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Critical writing for Postgraduate Taught students: A short guide

A short guide to critical writing from the ASC

What is descriptive writing?

What is descriptive writing?

Descriptive writing is fact-based. Examples include:

  • Facts and figures about a particular issue                                                                      
  • Description of a background to a case study
  • Details of an organisation
  • An account of how research was undertaken
  • A summary of a sequence of events
  • Descriptions of what happened in an experiment

You will almost certainly already be expert at writing descriptively. And this is a necesary component of academic writing, to demonstrate knowldege and understanding, but it should not be the only kind of writing in your assignment. Instead you should prioritise writing that is critical. 

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