CRITICAL

Remember that
critical writing is no
longer about
• Reading and writing are the two of observation and
imagination. Rather, it
the macro skills essential for strongly calls for
learning. Critical reading is not a observation and logic
to raise solid
process of passive consumption, but arguments,
one of interaction and engagement supported by
evidences
between the reader and the text. that you will carefully
Therefore, when reading critically elaborate in your text.

and actively, it is important not only

to take in the words on the page, but
also to interpret and to reflect upon
Academic writing is
what is read through writing and far from a
discussing it with others. one-size-fits-all
genre. Applicable to
• “Critical writing is involvement in an the broad variety of
academic debate.” academic
disciplines and their
• It requires a refusal to accept the unique approaches
conclusions of other writers without to conducting and
documenting
• It is often done on an emotional and evaluating the arguments and research efforts in

largely subjective, rather than on an evidence they provide." - University the field, one might
find it challenging to
intellectual and objective level. It is of Birmingham identify clearly what
constitutes
quick but shallow. academic writing.

a) Be sure to answer the right and

• It requires a careful study of the
relevant questions.
ideas presented and arguments
b) Give enough contexts so that the
advanced in it. It is analytical and
reader can follow your ideas and
evaluative. Critical readers who
understand your principles.
possess this skill are not willing to
c) Include references to the material
simply reject or accept the
you have read.
arguments presented in the text after
d) Try to group different studies
the first reading right away. They are
thematically or categorically and
open-minded and willing to learn in
make links between ones that are
spite of differences in beliefs and
related.
principles. Hence, responding to a
e) Explain source material to your
text is much more productive and
readers to show why it is valuable
progressive.
and relevant.
f) Discuss the ideas that come from
these source texts in your writing.
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g) Justify your judgments. Say why you

think an idea is relevant, valid, or
interesting. • Many times, critically evaluating the
h) Acknowledge the drawbacks or work of others is much easier than
limitations of ideas, even the ones receiving critical feedback on your
you disagree with. own writing efforts. It is just harder to
i) Do not be afraid to make intelligent be at the receiving end.
suggestions, educational guesses or • “I think you have to face criticism
hypotheses. with an open mind and a willingness
j) You are supposed to make to learn. Sometimes the comments
judgments based on evidence, so are harsh, but mostly they are well-
your conclusions must be intentioned efforts to help you
meaningful and completely improve. Consider the source and
objective. select ones whose feedback you
k) Note that conclusions are usually value when possible.” (Eric
plural. Schmieder)
l) A single conclusion—rare but
possible—is usually straightforward
and is worth discussing.
m) Do not ignore arguments just
because you disagree with them.
n) Avoid praising authors just because
they are famous in the field. Praise 1. Feedback Connects to Your Goals
them for the substance of their work - Feedback lets you know how much
assessed with objectivity, not with development you have made
subjectivity. towards your writing goals and what
o) Check that your argument flows else you need to do to meet them. It
logically. also gives you a clearer picture of
where you are in your timeline of
progress.
2. Feedback Can Be More Important
Good argument
writing is critical, Than Your Score
assertion-with
- Scores and grades only measure
proof-writing. It • A good academic argument makes
should performance -- they do not tell you
reflect a serious an evidence-based claim designed
attempt on the writer how to get better. “A good score
s part to have
to advance a specific field of study.
considered the The purpose of argument writing is to present a position and to have an
without feedback leaves you at a
issue from all audience adopt or at least seriously consider your argument.” plateau while a bad score with
angles.”
feedback leaves you an opportunity
to progress and improve without
• Critical evaluation of source limits.”
materials allows you “to evaluate the
strength of the argument being
made by the work.
“Critical reading means that a reader applies certain
processes, models, questions, and theories that result in
enhanced clarity and comprehension.”

“To read critically is to make judgments about how a text is

argued. This is a highly reflective skill requiring you to “stand
back” and gain some distance from the text you are reading.”
 CRITICAL
3. Feedback Helps You Ask the Right
Questions
- “You might not always understand
the comments you get. You may
even disagree with them, and
sometimes you may have trouble
understanding how to apply them.”
4. Feedback Lets You Determine What
Is Most Important
- Focus on the comments that will
make your ideas clearer and help
readers understand, then work your
way down.
5. Feedback Aids in Revision and
Practice
- Use your comments to revise and
practice your writing. Use your
current feedback to reflect on the
mistakes that you have committed in
the past.
6. Feedback Helps You Take
Ownership of Your Writing
- Find your voice as a writer, and
establish your own style and
principles.
7. Feedback Gets You on the Same
Page as Your Teacher
- Your feedback is part of a
conversation through which your
teacher is trying to support you and
your writing development.
• These letters are written to discuss
business, apply for services, make
requests, file/register complaints,
etc. The foundation of these letters
and categorization depends upon
what is being discussed in the
letters. The Letters are short and to
the point.
• These are also known as personal
letters, usually written to family,
friends, relatives, neighbors, or to
acquaintances. These letters may or
may not have a concrete reason for
writing.
• “Critical writing, in this sense, largely
refers to critical business writing.”
1) Plan
2) Design Outline
3) Research and Fact-Check to
Ensure Depth of Information
4) Pique the Readers’ Interest
5) Reach Your Audience
6) Always Proofread
• Writing skills ensure effective
business communication – loss of
business transactions/partnership.
• Writing skills make the difference
between "good" and "bad"
employees – document filled with
grammatical errors will not impress
anyone in the business organization.
• You demonstrate your intelligence
with quality writing – those who do
not write well are less intelligent than
those who do.
• Good writers are credible – flawless
documents will also make you look
more credible than those who
produce subpar quality.
 CRITICAL
• You can be more influential – Good
persuasion skills help you to
influence others to achieve your
goals.
• Business writing conveys courtesy –
considers, format and etiquette
• Writing skills help to keep good
records – helps you build a reliable
portfolio that may be used for career
advancement.
• You boost your professional
confidence – you become more
confident and inspired.
• You promote yourself and your
career – The better your writing skills
are, the more responsibility you will
be given.
• Business writing builds a solid web
presence – helps potential
customers discover the company
and its products.
• Analysis, the basis of many other
strategies, is the process of breaking
something into its parts and putting
the parts back together so that you
can better understand the whole.
• When you seek to explain the
causes and effects of a situation,
event or action, you are trying to
identify their origins and understand
their results. You may discover a
chain of events that explain the
causes and effects. How you decide
where the boundaries of causal
analysis are depends on your thesis
and your purpose for writing.
• Synthesis is a tad more complex
than the analytical strategies that
have just been discussed. In
synthesizing information, you must
bring together all your opinions and
researched evidences in support of
your thesis. You integrate the
relevant facts, statistics, expert
opinions, and whatever can directly
be observed with your own opinion
and conclusions to persuade your
audience that your thesis is correct.
Indeed, you use synthesis in
supporting a thesis and assembling
a paper.
• Evaluation is the most complex of all
analytical strategies and uses many
of the other analytical techniques. In
applying this strategy, you first
establish the criteria you will use to
evaluate your subject, apply them to
the specific parts of the subject you
are judging, and draw conclusions
about whether your subject meets
those criteria. In the process of
evaluating a subject, you will usually
be called upon to render some
analysis and synthesis and even use
persuasive or argumentative
techniques.
o establish the evaluation
criteria
o select the characteristics you
will apply those criteria to
o evaluate how well the
selected characteristics meet
the criteria
 CRITICAL
o present your results, along
with examples, to support
your premise
• Persuasion is aimed at changing the
beliefs or opinions of the readers or
at encouraging them to accept the
credibility or possibility of your
opinion or belief. You do not have to
convince them to embrace and
adapt to your own opinions and
beliefs offhand, although that is
more preferential. Rather, you have
to convince them to consider you by
keeping an open mind.
• In building good arguments,
students and professionals usually
follow two established methods that
are effective both in academic and
professional settings. You may
choose whatever you deem is more
effective depending on the type of
issue that you raise.
• Philosopher Stephen Toulmin offers
six elements of a well-reasoned
argument and explains how they all
work together. The basic format of
the Toulmin Method is as follows:
1) Claim – A claim is a debatable
statement that requires proof.
o Fact
o Judgment or Evaluation
o Policy
2) Reason – A reason is a
statement justifying the claim
(e.g. a “because”-clause). A
reason then invites evidence
(sometimes called data) to
support a claim and show its
validity.
3) Qualifier – A qualifier is a word
or phrase (adjective or adverb)
that limits the scope or
“generalizability” of your claim.
Without a qualifier, your claim
may seem too broad or
unrealistic for your readers.
Using qualifiers appropriately
also helps you to avoid binary or
“either/or” thinking, which can
invalidate an argument. Instead
of using the following qualifiers:
o always
o never
o all
o none, no
o totally, completely,
absolutely
Try using the following qualifiers:
o sometimes, at times, occasionally,
usually, frequently
o many, many a, some, more (or if
applicable, a precise number or
amount)
o a small number, a few, most (or if
applicable, a precise number or
amount)
o likely, possibly, probably
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4) Warrant – A warrant is an
assumption or point of
agreement shared by the arguer
and the audience. In argument,
we rely frequently on these
fundamental shared
assumptions. Warrants may
remain unspoken (but
understood) when a writer and
reader can be expected to know
or agree on them. This is
normally the case for general
knowledge and widely accepted
facts. If readers do not share the
same assumptions about the
validity of the writer’s evidence,
or if they do not recognize the
assumption, they might not
accept the evidence or claim.
5) Backing – It is additional
information that justifies or
enhances the credibility of your
evidence. You need this to
ensure that you audience will
accept your evidences or claims.
6) Conditions of Rebuttal – Are e
the potential objections to an
argument. To deal with possible
objections, imagine a skeptical
yet reasonable reader poking
holes in your claim and reasons
or coming up with opposite,
equally valid reasons.
• The Rogerian Method (named for,
but not developed by, influential
American psychotherapist Carl R.
Rogers) is a popular method for
controversial issues. This strategy
seeks to find a common ground
between parties by making the
audience understand perspectives
that stretch beyond (or even run
counter to) the writer’s position. It
places an emphasis on reiterating an
opponent's argument to his or her
satisfaction. The persuasive power
of the Rogerian Method lies in its
ability to define the terms of the
argument in such a way that:
o your position seems like a
reasonable compromise
o you seem compassionate
and empathetic
The Rogerian Method features the following
elements:
1) Introduction – Introduce the issue to
the audience while sticking with
objectivity as much as possible.
2) Opposing View – Explain the other
side’s position in an unbiased way.
3) Statement of Validity
(Understanding) – This section
discusses how you acknowledge
how the other side’s points of view
can be valid under certain
circumstances. You identify how and
why their perspective makes sense
while you still present your own
argument.
4) Statement of Your Position – In this
section, you explain your own
stance.
5) Statement of Contexts – Explore
scenarios in which your position has
merit.
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6) Statement of Benefits – You should

conclude by explaining to the
opposing side why they would
benefit from accepting your position.
You have to be objective as much as
possible without sacrificing your own
stance. You should end your
argument with clarity about what you
are arguing for.