Critical Analytical Writing

A quick guide

Critical analytical thinking in writing is very similar to critical analytical thinking in reading, but it can be challenging to objectively analyse your own work and separate your own bias and opinions from facts. In order to write an effective critical analysis, you must make sure that your thinking is clear before you begin writing and that you have spent enough time analysing both the materials you read and your own ideas on the topic. Below are a few tips for improving the quality of your critical writing.

In this handout What is critical analysis? 3 tips for being more analytical and critical Description vs. analysis

Questions we ask in critical analysis Critical analysis is basically a process of asking questions about information for the purpose of finding out how valid that information is. Those questions typically focus on 3 different aspects of the information we are analysing: the big picture, argument & evidence, and style (Deakin Uni 2010).
Who is the author and when was this written? Was it written in response to another text? Is this a new piece of research? What is this author saying? (What is his/her argument?) Try to put this into your own words. What are the main points of this text? Highlight these or note them down. What is the author's standpoint and what are the underlying values in this text? Is this a significant work in its field? What is the quality of the evidence? Examine the conclusion carefully and ask: is this the correct conclusion from the points made in the argument? Is every point relevant? Does one point lead logically to the next? (This is a way of checking whether it flows logically.) What has been left out and is this significant? Why? Which parts do I agree with and why? Which parts do I disagree with and why? What are the strengths of this text? What are the weaknesses? What assumptions does the author make? Do I agree or disagree with these?

The Big Picture

Argument & Evidence

Style

Is the argument clearly expressed? Is it written in plain language or language that obscures? Is the aim of the text clearly expressed in the introduction? What is the quality of the evidence? Is there a clear conclusion? Are any words and phrases ambiguous?

Because the assignments we write are often based on the information we find in libraries, online databases and the Internet, its important that we ask ourselves these questions about that information during the reading process.

Learning Skills Unit Saigon: Level 4 In the Library / Hanoi: 1.2.010 In the Library learningskills.sg@rmit.edu.vn / learningskills.hn@rmit.edu.vn

3 general tips for being more critically analytical when writing 1. Be clear about your conclusions. You need to make sure that you know where your paper is headed. Your whole paper should lead to the conclusion, so it is important to know what your conclusion is before you start writing. 2. Make your argument clear. Identify key points that you want to make before you write and make a plan for how to order these ideas logically so that the ideas are connected and have a natural progression. 3. Evaluate your own writing from multiple perspectives. You must consider the strengths and weakness of your writing. You will see that most of the time, answers are not clearly right or wrong, but that several pieces of evidence will contradict each other. Descriptive versus Critical Analytical Writing Both descriptive and critical writing are important features of writing. Descriptive writing should be used to give general background information, but should be limited to only what is necessary. Critical analytical writing is the more important part and it is what lecturers are looking for in your writing. Read the two passages below and decide if they are examples of descriptive writing or critical writing. Use the table on the other side of this paper to help you decide. Ask an LSU adviser to check your answer.

Bowlbys Attachment Theory (1988) argues that child development is affected by the closeness of the bond between a mother and its child. Bowlby (1992) claimed that even short spells away from the mother during infancy could have a profound effect upon a person later in life. This became known as maternal deprivation theory. According to this theory, the relationship with the mother during an early critical period gives the developing child an internal working model. This model then forms the foundation of all future relationships.

Scientists do not agree about the extent to which creativity can be linked to activity in the right hemisphere of the brain. It is known that the biochemistry of the two hemispheres of the brain is different. For example there is more of the neutrotransmitter, norepiniephrine, in the right hemisphere than the left (Oke 1978). Norepinephrine is associated with increased alertness to visual stimuli. It has been suggested by Springer and Deutsch (1981) that this may lead to increased right-hemisphere specialization for visual and spatial perception. However, this link is not yet proven. It is not yet clear whether one hemisphere of the brain can be responsible for any creative task.

Learning Skills Unit Saigon: Level 4 In the Library / Hanoi: 1.2.010 In the Library learningskills.sg@rmit.edu.vn / learningskills.hn@rmit.edu.vn

Use this chart to differentiate between descriptive and critical writing. You can refer back to it when you analyse your own writing too.

Descriptive Writing States what happened States what something is like Gives the story so far States the order in which thing happened Says how to do something Explains what a theory says Notes the method used Says the different components States options Lists details Lists in any order States links between items Gives information

Critical Analytical Writing Identifies the significance Evaluates strengths and weakness Weighs on piece of information against another Makes reasoned judgements Argues a case according to the evidence Shows why something will work (best) Identifies whether something is appropriate or suitable Weighs up the importance of component parts Gives reasons for selecting each option Evaluates the relative significance of details Structures information in order of importance Show the relevance of links between pieces of information Draws conclusions

Learning Skills Unit Saigon: Level 4 In the Library / Hanoi: 1.2.010 In the Library learningskills.sg@rmit.edu.vn / learningskills.hn@rmit.edu.vn