Chapter 8 Reflection- Holly Galvin

I learned that critical essays are the more scholarly way to write an argument because the author is not supposed to use first person unlike an argument essay. The chart on page 288 really helped me understand what the purpose of a critical essay was because it was broken down in easier terms and laid out. It also helped me realize what I should be looking for when revising an essay and how to fix it once I do find weak points.

The chart on 317 was also very helpful in understanding a critical essay. It tells you what you should be thinking about when writing your critical essay and what kind of things you should be criticizing. On page 318 Ballenger writes “ In the conversation between what a text says and what it might be saying, you discover fresh understandings of what you read.” This quote stuck out to me because it helps me gain an understanding of the whole point of a critical essay. Chapter 8 was very lengthy but I learned good information from it.