Critiquing is an art which is equally important as the craft of writing itself. It also calls for sound expertise in the relevant subject area on which the paper is written. Therefore, before I decide to critique a piece of writing, for example: a research paper, I will first make sure that the topic falls in my area of expertise. There are several elements that a good research paper should contain. Out of these, I will specifically be looking at the following points while critiquing a paper: Originality, evidence of research (use of sources), structure/organization, content, flow, style, use of language including word choice and finally grammatical consistency.
The first thing I will look for, while critiquing a research paper, is its originality. Nowa days, it is easy to find a lot of research papers or literature on any given topic. Therefore, when critiquing a paper I would like to make sure that it is original and takes a fresh look at the subject matter rather than repeating what previous researchers have done. I believe that if a person spends time researching a topic, he or she should be able to provide new insights on the subject to the readers. Another point I will consider when critiquing a research paper is to evaluate the evidence of research undertaken and the methodologies followed by the researcher. It also needs to be seen that the writer has exhausted all possible avenues where information is available. I will further see whether the researcher has used ample sources for the literature review and also verify the validity of each of the sources. A good research paper should use only reliable materials or literature from academic or scientific sources.
The third point I will check when reviewing a research paper is whether it is organized properly and the structure is correct. All research papers must follow a definitive structure so that the readers can easily understand the subject matter as also this will allow the writer to organize the paper well. This will further ensure that the paper is written in a professional manner and it has good flow. I will also evaluate the paper to see that the researcher has developed the content properly, and it is balanced with arguments, counter arguments and considered both sides of the issue on hand. This is to achieve a certain degree of balance about different points of view so that the conclusions drawn by the researcher may not sound biased. I will also judge whether the researcher has argued his points logically and whether he or she has come up with any new finding.
Finally, like any other piece of writing, a research paper should be rendered in a proper style, using formal language and include standard terminologies that are relevant to the topic under discussion. I will also check for the use of language, whether word choice etc is appropriate for the content and level of the research scholar besides making sure that the text is free of grammatical errors. The purpose of a critique is to provide constructive feedback which will help the writer to improve upon the writing. A critic who covers the aforesaid aspects in his review of a written work will be able to help the writer to come up with a better paper.