Critical

Thinking
Writing

Anggoro Galuh Pandita

 Why do you learn how to
01 write?
Why is it a skill that you are trained to
have especially in higher education?
Table of contents

02 What is critical thinking? And why is it

important at university?
01
Why do you learn how to
write?
Why is it a skill that you are trained to
have especially in higher education?
The primary
reason for
writing anything
You may also use writing to help
is to
communicate you to reflect on your experiences
with others, to and learn from them. While at
stimulate University a key way of assessing
interest or
the progress and learning of
action from the
reader. students is via the written work
you produce. When we write,
therefore, we are either writing for
ourselves or we are writing for
others.
 02

What is critical thinking?

Why is it important at university?
 Careful, reasoned thinking, based on
analysing and assessing the knowledge you
encounter, rather than accepting it at face-
Critical Thinking

value.

Because it shows you can think for yourself.

 Should Critical Thinking be used when Writing?

Depends on the context, but critical thinking must always be

Critical Thinking

used in academic writing.

Critical thinking is also used in many forms of debates and

discussions, where we argue for something based on a sound
reasoning and structured form of thinking that can be understand and
accepted (or refuted) by the audience
Critical thinking involves a number of skills:
Being able to form and to follow arguments.

Logical reasoned thinking.

Knowing when to take information at face value and when to challenge.

Analysing and evaluating information/ Selecting the right knowledge for
the task.

Understanding issues from perspectives other than your own.

Your writing should be argumentative rather than descriptive.

 How do we know what a fact is?

The conclusions, reasons, and assumptions people use to support

their argument are usually based on factual claims.
So the first question to ask is ‘Can I verify this fact?’
Critical Thinking

If you can not verify the fact, then it is an assertion, which is a

statement that has no evidence to back it up.

The greater the quality and quantity of the evidence supporting a

claim, the more likely we can depend on it.

Only then can we verify something as truly factual.

 How do we formulate Arguments based on Critical Thinking? (Lesson
from the Debaters formula)

A R
Assertion Reasoning
A belief / an idea Analysis
AREL Structure

E L
Example
Link Back
Evidence
 Assertion

Refers to the concept or proposition that you seek

to prove – it might be a principle, such as “the
government has an obligation to provide free
education” or “the death penalty is an effective
deterrent for criminals”.
Either way, it’s nothing on its own – it may be true,
Assertion

or it might not. The point is that you want people to

believe that it’s true.

Ex: Pizza is the best thing on Earth

 Reasoning / analysis

So how do you make your audience believe it? Well, you

start with some analysis of why the idea is likely to be
true – why it is logical and reasonable to believe it. This
involves asking “why?” and “how” a lot.
Reasoning

Ex: Pizza has cheesy deliciousness and amazing tomato sauce. It is

one of the most awe-inspiring carb sources out there. It is quick to
make with simple ingredients, making it very accessible for restaurants
to have it on their menu or for common families to make it home.
 Evidence
Can be statistics (like the unemployment rate before and after a
policy, or the percentage of people affected by a particular
problem, or the costs of a proposal) or quotes (not direct
quotes, but knowing what important people have said about an
issue). But in advanced debates and academic writing,
evidence is most commonly presented by case study or
analogy. Having an example of a similar situation or policy can
be very handy if you can clearly draw the link back to the issue
Evidence

at hand.
Ex: According to a Dominos’ data statistic, a pizza franchise
expert: 78% percent of Americans would go to extreme lengths
for a pizza. This means it must be worth it.
 Linkback
To link to your main hypothesis or main value and criterion
(or your goal and how you measure it). Your value structure
come before your contentions (you explain your goal and
measurement before you give your arguments).

Ex: Hypothesis: Maximising civilians happiness can be

Link Back

done by opening more Pizza restaurants

Linkback: Thus pizza maximizes happiness, achieving

quality of life.
 Academic Writing
● Conceptual formatting
● Refutations
● Conclusion
 @anggoropandhito

Anggoro Galuh Pandhito

Thanks! @anggoropandhito

Do you have any questions?

pandhito.a@gmail.com
+6281210846226

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