What is Critical Writing How do I criticise

What is Critical Writing? • How do I criticise the work of established academics/practitioners? – By reading other established academics/ practitioners that may have different views! – By looking for practical evidence that may support or refute the established theory.

What is Critical Writing? • How can I criticise other’s work? – Check for logical coherency of the arguments. – Are the reasons linked with each other and with the conclusion? – May the author be biased? • Cultural, gender, professional biases, etc. – Does the author clearly outline his/her theoretical base? – Are the author’s arguments supported by relevant evidence and other people’s work? – Are the author’s methods trustworthy?

What is Critical Writing? • Is critical writing about criticising other’s work? – Yes but it is only a small part. • It is also about: – Integrating different sources of information (books, articles, etc. ) to provide a fuller picture of your topic. – Telling a “story” of your topic: • • What are the key themes, arguments and conclusions? How were they developed? Do the authors in the area agree/disagree with each other? What does theory in your topic mean for practice? – Providing practical evidence to illustrate and support your arguments.

Key thing in critical writing is: Wide and critical reading!