Critical Review
Judge: Josh Veal
Places:​
1st- Nick Moug (Northwestern Michigan College)
Judge comments:
In a short piece, Nick Moug manages to capture Adam Curtis’s career and explain how his past works lead up to his most recent documentary. The writing is packed with information, such that no sentence is unnecessary or out of place. The prose is at a high level, without giving the feeling a thesaurus was overused. The criticism focuses on the work itself, rather than the writer and their personal experiences— in this case, I think that’s ideal! All in all, an excellent piece of critical writing, because someone can read it with no prior knowledge of Adam Curtis and come away feeling informed and intrigued, aware of the writer’s stance but ready to develop their own opinion.
If I have one suggestion, I would’ve dedicated just a couple more sentences to describing the latest
documentary series. I’d give an example of one moment or scene that really captures the experience.
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2nd- Lauren Werlinger (Agora)
Judge comments:
Some excellent prose here that really captures the heart of the game. Werlinger did a great job
explaining what the game is, how it plays, and what they like/don’t like about it. In terms of capturing
the game as an experience, this piece does a great job, and I can tell Werlinger is a talented writer.
My suggestion would have been to tweak the framing of the story. Focusing on the changes of the “Final Cut” edition narrows the article’s appeal a bit and it doesn’t quite give this article justice, when I believe Werlinger could do an amazing job diving further into the game’s world and themes.
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3rd- Joseph Poulos (Grand Rapids Community College)
Judge comments:
His review does an excellent job describing what viewers can expect from the movie, what works and what doesn’t, and how it fits into Anderson’s oeuvre. My only suggestion would be to trim the first-hand experience portion, as the work itself is really the focus of the review.
Honorable Mention- Vae O’Neil (Schoolcraft College)
Judge comments:
O’Neil is a great writer and storyteller, with a strong opening to this piece explaining Lucas’ unique
origins. I also think they did a good job describing the music, in a way that helps me understand
exactly what I’m getting into with this album.
My suggestion with this piece would be to discuss a few more of the songs and how they shape the
flow and thematic elements of the album, rather than dedicating two paragraphs to one song and its
lyrics. Overall though, a great example of music writing!
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Honorable Mention-James Cason (Washtenaw Community College)
Judge comments:
This piece focuses a bit more on reporting and telling Yon’s story, which isn’t at all a fault of the piece, but does mean it leans less “critical review” than some other entries.
That said, I think Cason did an excellent job telling the restaurant’s story in a clear and easy-to-read
way, and it’s a great piece of journalism. This is writing for the people, both in intent and execution,
and it’s exactly what small businesses need right now. I would encourage Cason to continue to write
stories like this — or at the very least, continue to write!
