15 Critical Essay Examples

The critical essay it is a textual composition in which an author analyzes or interprets a theme, an idea or an object and gives his opinion about those aspects that seem good and those that do not; weaknesses and strengths; or even if something should be taken as true or on the contrary be questioned. Commonly, the object of this type of trial it can be a movie, an album, a book or some topic related to culture, society, economy, among others. For example: The musical piece "Bohemian Rhapsody" is without a doubt the peak of musical fusion in the British scene of the seventies.

Some of the characteristics of the critical essay are the deep and detailed observation of the thing on which its theme revolves and the position from which the person who writes the text analyzes. In this way, it is known that an essayist will take the ideologies that are part of his formation and with which he agrees, and will argue from that place his position regarding some idea or thing. For example: From Buddhist philosophy it must be said that the spiritual approach of the West is superficial and rationalism has unfoundedly diminished the meaning of the practice of virtue.

• See also: Essay Types

Characteristics of the critical essay

The critical essay must have certain specific features so that it is relevant and does not remain in simple opinions of a personal nature without foundation. Some are:

• Deep knowledge of the object.The author who writes a critical essay must be very familiar with the object or topic that he is going to talk about and have an expert position regarding it.
• Management of bibliographic sources. The author must know what other sources have said about the subject of the critical essay, since this will be essential to agree, complement or contradict the points of view that have already been published and not fall into the repetition of an idea already expressed.
• Clarity of what you want to express. The author must know precisely what he wants to analyze specifically about his object of study and not go around in arguments or theoretical developments without an established point of arrival.
• textual cohesion. The author must follow a specific order to present his arguments: introduction, development and conclusion. You must have a serious and professional style, taking the necessary time to coherently expose each point you want to discuss and avoid confusion.

Critical essay in the humanities, social sciences and the arts

In the field of humanities and artistic knowledge, the critical essay acquires great importance because there is no single truth that is undeniable and irrefutable. On the contrary, it is in the social, human and artistic fields that many different and even contradictory opinions about an object can be found.

You can see how some critical essayists write long texts appreciating the virtues of Marcel Proust's literary work while others use this type of essay to establish that his work does not have as much value as it has been granted in the past. weather.

critical essay examples

1. Fragment of critical essay on globalization

Many have criticized and praised this trend throughout almost a century of existence. Some see in it a consolidation of liberal economic projects, which give the large transnational business consortiums a leading role in the world; while others highlight its democratizing tendency by allowing the free flow of information and downplaying borders and national political projects. In any case, the idea of ​​inhabiting a "global village" was never as close to being realized as in the times when, without anyone expecting it, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

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1. Fragment of critical essay on the French Revolution

The historical importance of these events was such that the French Revolution is still considered the fundamental event for understanding the transition between the Modern Age and the Contemporary Age. Although throughout the 19th century France oscillated between its imperial, republican and monarchical tendencies constitutional, the truth is that a profound change had taken place in their society and its echoes had been felt in the whole world.

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1. Fragment of critical essay on social networks

In the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken place at the beginning of the 21st century, the World Health Organization coined a term necessary to describe the chaotic and harmful flow of conspiracy content on social media and streaming services. contents.

This new term comes to name a problem that has existed for a long time, but has reached its greatest dimensions. in the context of the health crisis, especially in the emergence of organized minorities to repudiate the vaccination. But the virus of conspiracy and junk content, designed to capture the attention of the Internet user, has been circulating on social networks for a few years now, without anyone ever raising their voice to denounce it.

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1. Fragment of critical essay on space exploration

The ambitions of the states of the world to conquer space have shown that, with a sufficiently high motivation, they give space to investment in aerospace engineering. The race to reach the Moon was a small sample of what can be achieved with persistence and commitment deep with the intention of expanding the horizon of humanity to places that until now have only been in dreams. Now, is such an inversion valid when hunger continues to be one of the great problems of the human species? It is this question that stimulates a look at the scientific and technological priorities in the matter.

1. Critical essay excerpt on K-pop bands

Korea took off culturally with so-called K-pop music. The professionalization of the music industry finds that these bands, made up of various artists, in most cases they have managed to reach a very high level of quality in many areas. The productions are excellent and the artists train for years to opt for an opportunity to debut, that is, to be launched on the music scene by a record company. It is also this aspect that has generated great debate throughout the world, since many of them are subjected to exhausting days of preparation that can even last years without the total certainty that they will have a launch. Perfection demands work and competence, discipline that can add a lot of pressure to the already difficult life of a teenager.

More examples of critical essays

1. The society of tiredness, by Byung Chul Han. 2022.
2. aesthetics of silence, by Susan Sontag. 1967.
3. history of sexuality, by Michel Foucault. 1977.
4. “The face of Garbo”, in the book mythologies, by Roland Barthes. 2014.
5. In defense of animals, by Matthieu Ricard. 2016.
6. liquid modernity, by Zygmunt Baumann. 2015.
7. "The Divine Comedy", in the book seven nights, by Jorge Luis Borges. 2001.
8. against the Internet, by Zach Blas. 2015.
9. Cioran and the notion of disorder, by Nicolae Popescu. 2000.
10. Critical essay on the socio-economic development of Chile, by Julio César Jobet. 1951.

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• academic essays
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