Critical Writing

Critical writing is the only way to evidence that you have thought about the meanings
and implications of what you read. Although reading academic sources can be
challenging, you are unlikely to get a high grade without critically writing. This skill
includes identifying and linking concepts, then drawing conclusions.

Therefore, critical writing should be clear, and relevant to a specific topic. Your
writing should be logically presented, and consider the depth, breadth, significance
and fairness of the evidence selected. There should be clear links and signposting
between themes.

Critical writing is a large topic, and it is likely you will find other critical writing
approaches. This guide provides one approach to critical writing, so it may not match
previous advice you have received. If this happens, we suggest you use an
approach that works for you.

Critical writing in five steps (adapted from Hilsdon’s (2010) three-step and The
Open University’s (2013, cited in Williams, 2014), seven-step processes)

1. Understanding key points

2. Analysing relationships between points/themes
3. Using evidence and developing arguments
4. Applying the argument to your assignment/question
5. Considering implications, recommendations and drawing conclusions

Your assignments may not require every element of every step – for example, some
essays do not require recommendations. The next part of this guide defines each
step in the process, explains how to demonstrate each step in your writing and
provides annotated examples of what each step looks like in a final written piece.

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Breakdown of each step

1. Understanding key points

What does this Understanding begins with effective academic reading and
step mean? note-taking, which are used to divide what you have read into
themes. To write critically, you must have a clear
understanding of the sources you read.
How do I do You show your understanding of key points by selecting
this? which topics to discuss, and how you arrange and divide
topics into themes when you answer your assignment
question(s).
Associated  Academic reading
study skills  Evaluating written sources
 Note taking (any/all versions)
 A guide to critical reading

2. Analysing relationships between points/themes

What does this Consider how your themes link together. For example, one
step mean? theme may support another, or detract from it. You will also
need to consider the impact of these relationships; for
example, agreeing sources may become more believable.
How do I do Your analysis can be seen in the structure (order) of your
this? writing. You should clearly identify which themes are related
and discuss the type of relationships these are. Tell your
reader how trustworthy each source is and highlight any
problematic or supportive links between each of your sources.
Associated  Critical reading
study skills  Planning an assignment
 Argument construction
 Writing to attract a higher grade checklist

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3. Using evidence and developing arguments

What does this Using evidence is crucial to academic writing and for critical
step mean? writing you should use a range of sources that are both for
and against the point you are discussing.
How do I do Creating summaries of sources and synthesising (combining
this? multiple sources) in your work are the best ways to use your
sources. Your arguments should be based on your findings
while looking for themes.
Associated  Argument construction
study skills  Linking - references and developing own voice
 Critical analysis – integrating theory and practice
 Literature reviews
 Summarising text

4. Applying the argument to your assignment/question

What does this This step is about focussing your writing to address the
step mean? question you have been given/chosen.
How do I do You can show the type of relationship between the argument
this? you are making in a paragraph and the question you are
addressing in the topic sentence, and you can relate the
significance of what a source says to your question in the
explanation/link sections of that paragraph.
Associated  Breaking down an assignment question
study skills  Introducing what an author said
 Paragraph structure
 Critical writing
 Showing analysis and evaluation in your writing

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5. Considering implications, recommendations and drawing conclusions

What does this Depending on your question, you may need to assess the
step mean? accuracy of a statement, suggest an effective method or
identify areas for improvement in a concept. Re-reading the
question helps focus on the point of your writing (You should
do this throughout the writing process).
How do I do The minor differences between regular and critical
this? conclusions should be addressed by critical discussions
forming your summary and suggestions/point of view.
Associated  Conclusion writing
study skills  Critical writing
 Writing to attract a higher grade

Critical writing evidenced

The following page offers a possible response to a sample question that requires a
critical response and illustrates the steps as outlined in this guide. The citations used
in this example are not real sources and are used to demonstrate where and how
citations are used in critical writing. They have been constructed using the Harvard
referencing conventions, details of which can be found on
https://www.citethemrightonline.com/. Please contact studyhub@beds.ac.uk if you
would like to discuss this further.

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Sample question:
“Discuss the scope and effects that notetaking has in a higher education setting”.

1. Understanding key points

Notetaking is not without its detractors with the most common claim being that
notetaking requires more time than it saves (Harrod, 2017).

2. Analysing relationships between points/themes

If the process of assignment writing is viewed as what can be called ‘time-based’
rather than ‘quality-based’ task as Smith (2019) suggests…

3. Using evidence and developing arguments

… then this argument is fair; however, as Sanderson (2019, p.29) asserts, “time
should never be the limiting factor to the quality of your writing”.

4. Applying the argument to your assignment/question

The suggestion that time is more important than quality also ignores that
understanding can develop while taking notes (Mikhael and Hill, 2016) rather than as
a separate task, and that the speed of notetaking can drastically increase with
experience (Rowan et al., 2018). These arguments are countered by a broad
agreement that time spent taking notes while reading could be presupposed when
setting deadlines for assignments, and should be regarded as part of the expected
practice of research in a higher education setting (Jones, 2016).

5. Considering implications, recommendations and drawing conclusions

Although notetaking has some minor drawbacks, these are vastly outweighed by the
benefits it provides which are significant in relation to student achievement and
comprehension. It is also for these reasons that notetaking should be expected from
students in higher education, and should be communicated to learners early in their
university careers, along with an outlining of the benefits notetaking can provide.

Further information
Study Hub@Library provides a range of opportunities for you to enhance your
academic skills. For more information, visit https://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/studyhub

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