Literary Analysis Writing Competence and Critical Thinking Skills of Grade 11 Students

Literary analysis is an indispensable skill in the 21st century and is crucial in developing the critical thinking. This study examined the literary analysis writing competence and critical thinking skills of Grade 11 students in Bacolod City during the Academic Year 2024–2025, aiming to provide insights crucial for enhanced curriculum design and instructional support. It employed a descriptive, comparative, and correlational research design and involved 266 respondents selected through stratified random sampling. Students’ literary analysis writing competence—evaluated in terms of textual analysis, argument development, and analytical skills—was assessed using the Bloom’s Taxonomy-Based Writing Rubric modified by Santos (2018), while their critical thinking skills—covering argument, assumption, conclusion, inference, and evaluation—were measured through Paul and Elder’s Critical Thinking Framework. Findings revealed that students demonstrated a needs improvement level in literary analysis writing competence and an emerging level in critical thinking skills. No significant differences were found in both variables when grouped according to school of origin and time spent reading, and no significant relationship between the literary analysis writing competence and critical thinking skills of grade 11 students. However, students from families in the lowest income group had significantly higher critical thinking scores. A weak and insignificant correlation was observed between literary analysis writing competence and critical thinking skills. These findings underscore the need for enhanced curriculum design and instructional support to develop students’ analytical and reasoning abilities.