1. ACADEMIC WRITING AND CRITICAL THINKING
Scottish University of the Year 2017
ACADEMIC WRITING AND CRITICAL THINKING
Michael Allardice
Academic Skills Centre
7th December 2018

2. Academic Skills Centre 2018
Goals for this session
To consider the process of developing an argument;
To consider why it is important to write in a clear and appropriate style;
To identify the key components of good academic argumentation;
To focus on developing critical thinking
To undertake a group task to develop criticality
Before we begin, hand out the blank ‘essay cycle’ handouts for the students to complete while listening to the PowerPoint
Academic Skills Centre 2018

3. Writing as conversation
Academic writing really involves you in a three-way conversation
You
Theorists and/or practice – mainly from the past, but not always
Your reader
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

4. Writing as conversation – YOU
You take the ideas from others or from your practice, use them as part of your discussion to agree/disagree with, then develop your own thinking beyond this point: always remembering to cite your interlocutors (those you have been in conversation with) You will also have your own ideas from the beginning which you can test against those of the theorists
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

5. Writing as conversation – The Theorists
There are many ways to begin the dialogue. Sometimes you have read something you want to explore further: not always because you agree with what was said but because it makes you think. Sometimes because you want to see who else has had a similar point of view: have others had the same experience or understanding as you have had?
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

6. The Theorists continued
Sometimes long dead: Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Emile (1762) Sometimes from recent history: The Robbins Report (1963) Sometimes the near past: “The Donaldson Review of Teacher Education” (2010) Sometimes current: Getting It Right For Every Child - GIRFEC
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

7. Writing as conversation – Your Reader!
Don’t forget your reader:
Who is your reader/audience?
What will they want from your writing?
They want to be involved in your conversation – that’s why they are reading your work!
They want to follow your thinking – make it easy for them.
They want to be made to think, to be challenged, to see things from a new perspective
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

8. Structure Beginning Middle Ending Dianne Mitchell 24.08.2015
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

9. Structure (continued)
Introduction:
What is this topic all about?
Why is it important?
How are you going to tackle this topic?
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

10. Structure (continued)
Main Body:
This is where all the hard work is done!
Think about the sequence of your argument/discussion/analysis
What points need to be made?
What order makes most sense?
What evidence do you need to deploy to enhance your argument/discussion/analysis?
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

11. Structure (continued)
Conclusion:
This must reflect the nature of the argument/discussion/analysis you have conducted
NO new information in the conclusion: rather, it needs to draw together the points made in the main body
Remind your reader of the reasons for analysing this topic and what your view now is.
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

12. Paragraph Structure: TEA
Topic sentence Evidence Analysis
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

13. Academic Skills Centre 2018
Framing your writing
Context Key ideas Statement of intent Discussion ought to flow from one point to the next/ one idea or issue to the next Return to intention Sum up the key points from your discussion Place in wider context
Intro Main Body Conclusion
Theme 1
Theme 2
Theme 3
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14. (if you prefer: Why have you just told your reader that information?)
Thinking Critically
Three questions to ask yourself:
What?
So what?
(if you prefer: Why have you just told your reader that information?)
What next?
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

15. Academic Skills Centre 2018
Critical analysis
Distinction between description and analysis
Interpret evidence rather than just presenting it
Do not just quote and then re iterate. This is not analysis.
Avoid using unsubstantiated statements
“Research shows” (which research?)
“It is obvious that...” (Is it? Says who?)
“Nowadays everyone believes...” (Do they? Evidence?)
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

16. Academic Skills Centre 2018
Criticality
Think critically about the requirements of the essay: critical analysis begins with the essay title. try to work out which key debates or conflicts of opinion it refers to. Check through the literature for any relevant, current academic debates. Identify your own point of view
ask yourself why the lecturers have set this particular essay? Why this particular wording? What are they expecting you to read? Usually, there is an underlying set of ideas or theories or problems or texts that you are expected to cover as part of our background reading for the essay. This isn’t exhaustive. We are delighted when students bring something new to the table be clear about your own perspective. What exactly is your own position on the subject? This may change as you work through the assignment, but you should keep asking yourself this question as you study for the assignment, to help clarify your thinking and direct your research. It may take some time to arrive at your final position. Along the way, it may seem that there is good evidence to support many alternative points of view. You may feel that everything you read sounds right – or that nothing sounds right. However, at some point, you have to decide what position you are going to take up for yourself. If this isn’t clear in your mind, then your writing will lack clarity and direction.
imagine you have only fifteen seconds to state your argument for a radio audience. If you can’t say it clearly without rambling, then you’re not ready to put the final draft together
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

17. Academic Skills Centre 2018
Criticality
Consider how you will persuade your readers of your point of view
Find the evidence
Engage in debate
Structure your argument
From the point of view of critical thinking, the aim of an argument is to persuade your reader of your position, your conclusion. Your point of view needs to be presented as a well-reasoned argument that leads to a conclusion based on evidence. Critical writing is really a line of reasoning, a set of reasons, presented in the most convincing and logical order, to support a conclusion.
Something else to think about when your are producing an assignment based on good critical analysis is to identify convincing reasons to support your conclusion – reasons that would persuade your readers
Before you produce your final draft, go back over what you have written, and draw up a list of the
reasons that support your conclusion, and those that undermine it. Then consider whether the reasons are good enough. Do they really support your conclusion? Would they convince anyone else?
A good argument is based on solid evidence. So you need to identify and evaluate the available evidence to see if it really does support your point of view.
What research has been done on the subject? Are there different schools of thought about this subject? If so, what makes any of these convincing? You need to make sure that you have evidence that supports your conclusion. You also need to know of any arguments against your point of view. What evidence are these based on? Why are these alternative arguments less convincing?
engage actively in debate with different points of view- both those that adopt a similar to your position to yours and those that are different.
It is important to remember that academic debates aren’t usually clear-cut about right or wrong, and that new research leads to a continually changing picture. As a student, you need to weigh up the evidence to date – and make a decision about which seems the most convincing for now – or the circumstances in which a particular argument would be true
Once you have engaged in critical debate with the issues, you have finalised your position, you’ve identified good reasons based to support your conclusion, then the next step is to consider how you will organise your reasons and evidence into a clear structure. You want your argument to convince your reader that you know what you are talking about. The aim is to do this through the strength of your argument, by the way you present your position, your reasons, your evidence, in a clear and logical way, and not through resorting to forceful or emotive language.
You need to give some thought about how to present your material in a way that helps the reader to see the point and to follow the argument. You need to think through your argument from the point of view of your reader– what order will make most sense for them? Is each point clearly linked to the one that came before? Does everything you are saying build towards your final conclusion, helping your reader or listener to understand the position you have adopted for the assignment?
Your marker will be looking for evidence of your active engagement with the topic. Make sure that your final draft captures something of your process of critical dialogue with the subject.
Academic Skills Centre 2018
Dianne Mitchell

18. Critical Thinking: Group Activity
“If there’s one thing that unites everyone across the UK, it is the state of Britain’s public transport network, in particular, the trains!” Discuss why people get so exercised about public transport and what three things that the government could implement that would improve the train travellers’ experience and reduce the level of criticism train companies receive.
Academic Skills Centre 2018

19. Critical Thinking: Group Activity
In your groups, develop a discussion using the evidence you can find to support the three key points you want to make. Using your own devices to find appropriate evidence, annotate your arguments with that evidence to ensure you are not just having a “rant” for the sake of it, but that your points are considered and based in fact a6ce1a00
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20. What were the key conclusions from each group?
Findings?
What were the key conclusions from each group?
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21. Academic Skills Centre 2018
Summary
Critical thinking is more than just saying what has happened. It is about why something occurred, what its impact is/might be and ensuring that there is sufficient supporting evidence for your perspective. It is also about accepting that there are many different ways to argue a point and that different viewpoints can be equally valid in academic discussion.
Academic Skills Centre 2018

22. Academic Skills Centre 2018
Contacts
The Academic Skills Team can be contacted through: For other issues go to:
Academic Skills Centre 2018