Why 'Why' Is Important

Again we get to subjectivity -- which is very much a larger conceptual concern of this class.

Above I make a distinction between reading as a reader and reading as a writer. Much of our critiquing should come from the latter place.

Here's the caveat: a readerly response can be helpful if -- and only if -- there's justification attached to it. "Love it!" or "AWK" or "This part annoys me" don't engage the writer with empathy. To say nothing of tone, they emphasize the divide between reader and writer.

The best critiques are those that have engaged the work on its own terms, and the best critiquers adopt those terms as their own. The above statements reflect a reader who is reading on his own terms.

Does that mean you won't have those sorts of reactions if you read an essay on its own terms? Of course not. You will. But if your goal is empathy and engagement in this writer's process -- and, I'm here to tell you, that's the only worthwhile goal in a critique setting -- you will provide not just what you felt but why you felt it. What about the essay made you feel that way?

Ultimately that reflects a genuine -- and appropriately humble -- understanding that yours is but one subjective reading. You articulate it, justify it, and leave it up to the writer to decide if it helps her better understand the essay and the process of making it.

In a nutshell, there's one keyword to remember: because.

Use it early and often in your critique responses.

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