Final answer:
Literary criticism analyzes an author's technique and compares and contrasts types of literature to inform and engage with the text. It educates readers on genre conventions and explores a text's artistic merit and cultural significance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purpose of writing literary criticism is to engage with a text deeply, exploring its themes, the techniques used by the author, and its place within the literary canon. The critic’s aim is often to analyze an author's technique and to compare and contrast types of literature, seeing how different texts approach similar themes or innovate within their respective genres. This critical engagement contributes to a wider understanding of literature and encourages readers to consider not just the entertainment value of a work, but also its artistic merit, cultural significance, and the skill displayed in its creation.
When it comes to the educational aspect, literary criticism in an academic setting aims to help students critically analyze the qualities that differentiate literature from other genres of writing and to consider how these works may or may not fit into existing literary categories. They learn to question and interact with a text on a level that goes beyond surface meaning, contemplating the various reasons a piece of writing is considered 'literature'.
The analysis provided by literary criticism shapes our understanding of genre conventions and helps us to articulate their purpose, cultural context, and the expectations they engender. Through this analysis, variations in these conventions can be determined, which is essential for a deeper comprehension of literature as both an art form and a reflection of the human experience.