Students will enter the project as working critics by sampling 2026 cultural artifacts, noticing how point of view and audience shape reviews, and committing to one work they may investigate more deeply in the next phase.

Students will investigate how reviews work for real audiences by studying mentor critics, choosing a 2026 cultural work, gathering peer-reader insights, and turning those findings into an evidence-based review direction they can draft in the next phase.

Students will prototype multiple review directions, test their writing with real readers, revise through two feedback cycles, and refine one NYT-style review draft plus a short editorial pitch for the next phase’s public sharing.

Students will present their polished reviews and oral pitches to an authentic audience, gather final feedback through a gallery walk, and justify how their editorial choices communicate a clear critical stance to readers.