Critical WritingAn introduction

Levels of discussion in academic writing

Academic writing can be understood to function at two levels:

1)Description (descriptive style)

2)Analysis and evaluation (critical/analytical style)

1) DescriptionWhat is description?

It describes (gives details on) what something is – the topic, problem, situation, context, or for example, a case study.

It may describe where this takes place, who is involved, when it occurs.

It provides background to the discussion of the essay question and tells the reader what the topic is – description usually comes before critical analysis.

Description is very common in everyday language. Academic writing uses an objective, third person style when describing.

Remember - an essay usually requires more than just description to obtain a higher grade.

2)Critical WritingAnalysis and Evaluation

Good analysis and evaluation earns a higher grade for an essay This is achieved by taking the information from the description

and analysing and evaluating what you have described.

How do we analyse and evaluate? Discuss why something happens or is done (the reasons behind

something or the theories informing something) Talk about how something occurs (relationship of parts to

whole). Discuss possible alternatives (what if). Evaluate why something is significant / convincing / successful –

or the opposite (so what – why is this important?). Evaluate implications, solutions, recommendations and where

we can go from here (what next).

2) Critical Writing - What does critical analysis involve?

Critical analysis can involve a discussion of:

The strengths and weaknesses of an idea. The usefulness of an idea. Does the idea work in

practice? (relating theory to practice). The evidence / support for an idea. (statistical support,

theoretical underpinning) How the idea links to other ideas in the field.

(scholarship) How the idea compares with other ideas / theories.

(comparison / classification of the type of theory) The up-to-dateness and relevance of the idea.

(currency)

2) Critical Writing - Evaluation of ideas and pointers to the future

As well as discussing strengths and weaknesses, there can be further evaluation of these ideas by looking to the future: Implications – possible changes to practice in

the future Possible solutions to problems in the future Conclusions – summarizing the pros and cons

in terms of importance / priorities Possible future alternatives General recommendations for the future

Evaluating resources

Currency (Is it up to date/ relevant to the current situation?)

Bias (Is there commercial interest represented in the information?)

Credentials (Who wrote it? Qualifications /role? Is it peer reviewed?)

More formal evaluation often uses a critical tool (such as CASP - to critique qualitative research papers)Websites in particular need to be carefully checked for suitability for use in academic writing

Using quotes in critical writing

It can be tempting to string together quotes to support an argument, feeling that the more quotes you include, the stronger your argument. It is important, however, to remember that you also need to interpret the meaning of quotes to the reader, explain their relevance, discuss their validity, and show how they relate to other evidence.

(University of Leicester, no date)

Using citation verbs critically to modulate your line of argument

Citation verbs are used to introduce information into your text: states, argues, claims, points out, etc.The choice of citation verb reflects your attitude to the information that you are using (cf.critical style)Smith (2015, p.47) argues that… = complex, one of many viewsSmith (2015, p.47) claims that… = questioning the validity of the ideaSmith (2015, p.47) emphasises that… = this is particularly important

Using paragraphs to enhance critical writing

You can use paragraphs to make a clear and visual separation between descriptive writing and critical analysis, by switching to a new paragraph when you move from description to critical writing, and vice versa. This can help in:

• emphasising to the reader that you are including both description and critical analysis, by providing a visual representation of their separation

• pushing you to produce the necessary critical writing, especially if you find that your description paragraphs are always longer, or more frequent, than your critical analysis paragraphs.

(University of Leicester, no date)

Finding the balance between description and critical analysis

“Both descriptive and analytical writing have their place. Descriptive writing is needed to give essential background information so that the writing makes sense to the reader. However, this should usually be kept to the bare minimum – if you use up most of your word limit on description, you will have fewer words to use for the analytical writing that could bring you high marks.” (Cottrell, 2008, p.286)

References

Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2012) Essential Study Skills. 3rd edn. London: Sage.

Cottrell, S. (2011) Critical Thinking Skills. Hampshire: Palgrave.

Northedge, A. (2007) The Good Study Guide. Milton Keynes: The Open University.

University of Leicester (no date) What is critical writing? Available at: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/critical-writing (Accessed: 15/2/13).