When do you use different kinds of writing?
Critical writing depends on the subject with which you are engaging. For instance, compare the following.
| Discipline | Film Studies | Geography | Business Studies |
| Topic | Can Tarantino really be described as an auteur? | Is it possible to contain coastal erosion along the Norfolk shoreline? | What lessons has the NHS learned from hospital PFI contracts thus far? |
Each of the three disciplines has its own discourse and its own mode of critical writing. Critical writing, like all the rest of academic writing, exists in particular subject context. You can only learn to write critically within a given context or discipline. Consequently, this guide simply provides a brief overview.
Academic writing often requires some element of both descriptive and critical writing in the same document. The descriptive writing helps provides the structure for critical thought.
It is usually the level of critical analysis in your essay that markers seek, and it is critical analysis that will gain you more marks. Consequently it is so important to be clear about the way in which the marks will be allocated.
How can you improve your critical writing?
Figure 1 below, from the University of Plymouth, provides you with some very simple questions to ask yourself as you are writing each assignment.
At postgraduate level, it is extremely important to seek feedback from your tutors, so that with each assignment, you become progressively able to engage with the subject discipline.
Figure 1. Critical questions: a linear model (Plymouth University. Learning Development Unit, 2010)
Breakdown of Figure 1:
Description
Introductory and background information to contextualise the problem/topic
Analysis
Exploration of relationship of parts to whole
Possible situations and alternative responses
Evaluation
Implications, Solutions, Conclusions, Recommendations