ABSTRACT

Thosearethekindsofthinkinganexpertmessageanalystconsciously engagesinasacritic.Thischapterexplainshowtothinkasacriticbylearning torecognizethefourkindsofcriticalthinking:description,analysis,interpretation,andevaluation(Andrews1983,49-66;Cathcart1981,22-26).Youwill learnhowthesekindsofthinkingdiffer,whatfunctioneachplays,andhow, whenusedtogether,theyhelpyoumakesenseofthesignificantmessagesyou encountereachday.Finally,you'llseeabriefexampleofthefourkindsofcriticalthinkinginaction,andthenyou'llpracticethinkinglikeacritic.Mastery oftheideaspresentedinthischapterisessentialforyourdevelopmentasamessageanalyst,sopayparticularattentiontothemodelandtheexplanation accompanyingit.Now,let'sbeginlookingatwhatitmeanstothinklikeacritic.

M essageanalysis,orrhetoricalcriticism,isnotaneasyjobbecauseit requiresyoutothinknotonlyaboutthemessagethatyouwanttoana-

lyzebutalsoaboutyourthinkingprocesseswhileyouaredoingtheanalysis. Thinkingaboutyourthinkingiscalledmetacognition.Asinanyjob,amessage analystorrhetoricalcriticusescertaintoolstogetthejobdone.Thetoolsof messageanalysishappentobevariouskindsofthinkingprocessesusedalong withinformationaboutamessageandknowledgeacquiredfromrhetorical theory.We'llbetalkingaboutresearchandtheoryinlaterchapters,butnow weneedtofocusonthethinkingtoolsofcriticism.