Critical Reading and Writing

Welcome to the class of Academic Critical Reading and Writing Workshop. You will need the skill of critical reading and writing throughout your study as it is a crucial skill for you to eventually produce an excellent dissertation and defend your dissertation. You are very likely to need this skill for your future career as well. In this module we discuss some practical ways in which you can select relevant material and be critical in your reading and in your writing. We also provide some tips that should help you when writing a critical essay.

his module focuses on helping students develop critical thinking, techniques and principles of persuasive writing for academic purposes. The course emphasizes: principles of logical argument, critical reasoning, and effective use of source material, research and citation skills, and stylistics.

As your aim when critically analysing material is to respond objectively to what you are reading or thinking through, you need to keep an open mind and be prepared to question the author’s claims. This means that you should try to be aware of any preconceptions you have that might be skewing the way you think about an argument. As you read, allow yourself opportunities to check your understanding and revisit sections if you are unsure of their meaning. How you do this and the questions you ask will vary depending on what – and why – you are reading (for example, you might be responding to an assignment question). As a result, you must always be prepared to adapt your approach according to the demands of the material.

Not only do you have to read with a critical eye, but you must also be able to express your ideas in a critical way. This means that your writing must demonstrate your understanding of the significance of an argument or perspective, the relevance of evidence and the strength of conclusions made. Your writing will need to show evidence of your ability to defend an argument against charges such as bias, lack of supporting evidence or incompleteness. Developing critical writing skills will allow you to develop more reasoned arguments for your assignments, projects and examination questions.

This course is a practical, step by step, guide on how to write an academic essay for Humanities/Social Science. It is NOT a spelling, punctuation or grammar course

1. Critical analysis and critical reading

2. Critical writing process – brainstorming, drafting, editing, proposal

3. Critical writing process - Thesis statements

4. Critical writing process – structure

5. Techniques of persuasion: supporting claims, acknowledging counter-

arguments, making concessions

6. Research skills

7. Correct paper formatting

Recommended Reading:

http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/critical-writing

http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/document/path/1/1710/Critical_Thinking.pdf

http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing

https://www.brookes.ac.uk/documents/students/upgrade/be-more-critical/

http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/management/external/els/Assignment%20Success/Critycal%20Analysis/What%20is%20critical%20writing.ppt

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

By the end of this session you should be able to:

1. Read, evaluate and discuss readings; Understand some practical approaches to critical analysis, applying critical thinking to reading and writing for assignments.

2. Compose a clear, coherent, unified argumentative essay;

3. Compose effective thesis statements;

4. Apply techniques of effective persuasion, including acknowledging counter-arguments, making concessions, using appropriate tone;

5. Critically evaluate rhetorical writing to recognize emotional appeals, distinguish fact from opinion, identify assumptions, stereotypes, generalizations and biases;

6. Employ the various stages of the writing process, including brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising and editing.

1. Weekly 500 words of critical evaluation on given topics or research papers (3 in total). Each paper contributes to 25% of the student’s final grade. 75% in total.

2. Good class participation contributes to 25% of the student’s final grade. This include in-class individual and group project. In general, students are expected to show evidence of critical thinking by actively engaging in discussions on research papers, student essay examples and mainstream articles. At least one short reading (less than one A4 page) will be given to students before each class; students are expected to submit in person during the class minimum 1 and maximum 3 brief critical evaluations of the given reading that should be one or two sentences long each. Examples will be given during the first class.

Up to 1 unexcused absence is allowed and one further absence is only possible with formal excuse. This is to ensure that student will be able to meet all the learning outcomes.

Students must respect the principles of academic integrity. Cheating and plagiarism (including copying work from other students, internet or other sources) are serious violations that are punishable, and instructors are required to report all cases to the administration.