ENT 09407

Business
Processes
Presentation
Title
How do we demonstrate our values in example slides.
Academic writing

Mel Kinchant
Academic Skills Adviser

Rosemary Allford
Lecturer
Session overview
 Academic writing
 Critical analysis – writing at level 9
 Reflective writing
 Further resources
The expectation is that your assessments, presentations and reports
will be written in an academic style with proposals based on evidence.
As such, academic referencing will be required. More information about the
coursework assessments and exemplar submissions and can be found in the
Assessment Section on the module Moodle page.
Academic writing …
• Follows a logical structure

• Written in formal academic language

• Keeps strictly to the question / brief that has been set

• Provides evidence to support

• Adheres to guidelines on word limit, structure, formatting and

style

• Accurately referenced, following the referencing guidelines

stipulated.
Style/tone
 Formal – no slang or
contractions.
 Impersonal and
objective – third
person.
 Is cautious or tentative
 Correct punctuation &
grammar
Impersonal and Objective
 Most types of written “The implementation of …”
assignments should be instead of
written in an impersonal,
objective style. "I think an implementation of…"
Generally, this means
that you should not use "…may minimise missed
'I' or 'we' or 'you‘ for appointments…”
example. instead of

“We can minimise missed

appointments …"
 Cautious or Tentative
 It is often better to 'suggest', rather than 'state’.
You will probably notice this style when you are
reading academic articles in your subject.

‘There appears to be strong evidence to suggest

that…’
‘This may be interpreted as…’
‘It might be that…’
Critical analysis – writing at level 9
Demonstrate and/or work with:

An understanding of the scope and defining features of a

subject/discipline/sector, and an integrated knowledge of its main areas
and boundaries.

A critical understanding of a range of the principles, principal theories,

concepts and terminology of the subject/discipline/sector.

Knowledge of one or more specialisms that is informed by forefront

developments.

(Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework, 2012)

Academic writing
 A critical evaluation of the literature related to a
particular topic.

 You need to underpin your arguments with current

academic theory and research to demonstrate your
understanding of the topic area from an academic
perspective.
Why critique?

 Need to demonstrate your ability to read, understand

and evaluate research papers (academic rigour,
constantly changing research, new business exemplars
etc)

 Requirement of graduates to contribute to evidence-

based practice
 What do we mean by
critical analysis?

Task! Key features?

Critical thinking is a process

 Analyse - break things down

 Synthesise - bring parts together in a coherent way

 Evaluate - make judgements, based on sound evidence

Critical thinking is a process

• Apply

Critical thinkers apply their understanding of their discipline

(literature, practice, trends) to provide an informed outlook
for the future – applied and theoretical
Critical thinking involves ‘searching for the best account
we can currently offer of the way things actually are’

(Chatfield, 2018).
Critical analysis involves…
• evaluating alternative points of view (who
agrees?/who disagrees?/the alternative
perspective?)
• assessing whether a point of view is justifiable
• presenting your points in a well-reasoned way to
persuade others
• critiquing not criticising – it is a positive process!
Descriptive versus critical writing

Descriptive writing Critical writing

states what happened identifies the significance
states what something is like evaluates strengths and weaknesses
explains how something works indicates why something will work best
notes the method used identifies whether method is appropriate
states opinions gives reasons for selecting each opinion
evaluates the relative significance of
lists details
details
gives information draws conclusions

Adapted from Cottrell (2008)

 Critical reading and writing

Critical reading skills allow you

to identify how an argument is
structured and evaluate whether an
argument is persuasive

Critical writing skills allow you to

use evidence and arguments to
influence the opinions of the reader
Model to Generate Critical Thinking
(Learning Development Plymouth University, 2003).

Description

Who? Where?
When?
How?
What?
Analysis

Topic
Why?
What next?
So what? What if?
Evaluation
Effective note-taking
When you take notes, try splitting your page in three…

Comments Notes
• note your reactions to • write your summary of
what you have read the author’s
• connect to other reading conclusions and
• connect to your real life evidence in one column
experience • paraphrase /
summarise key info.
Summary
• make a note of what you think about the material
& how it relates to your purpose (assignment)
Develop your critical writing
 Ask yourself, what is the point I want my reader to take away?
 Include a topic sentence at the start of each paragraph
 Develop each point with further explanation as required
 Each paragraph deals with a specific issue
 Include evidence and/or examples to support your point/idea
 Use linking words and phrases to signpost your ideas between
one sentence or paragraph and the next one
 Are you able to provide a mini conclusion to finish your
paragraph (perhaps note how this contribute towards your
overall argument by highlighting the significance of this point)?
WRITE
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 Why reference?
 You must credit other people’s work
 To substantiate your arguments
 To avoid plagiarism, even when unintentional
 Demonstrates the extent of your research
 To enable your reader to follow up your source
material
 You must follow the guidelines for your School.
 Where do we reference? In two
places: Citation: briefly
1. Within Made of an
acknowledge in Looks
the text of author’s
your writing like
your surname
where you got this:
assignment and a year
your information

Every citation in your writing (Boddy, 2017)

matches a reference at the end

Reference: a Made of an
2. A
detailed author’s name, Looks like
separate
description of year, title of this:
list at
where you got source, and
the end
your information publication details

Boddy, D. (2017). Management an

Introduction. Pearson.
Signpost the direction of your
arguments

e.g.
 Accordingly …
 It is also important to consider...
 Despite this...
 However...
 Similarly...
 Alternatively...
 Consequently...
 For this reason...
 Furthermore...
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
 What other What does
options did the academic
Feedback or
I have? literature
guidance from
someone else? say?

How does this

What relate to my
assumptions assessment?
was I making?

How did I
do there?
What will I
do differently
next time?
Before submitting your work
Review and edit your writing for:

 Content
 Supporting evidence
 Structure
 Style
 Clarity
 General (marking criteria/assignment brief)

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Bibliography
Cottrell, S. (2005). Critical thinking skills: Developing effective analysis and argument.
Palgrave Macmillan.
Chatfiel, T. (2018). Critical thinking : your guide to effective argument, successful
analysis & independent study. Sage.
Cottrell, S. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook (3rd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). (2012) SCQF level descriptors,
2012. SCQF. Retrieved from:
https://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/SCQF-LevelDescriptors.pdf
Useful links
Academic Phrasebank (University of Manchester)
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
Signposting Words (Open University)
http://www.sagepub.com/redman/8.2.pdf
Thank you!

napier.ac.uk/tbs