Critical Writing

1. Critical Writing
Neil Roberts
The Academic Achievement Team
Skills@ljmu.ac.uk

2. Lesson Aims
• Analyse and evaluate critical analysis in writing
• Explain how to write with critical analysis in your assignments

3. Session aims:
Critical Thinking
Asking questions:
How?
Why?
What?
What if?
A Mental Process
Thinking about what we already know about
something
Thinking about how we know this
Adding to this knowledge with more
information
Comparing this information
Reconsidering what we know

4. Bloom’s Model (1956)
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge

5. Critical Thinking
• Standing back and thinking about all the
elements of a topic
• Not taking information at face-value (not
accepting it as true)
• Thinking about context (would another
situation be different?)
• Considering an issue from different
perspectives and comparing them
• Explaining the relevance of what you have
written
• Evaluate strengths and limitations before
making a judgement

6. Descriptive vs Critical Writing
“….too descriptive, no analysis….”
Descriptive Writing:
Explains theories
Explains how something works
Gives details
States the order in which things happen
Presents views
Critical Writing:
Shows why the theory is relevant
Explains why something works and the effect
of this
Evaluates the significance of the details (are
some more important than others?)
Makes judgments why things happened in
this way and not another way
Explains the relevance of the views and
evaluates the strengths and weaknesses
In your assignments, you need descriptive and critical writing
But too much descriptive writing will result in lower marks

7. Before we get critical………..
Critical thinking = using a questioning approach to what you read or
hear
Critical analysis = breaking down information you have into smaller
parts e.g. identifies causes and effects/; finds evidence and examples to
support argument
Critical evaluation = weighing up the information you have and then
making judgements on it

8. Practice

9. Descriptive or Critical? 1
A number of studies have investigated people’s preferences for pets.
Some people prefer cats (Alcott, 2007; Bentley 2011) but some
people prefer dogs (Harrison, 2008; Bailey 2010).
A number of studies have investigated people’s preferences for pets.
Some people prefer cats (Alcott, 2007; Bentley 2011) but some
people prefer dogs (Harrison, 2008; Bailey 2010). Those who prefer
cats are usually quiet people who live alone (Samson, 2009), while
those who prefer dogs are active people (Kreen, 2004).
A number of studies have investigated
Synthesise different
studies who share the
same view
Descriptive : the writer is just reporting ideas
from other people

10. Descriptive or Critical? 2
A number of studies have investigated people’s preferences for pets.
Some people prefer cats (Alcott, 2007; Bentley 2011) but some
people prefer dogs (Harrison, 2008; Bailey 2010). Those who prefer
cats are usually quiet people who live alone (Samson, 2009), for
example, the elderly, while those who prefer dogs are active people
(Kreen, 2004), for example, families. On the other hand, other
studies have shown that this is not always the case (Shone, 2006;
Bright, 2007; Sun, 2009). Shone (2006) presents convincing evidence
that previous studies focussed only on city dwellers, and argues that
this may undermine the reliability of the results.
A number of studies have investigated
On the other hand, other
studies have shown that this is not always the case
presents convincing evidence
and argues that
may undermine the reliability
Is getting critical
but……..
Academic expressions

11. Descriptive or Critical? 3
A number of studies have investigated people’s preferences for pets.
Some people prefer cats (Alcott, 2007; Bentley 2011) but some
people prefer dogs (Harrison, 2008; Bailey 2010). Those who prefer
cats have been characterised as ‘quiet’ people who live alone
(Samson, 2009), for example, the elderly, while those who prefer
dogs are described as ‘active’ people (Kreen, 2004), for example,
families. It is not clear, however, whether it is because these people
are ‘active’ that they choose to have a dog or whether it is the
presence of a dog in the household that in fact causes these people
to be more active.
have been characterised
It is not clear
Final sentence questioning /
thinking what information is
missing
that in fact causes
Critical !

12. Your Academic Voice
• Your tutors already know about your
subject but they do not know what you
think
• They want to know what ideas you
consider to be important and why
• When you write critically and comment,
this is your opinion coming through
• Your opinion = your voice

13. Claim-Evidence-Support
• As always, your opinions must be
supported
• You should use evidence and then
explain why it supports your viewpoint
• Distinguish between:
• Your Viewpoint (claim)
• Your Evidence (support)
• Your Reasons for believing it
(argument)
• Be clear about how the evidence leads
you to form your conclusions

14. The W.E.E.D. Paragraph Structure: Critical Analysis
WHAT is your paragraph about? This will be your topic sentence (tells the
reader what the paragraph is about)
EXPLANATION: what do you mean? Can you use add some evidence?
EXAMPLES/EVIDENCE: make sure that you support you point with
examples from your reading. Start synthesising the literature (combining
similar ideas)
DO: What can you conclude? What is your evaluation? Why are you
telling the reader this – make your point. This is your academic
voice – your line of argument.

15. 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 norepinephrine in the right hemisphere than in the
left (Carlsson, 1996). Norepinephrine is associated with
increased alertness to visual stimuli, and it has been
suggested by Springer and Deutsch (2002) that this may
lead to increased right-hemisphere specialisation for visual
and spatial perception. This link, however, has not yet
been adequately demonstrated, and it may indeed be the
case that the ‘right brain’ produces the norepinephrine in
response to activity, rather than producing it to cause
activity.
What paragraph is about
Explanation
Examples /
evidence
Critical
comment

16. Practice

17. Example paragraph using the W.E.E.D.
structure : Nursing
Koenig’s (1998) study of patients with terminal disease, found over 90% of these patients used
religion as a coping mechanism. Spirituality can enhance a person’s desire to live longer by any
means, avoiding an afterlife of punishment or, conversely, hastening death to relieve suffering and
pain on entering the afterlife (Hamel and Lysaught, 1994). However, each faith community can hold
its own unique set of beliefs, but that different denominations or strands of each faith can also
differ in their belief system, including in their approach to palliative care. For example, the
Methodist Church promotes the right to die in dignity without efforts to prolong life ‘merely
because the technology is available to do so’ (Thobaben, 1997), while the Catholic Church believes
that removing ANH will cause unnecessary suffering and therefore condone palliation towards end
of life (Evangelista, 2008). Yet, as Pugh et al (2009) suggest, it is also important to note that beliefs
and choices can vary dependant on the individuals within any given belief system and that all
tenants of their religion may not necessarily be adhered to. Therefore, although health care
professionals must have a broad understanding of the stance that major religions take on palliative
care, in order to approach patients and their families with empathy and sensitivity, clinical decision-
making should also avoid generalisations and make allowances for individual preferences and
choices, regardless of the patient’s religious affiliation.
What the
paragraph
is about
Explanation
Example to
support the
point
Adding more
detail
Comment :
evaluation of
points about
healthcare
and religion
Point: awareness of
problems

18. Turning first to the alleged economic benefits of tourism, we can see that in
the case of the Cook Islands, there is a variety of sources of income from
tourist receipts. In an unsurprisingly positive report from the Tourism Council
of the South Pacific (2013), after beach activities and natural scenery (62%),
visitors to the Cook Islands are looking for entertainment and folklore and
culture experiences (27%). Tourists contribute to the local economy by
spending money on travel to and around the country, as well as on
accommodation, food, entertainment and souvenirs. Results from this same
survey, for example, revealed that in the survey period (October 2012 to
February 2013) 90% of tourists surveyed stayed in hotels or similar
accommodation, 78% of which are owned by multi-national organisations.
Also, close to 70% of total tourist expenditure was on accommodation,
restaurants and bars, with a further 16% on transport, tours and
entertainment (Tourism Council of the South Pacific, 2013). These figures are
presented to suggest, as Brown et al. (2016) have similarly proposed, that
tourists are helping to create jobs and investment in the local economy by
directly by paying for services. However, the study by Mahmood (2017)
persuasively highlights the low-wage nature of this employment and the lack
of investment in local infrastructure, which has had the effect of stifling
growth locally despite the high profits external tourism companies have
gained from their placement on the Cook Islands. It could therefore be
suggested that control of the Cook Islands tourism industry by local people,
with advice from those outside working in a partnership mode as has been
seen in Barbados (Mahmood, 2017), could mean that tourism brings many
more benefits than it currently is.
What the paragraph is about
Evaluating the source material for its
reliability and its strength.
Comparing and contrasting literature
(evidence)
Evaluating how literature is being
used
Alternative viewpoint + evaluation
Final evaluation of paragraph topic

19. A protocol study has been used to investigate issues of teamwork in
design on the basis of extensive literature review under this section.
However, various matters, such as common design teamwork goals,
have not been properly investigated. Most studies were unable to
extend beyond communication, technology, and environmental
approaches to the design teamwork. Apart from communication,
cognitive actions, thinking, and environment, studies on teamwork in
design should also acknowledge transformations that emerge from
stakeholders' interaction.

20. At present, there are several studies concerning the sustainable
development of healthcare units. However, most of them are oriented to
business management or to waste management and energy efficiency, as in
the study developed by Murray et al. (2008). Sustainable practices in these
buildings are not widespread mainly due to the fact that they are not
conventional. Additionally, the implementation of sustainable practices,
normally related to the concept of ‘‘reduction’’, is not always very well
perceived by society and can generate some resistance (Castro et al. 2012).
Several studies and professionals, such us Malkin (2006), also agree that it is
possible to work through the weaknesses of actions and measures. Some of
them are simple and inexpensive, but capable of reducing the environmental
impact.

21. Critical Writing Language
• X’s research is not wholly persuasive because she
overlooks ___________
• X’s theory of ___________ is extremely useful because it
sheds insight on the difficult problem of ___________
• Whereas X provides ample evidence that ___________, Y
and Z’s research on ___________ and ___________ is more
convincing in its argument that ___________ because
___________
• This suggests that ___________
• Conversely, it could be argued that ___________
Useful link: Manchester
University Phrasebank
http://www.phrasebank.man
chester.ac.uk/being-critical/

22. Academic Writing
Neil Roberts
The Academic Achievement Team
Skills@ljmu.ac.uk