How to write critically

 

How is critical writing different from descriptive writing?

Descriptive Writing	Critical Writing
States what happened	Identifies the significance of what happened
Explains a situation	Questions existing explanations of a situation and examines alternative explanations
Outlines a theory or argument	Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence supporting the theory or argument
Lists ideas or perspectives on the topic from various experts	Explains how ideas or perspectives are connected to each other and to the overall topic
Gives options	Evaluates the various options and explains which option is best and why
Aims to help the reader understand the topic	Aims to provide the writer’s perspective on the topic and encourage the reader to think more deeply about their own perspective

Example paragraphs

The following examples compare a paragraph using only descriptive writing with the same paragraph rewritten to include the writer’s critical analysis of the topic.

Descriptive Writing
There is a large amount of research that examines intercultural communication via social media. Smith (2016, p. 75) states that digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter help distribute knowledge between people and cultures. Cosgrove  (2018) found that people who regularly used social media were more likely to engage in activities from other cultures. Harrison (2017, p. 9) believes that technology has increased the capacity for people to communicate across cultures. Furthermore, Harrison states that social media does not foster in-depth relationships between people and communities from different cultures. Moreover, Markson (2018, p. 18) argues that digital communication platforms “erode the fundamental principles of cross-cultural engagement” by reducing important and complex aspects of culture to “instant images … for immediate gratification rather than deep understanding."

	The topic sentence of the descriptive paragraph only tells the reader about the amount of research conducted on this topic, without giving us an overview of whether the research tends to support a particular perspective on that topic.
	The descriptive paragraph lists the perspectives of different author’s, without explaining how those perspectives are similar or different to each other.
	The descriptive paragraph doesn’t make clear to the reader that some scholars have mixed views on the topic  e.g. Harrison thinks some aspects of social media are very good for intercultural communication, while other aspects are not so good.
	The descriptive paragraph provides the perspectives of various experts, but does not include the student’s own perspective on the topic.

Critical Writing
Research indicates that while digital communication has enhanced the capacity of people to connect across cultures, there are limitations regarding how this communication translates to genuine connection. Smith (2016, p. 75) suggests that digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter not only benefit users in terms of social connectivity, but also help distribute knowledge between people and cultures. Similarly, Cosgrove (2018) found that people who regularly used social media were more likely to engage in activities from other cultures. While Harrison (2017, p. 9) agrees that technology has increased the capacity for people to communicate across cultures, he raises concerns that such forms of communication fail to “foster in-depth relationships” between people and communities from different cultures, because strong connections require situations to be experienced together. Markson (2018, p. 18) likewise warns that digital communication platforms “erode the fundamental principles of cross-cultural engagement” by reducing important and complex aspects of culture to “instant images … for immediate gratification rather than deep understanding.” It is this superficial nature of social media that prevents it from being a truly useful tool for enhancing cross-cultural connection. Further research is required to examine how social media might more effectively encourage meaningful intercultural connections.

	The topic sentence of the critical paragraph gives the student’s summary of the main findings of the existing research on the topic. In this case, the findings are mixed (i.e. they don’t strongly support one particular perspective).
	The critical paragraph makes clear to the reader where there are similarities or differences in the various perspectives of researchers on this topic.
	The critical perspective shows the complexity of the issue by making it clear that Harrison has both positive and negative views about this topic.
	The critical paragraph gives the student’s own perspective based on their analysis of the existing research, which in this case includes the suggestion that further research is required because the existing evidence doesn’t provide sufficient solutions to address the problem.

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