comprehensive enough to
be a critique. Let’s try to ‘critique’ this sample critique based on the concepts
previously presented.

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1. Where does the writer present some background and summary of the text?
2. Would you say the background information about the text is enough? Why?
3. What does the writer say about the different narrative elements?
4. Is the evaluation exhaustive? Why yes? Why not?

Consider these:

 Notice that the writer presents the background and the summary in the first
paragraph.

 However, the background is not enough to inform the readers what “Lee” is all
about, making them unable to relate to the critic’s impressions about it.

Actually, there was no evident attempt to analyze the plot, characters, and
others. What is obvious are the writer’s personal reactions to “Lee” and his
failure to support his judgement about the material. In other words, this sample
critique fails to make an in-depth evaluation of the text; hence, it is really not
informative.

 Thus, the evaluation was not exhaustive. There wasn’t any exhaustive analysis
of the material to really support the critic’s evaluation. He seems very familiar
with the material, and he could do a better critique of it.

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 Activity 3: A Critique’s Critique

Read the text and answer the questions that follow. Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.

____1. Under what genre is the critiqued material?

A. Fantasy
B. Comedy
C. Drama
D. Science fiction

____2. What is the overall assessment of the critic about the material?
A. Positive
B. Negative
C. Ambivalent
D. Not stated

____3. Which paragraphs clearly show the critic’s overall judgment?

A. 1 and 2
B. 2 and 3
C. 3 and 4
D. 1 and 5
____4. What story element was assessed in paragraph 2?
A. Plot
B. Setting
C. Characterization
D. Theme
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____5. What detail in a critic was sentence #10 an example of?
A. Summary
b. Recommendation
c. Evidence
D. Evaluation

____6. What is evidently lacking in this critique if it intends to inform readers?

A. Summary
B. Recommendation
C. Evidence
D. Evaluation

____7. Which of the following is one of the good points in the essay?
A. The critic gave positive evaluation of the material.
B. The critic showed knowledge about the context of the material.
C. Specific examples from the text itself were mentioned in the discussion.
D. All the things that the readers need to know about the text were
mentioned.

8-10. Based on what you learned from the lesson, how can this critique be
improved?
(Answer in no more than three meaningful sentences.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Activity 4: Hit or Missed?

Read the short story and do a simple critique of it by answering the guide
questions in the table.

The Two Brothers

Leo Tolstoy

Two brothers set out on a journey together. At noon they lay out on a
forest to rest. When they woke up they say a stone lying next to them. There
was something written on the stone, and they tried to make out what it was.
“Whoever finds this stone, let him go straight to the forest at sunrise.
In the forest, a river will appear; let him swim across the river to the other
side. There he will see a she-bear and her cubs. Let him take the cubs from
her and run up the mountain with them, without looking back. On the top of
the mountain, he will see a house, and in that house he will find happiness.”
When they had read what was written on the stone, the younger brother said:
“Let us go together. We can swim across the river, carry off the bear cubs,
take them to the house on the mountain, and together they find happiness.”
“I am not going into the forest after bear cubs,” said the elder brother,
“and I advise you not to go. In the first place, no one can know whether what
is written on this stone is the truth —perhaps it was written in jest.... In the
second place, even if what is written here is the truth — suppose we go into
the forest and night comes, and we cannot find the river. We shall be lost.
And if we do find the river, how are we going to swim across it? In the third
place, even if we swim across the river, do you think it is an easy thing to
take her cubs away from a she-bear? She will seize us, and instead of finding
happiness, we shall perish and all for nothing. And, most of all, the stone
does not tell us what kind of happiness we should find in that house. It may

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 be that the happiness awaiting us there is not at all the sort of happiness we
would want.”
The younger brother replied, “In my opinion, you are wrong. What is
written on the stone could not have been put there without reason. And it is
all perfectly clear. In the first place, no harm will come to us if we try. In the
second place, if we do not go, someone else will read the inscription on the
stone and find happiness, and we shall have lost it all. In the third place, if
you do not make an effort and try hard, nothing in the world will succeed. In
the fourth place, I should not want it thought that I was afraid of anything.”
And so, the younger brother followed all the instructions on the stone.
When he reached the top of the mountain the people came out to take him to
the city, where they made him their king. He ruled for five years, but in the
sixth year, another king waged war against him. The city was conquered, and
he was driven out.
Again, the younger brother became a wandered, and he arrived one
day at the house of the elder brother. The brother was living in a village and
had grown neither rich nor poor. The two brothers rejoiced at seeing each
other, and at once began telling of all that happened to them.
“You see,” said the elder brother, “I was right. Here I have lived quietly
and well, whole you, though you may have been a king, have seen a great
deal of trouble.”
“I do not regret having gone into the forest and up the mountain,”
replied the younger brother. “I may have nothing now, but I shall always have
something to remember, while you have no memories at all.”

GuideQuestion Answer
s s

1. Is the main character relatable to you?

(Cite some qualities that make you similar
or different.)

2. Is the setting effective or useful in

making you visualize the scenes? (Cite
some lines that appeal to your senses.)

3. Is the plot interesting? (Cite aspects of

the story that make it good or dull.)
4. Is the conflict clear and realistic?
(Indicate if it is something that people are
likely to experience in life.)

5. Is the theme relevant to human

experiences? (Besides an explanation, write
the theme you inferred from the story.)

Activity 5: Acros-tique

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Activity 6: Critic’s Circle

Read the short story “Clothes Make the Man” on the last page of this
module, and then do a critical analysis of it. Follow the format presented in
the discussion. Your critique will be rated based on the given rubric.

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 Assessment: Second Opinion

Using the same rubric in the previous activity, rate one of your classmates’
critique, and justify the score you give by citing the essay’s strengths and areas
needing improvement. Do this on a separate sheet of paper.

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SOUTH CENTRAL MINDANAO COLLEGE OF
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 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, INC.
(FORMERLY SAINT ALBERT POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE INC.)
Purok Rosal Barangay New Isabela, Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat
Sec cn. 201329656
Tel No. 064-652-3587

ANSWER KEY
ACTIVITY 1 ACTIVITY 2
ACTIVITY 3
ANSWER MAY VARY.

ACTIVITY 4-5-6
ANSWER MAY VARY.

ASSESSMENT
ANSWER MAY VARY.

References

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“Department of Education. 2015. Celebrating Diversity through World Literature.
Pasig City, Philippines: Rex Book Store, Inc.

Hunter College. n.d. “The Writing Process: Writing a Critique.” Accessed

January 15, 2021. http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-
process-1/invention/Writing-a-Critique

Farland, David. 2017. “A Guide to Critiquing a Story: Seven Vital Elements

Every Story Must have.” Accessed January 15, 2021.
https://www.writersofthefuture.com/seven-vital-elements-every-story-must-
have/

QUT Website. n.d. “Writing a Critique.” Accessed January 18, 2021.

https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/critique.html
Southeastern Louisiana University. n.d. “Critical Analysis.” Accessed

January 18, 2021. https://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/

Faculty/elejeune/critique.htm#:~:text=The%20purpose%20for%
20writing%20a,or%20evaluation%20of%20a%20text.

Tagay, Lorna and Maria Luisa Brutas. 2015. Journeying through Literature
and Language with World Literature Texts. Makati City, Philippines: Don
Bosco Press, Inc.

The Novel Factory. 2017, September 06. “How to do Fiction Critique

(Feedback) in a Writer’s Circle.” Accessed January 18, 2021.
http://www.novel-software.com/blog?article=how-to-do-fiction-critique-
(feedback)-in-a-writer’s-circle

Tucker, Kristine. n.d. “How to Criticize a Short Story in Literature.” Accessed

January 15, 2021. https://penandthepad.com/write-short-story-3337.html
Yadav, Shailesh. 2017, February 26. “Key Difference-Critique vs Review.”
Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-
between-critique-and-review

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