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CRITICAL THININKG AND ANALYSIS

Effective Learning Service

COMMON FORMS OF UNIVERSITY WRITING FOR ASSIGNMENTS

In progressive order of challenge:

• Description Writing • Summary Writing (what does the writer

say? What is this idea about?)• Compare/Contrast Writing• Cause-Effect Writing (why & what issues)• Critical Analysis

WHAT IS CRITICAL ANALYSIS?

• To ‘analyse’: break information into elements or component parts

• To be ‘critical’ (in an academic sense) is to make careful judgement about information and to evaluate its quality

• So, it is about your ability to be critical (evaluate) of information and to make your own judgements about it.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS TYPE QUESTIONS OFTEN SUGGESTED BY WORDS IN ASSIGNMENT

TOPICS SUCH AS:

• Discuss

• Analyse

• Justify

• Evaluate

• Criticize

OPINION

• Go into any pub, club or bar to hear lots of opinions!

• An opinion is an idea or assertion for which there is no evidence

• always ask “what evidence do they present to support their assertions”?

Argument

‘Presenting reasons to support your position … If other people accept those reasons, they are more likely to be persuaded to your point of view.’

Cottrell, S. (2005) Critical Thinking Skills. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan

The structure of persuasion

• Presenting an argument

• (with reference to credible sources)

• … through a line of reasoning

• … to arrive at a conclusion

• E.g. confidence presentation

• Argument: • Reasons:1. 2. 3. • Conclusion:

• E.g. confidence presentation

• Argument: We spend too much time on issues of concern and not on factors we can influence.

• Reasons:1. Concern circles are big, influence circles are small.

2. Concern is ‘lovely place to be’ – can complain but don’t need to solve. So spend more (and more) time there .

3. And so, circle of influence diminishes

• Conclusion: Need to make better choices by focussing on circles of influence.

Definition

Critical thinking is about evaluating the validity of any theory, model, idea or

practice (TMIP) in the context in which it is to be applied.

• What’s the author’s position ?

• Why ?

• How does this bear on their argument ?

EVIDENCE

Assertions should always be supported by evidence. Four key questions: is the evidence presented:

reliable, e.g. supported by other research or commentators

sufficient: i.e. presents enough evidence to sufficiently ‘prove’ something

relevant: e.g. relevant to current situation or circumstances

credible: is it ‘believable’?

YOUR JUDGEMENT ON THE EVIDENCE

• Assignment questions are often presented in forms that present you with a particular premise (a proposition within a statement)

• Your task in such an assignment is to identify and evaluate the premise, which will lead you to:

- agree (fully or partially) with it - disagree (fully or partially) with it - remain undecided (a risky strategy!)

Barriers to critical thinking

‘Student’s natural resistance to learning to think critically.’

Student: ‘I want you (the expert) to give me answers to questions; I want to know the right answer.’

Teacher: ‘I want you to become critical thinkers, which means I want you to challenge experts’ answers and pursue you own answers through active questioning.

This means lots of hard work.’

Cowell, B., Keeley, S., Shemberg, M. and Zinnbauer, M. (1995) Coping with Student Resistance to Critical Thinking; What the Psychotherapy Literature Can Tell Us. College Teaching 43 (4)

So what’s their point ?Identifying arguments

• What is an argument ?

• What are its key features ?