name nadlya Akmal 8aharum

uaLe nov 11 2011

Course CrlLlcal 1hlnklng
What d|d I |earn from th|s course?
1hroughouL Lhls course l have acqulred several lmporLanL skllls relaLed Lo sclenLlflc wrlLlng and
academlc presenLaLlon
1 AblllLy Lo analyze paper and glve crlLlcs

8efore Laklng Lhls class l've always LhoughL LhaL crlLlclzlng an alreadypubllshed [ournal was
unnecessary slnce paper LhaL was already revlewed by credlble edlLors should have no mlsLake
Powever ln Lhls course l was LaughL Lo vlew a paper from several perspecLlves More Lhan
mere Lechnlcal errors a paper should be crlLlclzed on lLs hypoLhesls research meLhodologles
resulLs presenLaLlon and mosL lmporLanLly wheLher or noL Lhe paper answers all Lhe proposed
research quesLlons 8aLher Lhan bllndly accepLlng whaL Lhe auLhors presenLed ln Lhe paper
crlLlcally readlng Lhe LexL llnebyllne greaLly helps me Lo analyze Lhe conLenL AfLer applylng
Lhese Lechnlques lL came Lo my surprlse LhaL a loL of papers share common problems Lhls ls no
dlfferenL ln Lhose publlshed ln hlgh lmpacL facLor [ournals lnsLead of communlcaLlng Lhelr
research dlscoverles wlLh Lhe readers many auLhors merely presenL Lhelr flndlngs wlLhouL
glvlng any LhoughL on wheLher or noL Lhe readers wlll be able Lo comprehend Lhe resulLs lrom
Lhe asslgned Lasks and lecLures l gradually developed my crlLlcal Lhlnklng ablllLy LhaL ls also
reflecLed ln our group's presenLaLlon on 'CrlLlcal 8evlew' ln whlch we had successfully
hlghllghLed Lhe sLrengLhs and weaknesses of Lhe chosen [ournal enLlLled 'Lxplorlng 8ecomblnanL
llavonold 8losynLheLlsls ln MeLabollcally Lnglneered ln scbetlcblo coll

2 9resenLaLlon skllls

1lps glven by 9rof MarLLl were noL only llmlLed Lo presenLaLlon skllls buL also on slldes
preparaLlon Lven Lhough we have been exposed Lo presenLaLlons as early as hlgh school no
one has formally LaughL us on how Lo prepare our slldes and properly express our ldeas durlng
presenLaLlon 1o Lell good 'sLorles' slldes LhaL were prepared musL conLaln less words buL more
dlagrams or plcLures Lven small deLalls llke approprlaLe fonL slze and colors musL be Laken lnLo
accounL l learnL Lo noL solely depend on Lhe LexLs wrlLLen on Lhe slldes lnsLead Lo use Lhem
only as ald ln our dellvery





CranL appllcaLlon

lrom Lhe second group asslgnmenL on granL appllcaLlon l have developed cruclal skllls on
presenLlng proposed pro[ecL for granL appllcaLlon as well as defendlng our ldeas ln fronL of Lhe
fundlng agency 9ersonally l have never applled for any granL and Lhus l have no ldea how Lhe
appllcaLlon process ls carrled ouL WhaL l llke Lhe mosL abouL Lhls asslgnmenL ls LhaL lL ls noL only
llmlLed Lo submlsslon of research proposal buL we were also requlred Lo acL as boLh Lhe Leam
seeklng for funds as well as panels evaluaLlng Lhe appllcaLlon l came Lo learn LhaL one has Lo be
wellversed ln Lhe fleld of hls or her proposed sLudy Lo be able Lo confronL all Lhe quesLlons
polnLed ouL by Lhe [udglng panels 1he debaLe sesslon musL be fully uLlllzed Lo convlnce Lhe
panels Lhe worLhlness of Lhe sLudy and Lhe knowledge LhaL we have as Lhe lnvesLlgaLors 1he
pro[ecL musL also be wellLhoughL and wellplanned 1hese lnclude clarlLy of Lhe ob[ecLlves
LesLablllLy of Lhe hypoLhesls and approprlaLeness of Lhe meLhodology Any lnsufflclenL or
unclear lnformaLlon ln Lhese areas could greaLly affecL Lhe assessmenL by Lhe panels
1o summarlze Lhree mosL lmporLanL Lhlngs l plcked up from Lhe course are
1 A sLrong hypoLhesls musL be clear and conclse ln whlch each of lLs componenL musL be LesLable
2 lnsLead of plalnly wrlLlng Lhe resulLs of our flndlng a paper musL be wrlLLen Lo communlcaLe our
ldeas Lo Lhe readers
8egardless of paper wrlLlng or presenLaLlon organlzlng our LhoughL ls Lhe flrsL sLep of sLarLlng
anyLhlng
When l aLLended Lhe flrsL class l really have no expecLaLlon of whaL l would galn from Lhls course Along
Lhe way l acqulred lmporLanL lessons and developed a loL of useful skllls LhaL l could apply ln my llfe as a
sLudenL and fuLure researcher

1hanks 9rof!