Writing critically
LEARNING SKILLS
Overview of this workshop
•
Thinking critically
•
The assignment writing process
•
Researching critically
•
Reading critically
•
Planning critically
•
Descriptive versus critical writing
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Thinking critically
A critical thinker can:
•
Evaluate the reliability of sources of information
•
Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information
•
Compare and contrast ideas, concepts and theories
•
Make connections between ideas and concepts in
different disciplines
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LEARNING SKILLS GROUP 2015
Source: Brick, J. 2001. ‘Academic Culture: A student’s guide to studying
at university’. 2nd ed. Macmillan Publishers, South Yarra, Australia. 3
The assignment process
Start thinking
early …
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Researching critically
Start by being critical in your research. This means
asking questions such as:
•
What does the task require me to do?
•
What do I already know about the topic and what
do I need to know?
•
Which search terms do I need to use?
•
Is this text relevant?
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Reading critically
Being critical in your reading means asking questions
about what you read, such as:
•
What are you trying to convince me of?
•
Why is this important?
•
Does your evidence mean as much as you claim?
•
Does your reasoning add up? Are there more
plausible conclusions?
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LEARNING SKILLS GROUP 2015
Source: Wallace, M. & Wray, A. 2006. ‘Critical reading and
writing for postgraduates’. Sage Publications. London.
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Reading log
What main argument(s) does the
author make?
What evidence or examples do
they use to support the
argument(s)
What are the strengths and
weaknesses of the argument
(and/or the evidence)
Do you agree with this argument
or theory? Why (not)?
How does this reading link with
other readings?
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Reading log
What main argument(s) does the
author make?
Television violence doesn’t make children more
violent because they distinguish between fantasy
and reality
What evidence or examples do
they use to support the
argument(s)
Data from face-to-face interviews with children
about attitudes to violence before and after
watching violence on television
What are the strengths and
weaknesses of the argument
(and/or the evidence)
• The sample size was very small (only 14
children)
• It doesn’t look at changes in children’s
behaviour – what they say may be different
from what they do
Do you agree with this argument
or theory? Why (not)?
I disagree because the children may have said what
they think the interviewer wanted to hear
How does this reading link with
other readings?
Li & Wang (1999) and Lopez et al (2014) have
arguments which contradict this, and they have
stronger evidence
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Planning critically
Put together information from different sources
Smith (2008)
Li and Wang (1999)
Lopez et al. (2014)
Main area of focus
Type of research
conducted
Type of evidence
used
Main
argument/theory
Relationship to
other readings
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Planning critically
Smith (2008)
Li and Wang (1999)
Lopez et al. (2014)
Main area of focus
Effects of violence
on children’s
attitudes
Effects of violence
on children’s brains
Effects of violence
on children’s
behaviour
Type of research
conducted
Face-to-face
Interviews
Brain imaging
Observation
Type of evidence
used
Discourse analysis
from interview
transcripts
Brain scan images of Observations of
48 children
changes in student
behaviour
Main
argument/theory
Children distinguish
between acted
violence and reality
Children’s brains
don’t distinguish
between acted
violence and reality
Definite change
towards more
aggressive
behaviour after
watching violence
Contradicts Smith
Contradicts Smith
Relationship to
other
readings
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Planning critically
Always create an outline before you write. Things to
think about at this stage include:
•
What is my main argument?
•
What evidence am I going to use to support this?
•
Are there any counter-arguments and how am I
going to deal with these?
•
What structure do I think will best suit my purpose?
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Mapping your argument
Thesis: Television does
increase the likelihood of
children acting violently.
Supporting
argument:
Watching
violence affects
children’s
brains
Supporting
argument:
Watching
violence affects
children’s
behaviour
Evidence:
Li & Wang’s
brain imaging
study
Evidence:
Lopez’s
observational
study
Opposing
argument:
Watching violence
doesn’t affect
children’s attitudes
to violence
Evidence:
Smith’s interviews
with children after
watching violence
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Descriptive versus critical
Descriptive writing
Critical writing
States what happened
Examines why it happened
Identifies the significance of what happened
States what something is
like
Evaluates strengths and weaknesses
Explains what a theory says
Examines what evidence the theory is based
on and evaluates the credibility of the
evidence
Looks at possible implications of the theory
Notes the method used
Discusses the appropriateness of the
method
States options
Evaluates the merits of each option
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Writing critically - relevance
Imagine your essay topic is: ‘The effects of
television violence on children’s behaviour.’
You find a reliable source that says:
“The number of households in which children have
television in their bedrooms has tripled in the last 5 years.”
Is this relevant?
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LEARNING SKILLS GROUP 2015
Source: Brick, J. 2001. ‘Academic Culture: A student’s guide to studying
14
at university’. 2nd ed. Macmillan Publishers, South Yarra, Australia.
Writing critically - relevance
It is up to you to show how any information that
you include is relevant to your argument.
The number of households in which children have
televisions in their bedrooms has tripled in the last five
years (Smith, 2004). As a result, parents are less able to
monitor what their children are watching, potentially giving
children access to greater amounts of violent programing.
COPYRIGHT © LEARNING & TEACHING CENTRE
LEARNING SKILLS GROUP 2015
Source: Brick, J. 2001. ‘Academic Culture: A student’s guide to studying
15
at university’. 2nd ed. Macmillan Publishers, South Yarra, Australia.
The paragraph
If it’s worth including, it’s worth telling us why
Explain to the reader why it’s relevant.
… first  describe and reference the
evidence
...next  explain what this evidence
contributes to the argument
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Writing critically - evaluation
Evaluating the ideas or research of others can be
done in several ways. Here is one simple, effective
way:
• Smith’s theory states that….
• His evidence to support this theory is based on…
• However, there are some problems with Smith’s
interpretation of the evidence…
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Other relevant workshops
•
Essay structure
•
Referencing essentials
•
Paraphrasing effectively
•
Analysing assignment questions
•
Constructing effective paragraphs
•
Making your writing more academic
•
Writing better introductions and conclusions
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