Speech — ‘The Art of Criticism’: how to critique a friend’s artwork without attacking the artist
Taylor Swift is an award-winning singer-songwriter. In an interview with Parade magazine, she said:
You lead an after-school arts club. You would like to instruct members on how to review each other’s work.
• Write a speech to be delivered to club members. • Discuss what a critic does, how to give criticism and ways to respond to criticism. • Give your speech a title.
The candidate answers all three bullets in order: what a critic does (good vs. bad criticism), a three-step method for giving criticism kindly, and how to respond to it — framed as a talk at the club’s ‘third regular meeting’ and rounded off with a cross-review activity.
Show original handwritten pages (5)
The writing, with corrections marked inline
Strengths to praise
What a critic does (lines 10–32), how to give criticism — a clear three-step method (lines 33–58), and how to respond to it (lines 59–75). The prompt’s three requirements are each developed into their own section.
“Good afternoon. Welcome to the third regular meeting. Being young artists, have you ever been criticised?” A direct greeting, a rhetorical question and a clear preview of the talk — exactly the conventions a speech calls for.
The speaker distinguishes criticism meant to help (“their criticism is beneficial”) from attacks meant to wound (“just expressing their anger and discontent”), then asks “so what should we do to criticise in a nice way?” — a genuinely thoughtful treatment.
Rather than staying abstract, the speech imagines reviewing a real drawing: “the colour of his drawing is not balanced… perhaps you feel that his drawing cannot show how cheerful the character was”. The example makes the advice usable.
“I had also been criticised a lot; however, without the critics, I cannot be in the position today… All the criticism is a booster for me to polish my art skills.” Sharing her own experience earns the audience’s trust.
“First, express how you feel… Second, point out where he or she has to improve… We can only learn from criticism if we respond in a positive way.” Ordinal markers and clear topic sentences make the speech easy to track by ear.
Grammar notes
| Issue | Explanation |
|---|---|
fix (line 7) like an attack to others → like an attack on others | Preposition. An attack on someone is the fixed phrase. |
fix (line 13) in a good or bad intention → with good or bad intentions | Preposition & number. You act with an intention, and ‘good or bad’ implies two, so plural intentions. |
fix (line 30) there are good and bad criticism → there is good and bad criticism | Subject–verb agreement. ‘Criticism’ here is uncountable, so it takes is (or make it ‘there are good and bad criticisms’). |
fix (line 38) you should tell the artist how do you think → …what you think | Embedded question. After ‘tell the artist…’ use statement word order (what you think), not question word order (how do you think). |
fix (line 53) you want he or her to → you want him or her to | Pronoun case. The object of ‘want’ needs the object pronoun him, not the subject pronoun he. |
fix (line 65) things that you don’t aware of → things that you aren’t aware of | Verb form. ‘Aware’ is an adjective, so it needs be (aren’t aware), not the auxiliary don’t. |
fix (line 68) obsessed with how others think about ourself → …about ourselves | Reflexive. The plural subject ‘we’ takes the plural reflexive ourselves. |
fix (lines 71–72) I cannot be at the position today → I would not be in the position today | Preposition (& verb). You are in a position; the sentence is hypothetical (‘without the critics’), so would not be fits the meaning. |
fix (line 76) Reviewing other’s work → Reviewing others’ work | Apostrophe. ‘Others’ is plural, so the apostrophe goes after the s: others’ work. |
fix (line 78) think in an unique way → think in a unique way | Article. ‘Unique’ starts with a /j/ (‘you’) sound, so use a, not an. |
notice (line 29) never fall into their traps | Idiom. A vivid, idiomatic way to warn the audience against being provoked by bad-faith criticism. |
notice (line 28) intended to make you feel inferior | Vocabulary. ‘Inferior’ precisely names the effect of an attack — a higher-register word, well used. |
notice (line 74) a booster for me to polish my art skills | Word choice. ‘Booster’ and ‘polish’ turn an abstract point into a concrete, memorable image. |
Style suggestions
“always try to criticize… people who criticize… you criticise”
Pick one and stay with it — British criticise throughout (to match ‘colour’, ‘memorise’).
The speech switches between -ize and -ise; consistency looks more polished.
“you should tell the artist how do you think about his or her work”
“you should tell the artist what you think about his or her work”
Reported/embedded questions keep statement word order — no do-inversion.
“Perhaps you feel that his drawing cannot show how cheerful the character was, then asking him to add more warm colours will be a good idea.”
“If you feel the drawing doesn’t show how cheerful the character is, suggest adding warmer colours.”
An if…, suggest… structure is tighter than stitching two clauses with ‘then’.
“without the critics, I cannot be at the position today”
“without those critics, I wouldn’t be where I am today”
‘Where I am today’ is the natural idiom; the conditional matches ‘without…’.
“I am sure that you’ll eventually understand the art of criticism… We are going to form 3 groups and review each other’s work now.”
“I’m sure you’ll soon master the art of criticism. So — let’s split into three groups and review each other’s work right now!”
A spoken call to action (‘let’s…’) lands the ending of a speech more strongly.
“Reviewing other’s work, or in a sort of sense, criticising, is a difficult topic.”
“Reviewing — or criticising — others’ work is not easy.”
‘In a sort of sense’ adds nothing; dashes handle the aside cleanly.
Strong moment worth teaching from
Only a verb-agreement slip (‘there is good and bad criticism’) to mend. The thinking is the lesson.
“However, if a critic attacks everything you do, without giving significant reasons, they are just expressing their anger and discontent. They are intended to make you feel inferior. You should never fall into their traps. As we can see, there is good and bad criticism, so what should we do to criticise in a nice way?” (lines 24–32)
The stimulus quote drew ‘a line you cross when you just start to attack everything’. Instead of paraphrasing it, the candidate uses it: she defines the difference between helpful and hurtful criticism, warns the audience not to be baited, and turns that into the question her next section will answer. Drawing a distinction and then posing the question it raises is a powerful way to move an argument forward.
Professional rewrite — the ‘what a critic does’ paragraph
A light polish — tightening the two-sided argument and smoothing the prepositions — keeping the candidate’s meaning intact.
Student (verbatim, edits folded in)
Professional version
- Preposition & number: ‘in a good or bad intention’ → ‘with good or bad intentions’.
- Parallelism: ‘Some want… others want…’ balances the two motives.
- Concision: ‘For the former reason, their criticism is beneficial’ → ‘The first kind is valuable’.
- The two-sided point — critics can help or harm — is preserved.
Vocabulary to notice
| Word & alternatives | Definition | Usage notes |
|---|---|---|
| beneficial helpful, valuable, constructive | (adj.) producing good or helpful results. | “their criticism is beneficial”. Pairs with to (beneficial to artists); formal and exact here. |
| inferior lesser, second-rate, lower | (adj.) lower in quality, rank or worth. | “intended to make you feel inferior”. Often pairs with to; opposite superior. |
| discontent dissatisfaction, displeasure, resentment | (n.) a feeling of unhappiness or dissatisfaction. | “just expressing their anger and discontent”. A formal noun; also an adjective (discontented). |
| obsessed fixated, preoccupied, consumed | (adj.) unable to stop thinking about something. | “obsessed with how others think”. Pairs with with; noun obsession. |
| reflect think over, consider, ponder | (v.) to think carefully, often about your own actions. | “opportunities for you to learn and reflect”. In this sense pairs with on / upon; noun reflection. |
| booster boost, lift, source of encouragement | (n.) something that increases or improves; an encouragement. | “a booster for me to polish my art skills”. Figurative here; literally a thing that boosts power or morale. |
| polish refine, perfect, hone | (v.) to improve a skill by careful practice. | “polish my art skills”. A useful figurative verb for refining ability; also ‘polish up’. |
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