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The Nature of Critical Writing

This document contrasts descriptive and critical writing. Descriptive writing is fact-based and involves summarizing or describing events, people, or research without analysis. Critical writing goes beyond mere description to involve discussion, analysis, and evaluation through engaging with evidence, alternative viewpoints, and limitations. It requires carefully studying arguments and ideas, making comparisons between materials, and applying independent judgment to draw conclusions or debate established positions with caution and humility.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
69 views2 pages

The Nature of Critical Writing

This document contrasts descriptive and critical writing. Descriptive writing is fact-based and involves summarizing or describing events, people, or research without analysis. Critical writing goes beyond mere description to involve discussion, analysis, and evaluation through engaging with evidence, alternative viewpoints, and limitations. It requires carefully studying arguments and ideas, making comparisons between materials, and applying independent judgment to draw conclusions or debate established positions with caution and humility.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CRWT 111

BSN 2-YB-7 | SYDNEY | PRELIM REVIEWER | 2023

The Nature of Critical Writing Descriptive Writing VS Critical Writing

Reading and writing are two macro-skills which Descriptive writing is fact-based.
are related to each other.
Examples include:
Critical and active reading is not just passive
consumption of a text, rather the goal is to ➔ Facts and figures about a particular
interpret and reflect upon what is read through issue
writing and discuss it with others. - Critical ➔ Description of a background to a case
Writing study
➔ Details of an organization
Reacting VS Responding to as text ➔ An account of how research was
undertaken
Reacting to a Text ➔ A summary of a sequence of events
➔ Descriptions of what happened in an
➢ Often done on an emotional and largely experiment.
subjective rather than on an intellectual
and objective level “The most characteristic features of descriptive
➢ It is quick but shallow. writing are that it will describe something, but will
not go beyond an account of what appears to be
Binary Reading there” - University of Leicester, Learning
Development Centre, 2013).
➔ Requires only “agree or disagree”
answers Critical writing is more complex, and involves
➔ Does not allow understanding of more discussion, analysis and evaluation than
complex arguments does descriptive writing.

Responding to as Text Examples of critical writing activities


include:
➢ Requires a careful study of the ideas
presented and arguments advanced in it ➔ Engaging with evidence
➢ It is analytical, evaluative, productive, ➔ Open minded and objective enquiry
and progressive. ➔ Presenting reasons to dispute a
particular finding
Nuanced Reading ➔ Providing an alternative approach
➔ Recognizing the limitations of evidence:
➔ Allows for a deep and detailed either your evidence or the evidence
understanding of complex texts provided by others
➔ Establishes rhetorical engagement ➔ Thinking around a specific problem
between the reader and the text
Critical writing is an involvement in an
academic debate. It requires ‘a refusal to
accept the conclusions of other writers without
evaluating the arguments and evidence they
provide. ’ - University of Leicester. Learning
Development Centre (2013)
CRWT 111
BSN 2-YB-7 | SYDNEY | PRELIM REVIEWER | 2023

REMEMBER:

Apply caution and humility when challenging


established positions. Critical writers might
tentatively suggest an independent point of view,
using such phrases as ‘It could be argued
that...’; or ‘An alternative viewpoint might
suggest that...’.

Descriptive Writing - Critical Writing -


When you need to: When you need to:

Introduce Organize and evaluate


evidence

Present facts eg, a case Make comparisons


study between materials

Describe how an Analyze why something


experiment was carried did not work
out

List details eg, resources Apply your own


used judgements

Outline areas of Make links between


knowledge areas of knowledge

Quote from writers in the Weigh up alternatives


field

Provide information or Evaluate / argue /


data contest

Summarize Draw conclusions

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