Learning How To Critique Work

           In my opinion, the whole week of "Campus-Project" presentations was a mini-lecture on how to critique others` work. It may have been lost in the shadow of the main event (the powerpoint presentations) by some students, but I was able to soak up a lesson from that minute-and-a-half "critique section" following each student`s presentation. Dr. Theado never failed to ask the class, "so… what did this student do right?" Never was a student`s need for improvement brought to light before the things they had done well. This, I believe, is lesson number-one. While it is a social reality that the presenter would be uncomfortable and feel utterly outnumbered if there were just a chain of negative comments hurled at him, it is also true that, in the name of improvement (which is the ultimate goal of class discussion on a student`s work), the positive aspects must be brought out so students know what things to keep, repeat, and practice. Without mentioning a student`s successes, they may never be seen again- because the student automatically groups them with the failures and tosses them out. Secondly, I learned the importance of word choice. No matter the good-intention of a student-critiquer, if the student comes off anything shy of polite to the presenter, the advice (that would otherwise be very helpful) is forgotten somewhere between the presenters negative feelings about the student who just made that shy-of-polite comment. Critiquing others` works can be a very important concept to grasp in the world of rhetoric. But, without the reinforcement of things done right, and the tone used to convey things done wrong, there may as well be no critique.