Author Critique Response

This worksheet supports students in Grades 7-9 as they practice critical response writing, argumentative reasoning, textual evidence use, and literary analysis through an excerpt inspired by Animal Farm. Students evaluate how effectively the author communicates ideas about power, corruption, and society by examining message, imagery, tone, point of view, and allegorical meaning.

Skills Reinforced

• Critical Response Writing (Grades 7-9) – Develop a clear, thoughtful critique that evaluates an author’s choices and effectiveness.
• Argumentative Reasoning – Make a claim about the text and support it with logical explanation and analysis.
• Citing Textual Evidence – Use specific details from the excerpt to justify opinions and interpretations.
• Author’s Craft & Allegory – Analyze how symbolism, tone, and perspective contribute to theme and meaning.

Instructional Support

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with secondary ELA standards and literary analysis goals.
• Structured Writing Task – Guides students to focus on key elements of craft while forming a coherent response.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Suitable for independent writing, assessments, discussion follow-ups, or literature units.
• Supports Higher-Order Thinking – Encourages evaluation rather than summary, strengthening analytical depth.

This printable worksheet helps students strengthen argumentative writing and literary critique skills by focusing on how authors convey powerful ideas through craft and structure. It builds confidence in forming evidence-based opinions, interpreting allegory, and explaining reasoning clearly. Whether used in a classroom or a homeschool setting, this resource supports thoughtful engagement with complex themes and effective critical analysis of literature.

This worksheet is part of our author studies worksheet collection.