How to use critics in an essay more effectively?

The best way to incorporate critics into your response to a question is to make sure you only use critics you can engage with. If you read a critical article and either strongly agree or disagree with the author, these are the critics you should use. Try to find a quote from them which sums up a particular point of their argument you would like to challenge or use to support your own. Critical quotes should always be used to keep strengthening your own argument, either through supporting you or exposing flaws in the counter argument. This is why it is best to engage with critical quotes you have a lot to say about, rather than using the first one you see. Engaging with critics shows a higher level skill than simply a cut and paste job to show you read an article or two. It's better to use fewer critics where they are relevant, rather than many critics forced into your essay where they don't really fit.