Creating a Critical Soundbite - Or - The Dummy’s Guide to Critics

Critical Soundbites – the concept You haven’t got time to read a lot of critical material – you need a shortcut You haven’t got the memory space for a lot of boring critical analysis You need quick access to some critical material whilst in exams You need to fulfil AO5 in many sections of the exams!

Critical soundbites – CHOOSING YOUR MATERIAL Find an essay about your text that covers a lot of bases in terms of themes / characterisation / language use , etc. NB a page-based essay by a known critic or writer is ten times more valuable than an internet-based one, that could be written by anyone! Ensure that it is a credible opinion and that you understand it!

Critical soundbites – Putting the soundbite together! Record the title, the author, the publication it was printed in, and the date of publication Write a summary – of no more than fifty words – capturing the essence of what the critic is saying about the text. Find a quotation (usually found near the beginning or the end) - of around ten words – that sums up this view point in a nutshell!

Critical soundbites – An Example Text: Songs of Innocence and Experience – William Blake And that’s it! Memorise just this information – if you have eight to ten of these for each of the texts that are assessed with AO5, chances are that at least two or three per text will be relevant to your essay!

Critical soundbites – more Examples