How to get started with Critical writing for Law Presentation by Library Services & Academic Success Centre Learning Services: UWE Library 2018/2019

Lecturer feedback Not enough analysis Your writing is too descriptive You make some good points but you don’t develop your argument

Learning Objectives At the end of the session we hope that you’ll feel more confident about: What it means to be a critical thinker Distinguishing between descriptive and critical writing Identifying the language of evaluation used in critical writing Academic skills are real world skills: Making sound decisions on behalf of your client/employer Seeing the bigger picture

What is Critical Thinking? What is it not? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnJ1bqXUnIM&feature=youtu.be Image from: https://youtu.be/HnJ1bqXUnIM

Asking questions - the right questions Taking a step back – not believing everything, but not disbelieving everything Being curious and reflective Going in search of evidence and assessing what you find Not just finding flaws Constructing your own independent point of view

Who are judges to tell us who we can leave our money to in our wills! Mail Online opinion, Max Hastings Activity 1 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3178080/MAX-HASTINGS-judges-tell-leave-money-wills.html

What do you think? Why has Max Hastings written about the issue. Is the Daily Mail a reliable scholarly resource? What are the policy considerations surrounding this area of the law? How does the issue fit into the constitution of the United Kingdom? Reasons for which you agree and disagree with the statement. Overall do you agree or disagree with the statement What scholarly materials would you use to support your arguments?

Critical Thinkers need to…. ….ask lots of questions, use a variety of sources, consider different perspectives and think of different possibilities (“I agree/disagree for a number of reasons but I’d need more information before I gave a definitive answer.”) Green tick image from Pixabay

critical reading critical writing critical thinking

Question mark image from Pixabay The CRAAP method Guide to CRAAP in your handout Currency Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose Question mark image from Pixabay

Why is critical reading important? Rights versus responsibilities: adult children, parental wealth and contested wills. Heather Conway Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2017 Vol. 39, No.34, 494-496 https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2017.1390295 Activity 2

Descriptive or critical? In pairs, discuss what you think are the differences between descriptive and critical writing. Apply the CRAAP method to Heather Conway’s article Which parts of Heather Conway’s article provide description? Which parts engage in critical analysis?

Descriptive or critical? States what happened Identifies the significance States what something is like Evaluates (judges the value) strengths and weaknesses Gives the story so far Weighs one piece of information against another States the order in which things happened Makes reasoned judgements Explains what a theory says Shows why something is relevant or suitable Explains how something works Indicates why something will work (best) [Adapted from Hills, D (2011) Critical Thinking. Richmond: Trotman Publishing

Evaluative language is useful for … “…and it was ruled by Lord Justice Blogs in Joe v Slogs that…” Introducing general criticism (positive and negative) Introducing the critical position of particular writers Offering constructive suggestions Introducing questions, problems and limitations in an argument/theory “However, Smith has questioned the reasoning behind the decision because…” “It may be useful to compare decision to the earlier ruling of Katie v Price…” http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/being-critical/ “This stance has since been challenged…”

Evaluative Language - Exercise Identify the evaluative language in the following sentences…. Example: A seminal ruling has been made voiding UK recognition of overseas marriages involving a minor. The search for a unified definition of the human rights is unnecessary, argues Smith (2015). Parliamentary responses to rape victims are inadequate, Jo (2013) has warned. In 1997, Bloggs published a significant piece of research on the free movement of people In his seminal work, Joe (2017) argues that the judiciary have applied the law incorrectly, revealing flaws in how they interpret Parliament’s intention.

Finally... We hope that you are now feeling more confident about: What it means to be a critical thinker Distinguishing between descriptive and critical writing Identifying the language of evaluation used in critical writing

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