Alright, so you are new to critiquing or just never got the hang of it. That’s fine. Read my Critiquing 101 for some tips to help you refine your critiques and make you a better critiquer. However, let’s say you have absolutely no clue where to even start. Then this guide is for you. It’s a simple format, which you don’t have to follow, but may help you come up with points to make.

So… if you are going to critique, simply break it up into six labeled paragraphs, each one making a point about the writing. The Categories are as follows:

2) Characters- Are the characters interesting? Believable? Relatable? Do you want to know more about these characters? Have you been told too much about these characters?

3) Feeling and Emotions- A short paragraph, how does this chapter make you feel? Mad at this person? Happy at this relationship? Completely devoid of any emotional impact at all?

4) Spelling and Grammar – If you want a hand full of examples, that’s fine, but as I mention in critiquing 101, you are NOT the editor. You don’t need to fix every single one of their errors. Instead, use this paragraph to tell them what level they are at. Do they write at a high school level? College level? Professional level? If high school, freshmen or senior level? Give them an idea of how well they are handling things. Don’t just say “an editor could help”… an editor can ALWAYS help, and until you pay a professional $2000 to edit your work, it’s probably never going to be 100% perfect (if even then). But still, from a 1st draft/rough draft point of view, how does it do?

5) Improvements- How can you make it better? Always come up with at least one improvement. Even if its’ “I don’t think this character’s name fits his personality, maybe a new name?” Come up with something. They don’t have to take your advice, but if you can’t offer up ways they might improve, then you are not helping them at all. If supposedly it was perfect, and you have nothing you can possibly say to improve it, then by all accounts you should be reading it nonstop, starring and commenting on every chapter about how great it is, adding it to your reading list and writing fanfiction about it. If you’re not doing those things, then you don’t have the right to go on about how it’s perfect and there are no criticisms at all.

6) Positive Reinforcement – You just spent five paragraphs telling them about what they did wrong. End in a high note and tell them what they did right. What they are doing well is just as important as what they messed up on. You can spill out positive reinforcement in the previous paragraphs as well if you have only good things to say, If you have nothing good to say, encourage them instead. Just tell them to keep at it. That their writing will improve. That practice makes perfect. Don’t be a jerk.

Now naturally, if you are doing a chapter by chapter critique, some of these criteria can be redundant. You only need to state how good their grammar was once. If it improves in certain chapters, or gets worse, my all means mention it. I guess what I am getting at is that this is a guideline. Don’t follow it religiously. Add to it. Take away from it. But always be weary these are the ideas and questions you should be thinking about.