Unit 7: Go The Distance: Critical thinking
Select a unit
- 1Go The Distance: Choosing distance learning
- 2Go The Distance: Academic reading
- 3Go The Distance: Academic talk
- 4Go The Distance: Academic writing
- 5Go The Distance: Finding and using source material
- 6Go The Distance: Going the distance
- 7Go The Distance: Critical thinking
- 8Go The Distance: Social learning
- 9Go The Distance: Projects
- 10Go The Distance: Succeeding in exams
Session 4
Academic Writing 7 – Criticism and evaluation
Welcome back to Academic Writing – the course with the tips and knowledge for top-class writing on your distance learning course. This time we're looking at how to be critical in your writing. 'Criticism' in an academic context means 'careful analysis of what other people have said or written and stating whether or not we agree with them – and why'. Are you ready to get critical?
Activity 2
Three reporting phrases
Other ways to show your attitude to sources
We've seen some 'distancing verbs'; and we've looked at 'endorsing verbs'. Now let's examine three more ways to express the degree to which we agree with our sources.
ነቲ ንጥፈት ፈትንዎ
To do
Read these three sentences – taken from academic assignments on Business Studies, Geography and Biology – and in each case, decide whether the writer agrees with the source (Subraman, McKay, and Papillon). You can check your answers in the activity below.
Sentence 1: 'According to Subraman...'
According to Subraman (2001), studying Business Administration typically increases a student’s earning power by around 30%.
Sentence 2: 'As McKay demonstrates...'
As McKay (2017) demonstrates, the academic study of geography has its roots in nineteenth-century European imperialism.
Sentence 3: Paraphrase, ending with a citation
During floods, the behaviour of fire ants becomes significantly more aggressive (Papillion et al., 2011).
Phrases for showing your attitude towards sources
3 Questions
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ሓገዝ
Activity
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ኣመት
Do we know whether the writer agrees with Subraman or not?ሓገዝ
Activity
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ኣመት
Is it clear whether the writer agrees with McKay or not?ሓገዝ
Activity
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ኣመት
What's the effect of putting the citation at the end of a paraphrase?Question 1 of 3
endorse
distance
Excellent!Great job!ሕማቕ ዕድል!ዘመዝገብኩምዎ ነጥቢ ...:
Phrases for showing your attitude towards sources
3 Questions
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ሓገዝ
Activity
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ኣመት
Do we know whether the writer agrees with Subraman or not?Question 1 of 3
ሓገዝ
Activity
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ኣመት
Is it clear whether the writer agrees with McKay or not?Question 2 of 3
ሓገዝ
Activity
Do we use these phrases to endorse a source – say we agree with it – or distance ourselves from it and not reveal whether we agree or disagree?
ኣመት
What's the effect of putting the citation at the end of a paraphrase?Question 3 of 3
Excellent!Great job!ሕማቕ ዕድል!ዘመዝገብኩምዎ ነጥቢ ...:
Next
Now it's time to work on making critical comments and properly evaluating sources you include in your assignments – find out how with the next activity.
Session Vocabulary
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