Business Academic Skills

Session 3
Critical thinking
and source evaluation

Lecturer: Anna Loseva

anna.loseva@isb.edu.vn
Today we will...
● Present our group essay outlines and receive
feedback
● Discuss & practice critical thinking
● Practice source evaluation
Group essay outline presentations
3 pods of 2-3 teams
 1. Check the sharing settings for
your slides. Allow Anna
(anna.loseva@isb.edu.vn) to
comment/edit.
Prep time before we 2. Carefully read the checklist for
begin student feedback (next slide).
Group essay outlines: Checklist for student feedback
❏ Slide 2: Topic + focus + task words are correctly identified.
❏ Slide 3: Research focusing questions make it clear which specific areas will be researched.
❏ Slide 3: Research focusing questions refer directly to the topic, focus and task of the essay.

❏ Slide 5: Thesis statement is presented as one complete sentence.

❏ Slide 5: Thesis statement gives a response to the essay question/task (see next slide for an
example).

❏ Slide 6: The outline suggests at least 4 body paragraphs.

❏ Slide 6: Each body paragraph is related to the thesis statement and develops it in a logical way.
❏ Slide 6: All body paragraphs are clearly linked to the essay question.
❏ Slide 6: All body paragraphs are logically connected with one another.

❏ Overall: The outline shows that the team correctly understands their essay task and has a clear
plan.
Thesis = a complete sentence that broadly answers your essay question.

E.g.

Essay question/topic:
How do traditional gender stereotypes affect the modern business environment?

Essay thesis statement:

Traditional gender stereotypes negatively affect the modern business environment.

Take turns to present/explain your
essay outline
10 minutes for presentation
AND feedback discussion
(Anna will time!)
LISTENERS:
1. DURING the presentation/explanation
of the other team, take notes about
the team’s outline in the
corresponding slide. Your notes
should be based on the provided
checklist.
2. After they finish, explain your feedback:
successful work + areas for improvement
based on the checklist!
 Your Google Slides should follow this structure:
1. Slide 1: Group, your big topic; explain the choice of the topic.
2. Slide 2: Specific essay question. Topic words, Task words, Focus words. (Unistep Chapter 3)
3. Slide 3: Research focusing questions (see Unistep p.62). Highlight the most important ones
that you think will help you guide the research.
4. Slide 4: Relevant critical thinking questions (see Critical thinking cheatsheet): At least 1
question per question word.
5. Slide 5: Essay question + your tentative thesis statement (this is the main argument
for your essay; it is a general, one-sentence response to the essay Q)
6. Slide 6: Arguments that you plan to develop in the body paragraphs. Your essay
should have at least 4 body paragraphs (in addition to intro and conclusion). For each
body paragraph include the topic + some notes about potential content.
1. Thesis statement answers the essay question.
2. Body paragraphs develop the thesis statement.
 Put all body paragraph topics together in 1 slide so you
(and Anna) have a clear overview of the essay as a whole.
3. Thesis vs essay plan/outline
4. DEFINE key concept(s)
- In the intro briefly
- OR in the first body para
5. ONE body para = ONE specific idea/argument.
 IMPORTANT!
this is a tentative outline → changes are welcome
(and necessary!)

● Your essay will be 1300-1500 words. One paragraph is around

250 words.
● 1 para = 1 point developed in depth
 Looking ahead:
First draft of group essay:
by Session 5
● Missing draft → no feedback from Anna
 Planning the writing process (Anna’s example).

A short research paper might take me at least 4 days to write.

DAY ● outline content
OUTLINE STAGE ● note ideas from what I studied/already know
01

DAY INITIAL RESEARCH ● research to learn more info

● add research notes to relevant paragraphs
02 STAGE
● draft paragraphs, incorporating research I have
found
DAY FIRST DRAFT & ADDITIONAL ● identify the gaps in research and/or in my logic;
RESEARCH STAGE narrow down my research as needed
03 ● research again to close the gaps, add to the draft

● finalize all paragraphs

DAY FINAL DRAFT & ● ask for feedback
● revise based on feedback
04 FEEDBACK STAGE ● format properly and submit
To think critically is to
RULE #1 of
critical
thinking
according to Anna
Critical thinking process
KNOWLEDGE: What do you know? What have you learnt?
COMPREHENSION: What do you understand?
APPLICATION: How can you put it to use?

● ANALYSIS: break down the information, examine it

● SYNTHESIS: put it back together, create something unique
● EVALUATION: based on the above steps, make judgements,
produce and defend your own opinion
We should remember to recognize...

● Bias (our own and the

author’s)

● Emotive
language (evokes
emotional response; is
not objective or factual)

● Fact vs opinion
Image source: https://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz
1. objective statement
2. subjective statement
3. can be confirmed by
evidence
4. expresses someone’s
belief/feeling
5. is different for different
people Image source: https://www.literacyideas.com
 Beware of...
❏ OPINION PIECES

❏ UNSUPPORTED CLAIMS

❏ LANGUAGE THAT IS CASUAL → target

audience is general public
 Watch this later:
How to Identify Fact vs. Opinion in Writing & Research
(link)
Reading for research effectively
➔ read selectively (skim and scan for overall
structure and specific sections you need)

➔ read actively (engage with the text, make

notes, write questions, summarize)

➔ read critically (recognize the writer’s

purpose, argument, limitations of argument;
explore alternatives understand language
choices; recognize assumptions and underlying
values)
Evaluate the sources you find
 Critical source evaluation
TOPIC: IELTS writing
FIRST STEP in source evaluation:

Recognize YOUR OWN beliefs and opinions about

the topic.

Be ready to QUESTION them. Be ready to CHANGE

your position - with sufficient evidence.
 Sit down if you agree.

The IELTS exam prepares students for

academic writing in university.

Image source: http://abroadcorner.vn/

 Source evaluation
using APPEAL strategy
Texts have a strong APPEAL when…
Author: The author has expertise on this topic (qualifications and/or
experiences in the field).
Purpose: They are written to inform or persuade, but not to entertain or
sell/promote something.
Publisher: They are published by reputable academic publishers.
Evidence: They use empirical research (results of experiments, interviews, etc.)
or other literature as evidence for their claims.
Audience: They are written for the academic community (researchers, theorists,
experts in the field).
Latest: Empirical papers should be as recent as possible. Theoretical papers may
be relevant even if they are older.
Home groups → Expert groups → Back to home groups to report
In your expert groups…
❖ Skim the article
❖ Discuss your evaluation
element(s)
❖ Take notes for your
team
❖ Be ready to report back
in your team!
Article title: “The IELTS is not academic writing.”

https://tinyurl.com/2s3dvznw
In your home groups…
❖ Report your findings

❖ Does the article have a strong APPEAL?

Does it satisfy all APPEAL criteria?

❖ Is this a suitable source to use in an

academic assignment at university?
What are the problems with this source?
1. Out-of-date
2. Lack of credible evidence
3. Target audience is general public
4. Publisher is online magazine → blog
❏ personal experience doesn’t show the whole picture!
❏ even if the writer is qualified to write about the topic AND you agree
with their view (=convincing argument), it doesn’t make it a reliable
source!
❏ examine where the material is published
❏ look for hard data (=FACTS)
What sort of evidence
does the writer use for ❖ anecdotal - personal
support? experience and stories
❖ testimonial - an expert’s
opinion on a topic
❖ textual - references from
reliable sources
❖ statistical - hard data
*** USE OF EVIDENCE (dig deeper!)
How skeptical should you be of the source and the author?

Image source: https://libguides.uccs.edu/

❏ Daily news
❏ Blog
❏ Scholarly article
❏ Organization’s
website
❏ High quality
mainstream
media
❏ Daily news
❏ Blog
❏ Scholarly article
❏ Organization’s
website
❏ High quality
mainstream
media
❏ Daily news
❏ Blog
❏ Scholarly article
❏ Organization’s
website
❏ High quality
mainstream
media
❏ Daily news
❏ Blog
❏ Scholarly article
❏ Organization’s
website
❏ High quality
mainstream
media
❏ Daily news
❏ Blog
❏ Scholarly article
❏ Organization’s
website
❏ High quality
mainstream
media
Moore, T., & Morton, J. (2005). Dimensions of difference: A
comparison of university writing and IELTS writing. Journal
of English for Academic Purposes, 4, 43-66.
More materials on research and source evaluation

1. Types of sources
2. APPEAL evaluation
3. Reading for research (worksheet)
4. CRAAP test evaluation
TO-DO LIST for Session 4, Part 1
HW3.1 (individual): CRAAP test

Critically evaluate 2 sources on the topic of your group

essay. Use the CRAAP test questions to guide your
evaluation (the file is also uploaded on Canvas).
→ Requirements:
(1) no article repeats for group members;
(2) BOTH articles must be from the UEH Smart Library search
Your HW3.1 file should follow the following format for EACH of the 2 sources:

→ reference information of the source, APA7 style

→ para 1: a short summary of the article content (2-3

sentences)
→ para 2-6: CRAAP evaluation (one para per criterion)

1 evaluation = 400-500 words

Total word count of HW3.1: 800-1000 words

Find useful materials for this HW on Canvas:
1. CRAAP test
2. APA7 guide
3. Critical Thinking WSU guide
Develop your
research plan
 Primary or secondary
research?
❏ Information gathered
through personal
observations, experiences,
experiments, interviews,
surveys

❏ Information gathered
from library/database
For the group essay: ONLY secondary research

Learning to work with the UEH Smart Library

 How can I research
a database effectively?
❏ Learn the basics (watch
some YouTube tutorials,
for example this one)
❏ Narrow down your search
❏ Use ideas from Braun
p.244
❏ Use Boolean search
technique
Take notes when
you read or study
What methods do you use?
Try out different note-taking methods:
❏ Notion, Collanote, Goodnotes5, GoogleNote, ColorNote, and other
apps
❏ Cornell notes
❏ mindmapping
❏ outlines
❏ sketchnotes, colour-coding
❏ 3-column notes
❏ Journalling
❏ Other ideas
TO-DO LIST for Session 4, Part 2
HW3.2 (individual): Note-taking.
Part 1: Share a screenshot or an image of the notes you have made for one of WSU subjects. Write a
short description of these notes (What? When? Why?)
Part 2: Analyse your notes using PAIBOC.
P - What is the purpose of these notes?
A - Who is the audience?
I - What information is included/should be included?
B - What are the benefits of these notes?
O - What objections might the audience have about these notes?
C - What is the context in which these notes were written?
→ Submit the file on Canvas in your HW discussion group.

Part 3: Read other students’ submissions and leave meaningful comments for at least 3 classmates (e.g.
What is impressive? What are the similarities/differences in your notes?)
TO-DO LIST for Session 4, Part 3
READ for QUIZ: Unistep Chapters 6, 7 and 9
 Thank you
and
see you next week!
anna.loseva@isb.edu.vn