Critical Lens Essay Example for English Regents

Critical Lens Essay Example for English Regents

A critical lens essay is a type of essay aimed at providing a personal interpretation and analysis of a certain quotation or statement, proving one’s opinion with the help of literature references. Though it contains a word “critical” in its name, it is not meant to be a critical piece. As a matter of fact, a critical lens essay is focused on highlighting strong and weak points of a given quote. Thus, the word “critical” stands for the demonstration of critical thinking skills of the author by means of supporting his claim with certain arguments taken from literary works. Linking one’s opinion to reputable sources makes a convincing effect on the reader, proving your ideas to be true.

How is a critical lens essay used?

Writing such type of essay appears to be quite a challenging assignment for students. First, while studying at high school, college, or university, one has to obtain and develop such essential skills as critical and analytical thinking; ability to compare facts, theses, quotes, and ideas, make one’s own statements and prove them, draw right conclusions. Second, a profound research on the given topic should be done, as it determines the further direction of your writing. Finally, a student needs to have an excellent command of grammar, spelling, and punctuation in order to express his/her thoughts clearly and academically correctly.

Thus, critical lens essays are perfect opportunities for professors to check students’ skills and abilities. No wonder this specific type of essay is often one of the tasks on the Regents, a New York State set of exams required for graduation. For this reason, one should know how to write a critical lens essay at the high academic level, because it reflects the general level of education of a student. Hence, the student is evaluated accordingly.

What is a critical lens essay format?

Typically, a critical lens essay follows a standard essay format pattern. Therefore, it consists of five paragraphs, including introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, so it should not be long like a research paper. In order to develop the critical analysis, a student has to use examples from two literature pieces, each one discussed in a separate paragraph. The book titles need to be underlined and capitalized, written in accordance with the capitalization and punctuation rules. As for the language and general tone of writing, it should be objective, without revealing any of the author’s personal beliefs. All the claims need to be referred to reputable literature sources that would support the author’s thesis and present the evidence of its validation. In order for the tone to sound objective, one should avoid using personal pronouns, for example, “I”, “me”, “my”, “you”, “your”, “we”, “our”. On the contrary, it is recommended to replace them with third person pronouns or general words like “people”, “readers”, “audience”.

Tips to make a critical lens essay outline

As it was mentioned above, a critical lens essay template coincides with the fixed classic essay pattern.

Introduction

The first part of an essay is the introduction. This is the first thing that makes an impression upon the reader. So, the intro part should be captivating enough to get the reader really interested in what you have to say. The introduction starts with the quote, which is not just an ordinary sentence from the text, but a significant statement that holds considerable value. It should be universally acknowledged and meaningful; the author’s name should also be provided.

After introducing the quote, a writer has to interpret it in one sentence using his/her own words. Such an interpretation is called the thesis. It plays a role of the foundation of the entire essay, which makes it a crucial part of the paper. Therefore, a key to a high-quality critical lens essay is arranging the thesis in a wise and profound way, as it presents the criteria for the further analysis.

Having provided the thesis, the writer needs to support or refute it. Though, the decision whether to agree or disagree is based not on his personal opinion, but on two literature references related to the quote. Connecting the essay with relevant references affirms the objective approach. The titles and authors of the chosen literature works have to be underlined. The intro part ends with adding a few words about the chosen reference texts topics.

Body Paragraphs

There should be two body paragraphs introducing two literature works mentioned in the introduction. The writer needs to use the references as the means for supporting his thesis. Both topic and concluding sentences demonstrate and prove the connection between the reference examples and the thesis. There should not be any summarizing; just highlighting and analysis of the main points of both literary texts explaining their relevance to the core statement. Moreover, there is no need to retell the plot of the chosen texts. On the contrary, the writing should be laconic, but clear. To convey the arguments in the most appropriate way, some literary elements from the reference texts should be chosen, such as the following:

• Characterization (direct or indirect way to describe the character);
• Conflict (opposition of the ideas, forces, views);
• Figurative language (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, alliteration, personification);
• Flashback (describing the past event that is necessary to know at present);
• Foreshadowing (hints on the events to come);
• Setting (describing time and place of action);
• Symbolism (representing something through another thing);
• Theme (main idea, message of the text);
• Tone (author’s attitude towards the audience or subject).

Conclusion

The last essay part summarizes the arguments and proves the initial thesis right or wrong. The quote and the thesis should be restated here, but the thesis has to be rephrased, not taken from the intro part word by word. If the essay is written in a right manner, then the conclusion would follow in the most logical way and the readers would totally agree to it. While body paragraphs persuade the reader of the correctness of the thesis, the conclusion just states the fact: the thesis is true and it is absolutely confirmed. So, the reader is satisfied, though intrigued to investigate the topic more.

How to choose the right quote?

This is not an easy task to do. The quote determines the quality of the essay, depending on whether it’s relevant or not. Below there is a list of possible quotes that are approved to be used for critical lens essays as they are widely applied at the English Regents.

English Regents critical lens quotes list:

• “Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears” (Arthur Koestler);
• “Individuality is freedom lived” (John Dos Passos);
• “Obedience is the mother of success and is wedded to safety” (Aeschylus);
• “Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong” (Thomas Jefferson);
• “Do what you can, with what you have, and where you are” (Theodore Roosevelt);
• “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get” (Warren Buffet);
• “Some books leave us free and some books make us free” (Ralph Waldo Emerson);
• “The final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands” (Anne Frank);
• “Prejudice is the child of ignorance” (William Hazlitt);
• “If there is no struggle, there is no progress” (Frederick Douglas);
• “It is impossible to go through life without trust” (Graham Green);
• “Fear is simply the consequence of every lie” (Fyodor Dostoevsky);
• “No two persons regard the world in exactly the same way” (J. W. von Goethe);
• “We pay a price for everything we get or take in this world” (L. M. Montgomery);
• “Men are at the mercy of events and cannot control them” (Herodotus);
• “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it” (Helen Keller);
• “Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it” (Rene Descartes);
• “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” (Dr. Seuss);
• “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough” (Mae West);
• “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on” (Robert Frost);
• “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results” (Albert Einstein);
• “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” (John Lennon);
• “It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not” (André Gide);
• “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving” (Albert Einstein);
• “The real hero is always a hero by mistake” (Umberto Eco);
• “It is the human lot to try and fail” (David Mamet);
• “You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it” (Yann Martel);
• “The human heart has ever dreamed of a fairer world than the one it knows” (Carleton Noyes);
• “To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else” (Bernadette Devlin);
• “All that is literature seeks to communicate power” (Thomas De Quincey);
• “It is not what an author says, but what he or she whispers, that is important” (Logan Pearsall Smith);
• “What lasts is what is written. We look to literature to find the essence of an age” (Peter Brodie);
• “Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure” (William Saroyan);
• “All literature is protest. You can’t name a single literary work that isn’t protest” (Richard Wright);
• “The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience” (J. F. Clarke);
• “We do not read novels for improvement or instruction” (Oliver Wendell Holmes);
• “In a dark time, the eye begins to see” (Theodore Roethke);
• “A person is a person through other persons” (Archbishop Desmond Tutu);
• The right good book is always a book of travel; it is about a life’s journey” (H.M. Tomlinson).

The quotations listed above serve as appropriate examples of the NYS English Regents critical lens essay quotes. Thus, they might be widely used during the preparation for the Regents or any other type of exam where a critical lens essay is one of the tasks.

How to write a critical lens essay step by step?

Below there are detailed steps that may serve as an instruction for writing this type of essay. Each step will be followed by the relevant part of a critical lens essay example to make the guideline even more clear.

Step 1. Choose a meaningful quote and introduce it, indicating its author. Add a few sentences before it to get the readers involved and let them follow the logical flow of your thoughts.

Step 2. Interpret the quote, rewrite it using your own words. That would be your thesis.

Step 3. Agree or disagree with the thesis.

Step 4. Introduce two literary references that prove your thesis. Express in a few words how they support the thesis.

Step 5. Start writing the first body paragraph focusing on the first literary reference mentioned in the intro part. Choose the literary element, through which the text and thesis would be connected. Prove that the text example supports the quote.

Step 6. Do the same thing focusing on the other literary work while writing the second body paragraph.

Step 7. Summarize everything you have written. State the quote and thesis again, the latter should be rephrased, though. The conclusion has to prove the coherence between the thesis and arguments written above.

Below there is a sample of a critical lens essay that may be referred to during the preparation for the English Regents.

Critical lens essay example for English Regents

Human life is a constant alternating between success and failure. Today one may enjoy the abundance of money and opportunities, while tomorrow may bring something totally different. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Do what you can, with what you have, and where you are.” One’s duty in life is to do one’s best, strive to survive and get moving using all the skills and resources available, regardless of the circumstances. Life indeed often forces people to keep trying even in the most unfavorable conditions and teaches that doing this is the only key to win. Both Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and Love of Life by Jack London support the idea that all the problems can be solved if the person is well motivated and wise enough to direct all the efforts and chances towards one’s goal.

The novel Robinson Crusoe illustrates a strong will of an ordinary man who faced unpredictable circumstances after a shipwreck. He has lost everything and everyone just in a moment. The fate left him alone on the desert island in total despair. Daniel Defoe uses the direct method of characterization showing main hero’s desire to survive. He was not expecting such a fatal failure. Robinson got a tremendous challenge that let him acknowledge himself as a miserable creature but also created perfect conditions for self-discovery. On the unknown out-of-the-way patch of the Earth, he found himself completely helpless and alone in his struggle for life. Nevertheless, Crusoe realized the real value of human life and gathered all the possible means he could ever find on the island, which combined with his brilliant intellect and willpower saved him afterwards. The story is narrated in the form of his own diary, which pictures the hero in the most veritable way. He kept trying over and over again while building his refuge place, acquiring hunting and farming skills. The long twenty-eight years way through failures to victory taught him that the main thing in life is the ability to pull oneself together when there seems like nothing can be done. Robinson proved that it is not the setting and opportunities that matter, but a strong goal-oriented approach to the problem.

Love of Life demonstrates another example of overcoming hardships in life. Gold seekers are lost in the White Desert. While one of them leaves his comrade in trouble, he succeeded to survive. Through the tone of the novel, it is evident that Jack London supports his hero picturing him as a symbol of a victorious will power. Physical exhaustion, freezing cold of the White Desert, pain from the betrayal of the only friend, fear of loneliness, hunger, which is not eased with the miserable stuff that cannot even be called food. Moreover, he suffers from the pain in legs, being severely injured. Torturing body ache is combined with the despair of useless attempts to gain food and unbearable exhaustion, which leads to hallucinations. Yet, in spite of all he has encountered, despite being frightened and despaired, the man found enough courage not to give up but went on with a great passion for life, which helped him during struggles with a bear and a wolf. His irresistible desire to live, tranquility, and patience is what removed the fear and saved him from death. The hero was doing what he could: he was able to walk, he walked; he could only crawl, he crawled; he was obliged to fight with wild animals, so he did. As long as there were those primitive means for survival, no matter how adverse the setting, the man continued his difficult path and, finally, he succeeded.

All things considered, it seems sensible to assume that in order to lead the life to the full and survive despite all the troubles, one needs to use each little thing around, notwithstanding the limits. The core of success is human mind and will that dominates over poor conditions, situations that seem to be impossible, fears, and desperate obstacles. Thus, the saying “Do what you can, with what you have, and where you are” serves as the right motto for the general life philosophy.