Objectives: 1. Discusses the main ideas or large themes that the work contains. This requires you to synthesize what you have read and pick out the major ideas or thoughts that lies at the heart of the work. So the first part of the essay will be for you to discuss the major themes you found in the work. 2. The second part of the critical is to describe strengths and weaknesses of the arguments made in the work or the ideas put forth. In the second part of your essay you should focus on describing what you see as the strengths and weaknesses you see in the work you have chosen. In what points is the author strong in making his/her point? In what ways is the explanation or argument weak? Answering these questions should be the focus of the second part of the assignment. Exact words of the professor.