At University, we’re told to “be critical.” We may be instructed to “critically analyse” a topic, or we might get the feedback, “needs more analysis” or “be more critical.”
But what does this mean? In non-university life, we associate being “critical” with being negative or judgemental. To criticise someone means to say bad things about them.
At University, however, being critical just means having a justified opinion. It’s not about being negative, or nit-picky. Rather, it means we need to make a point, and then back up that point with evidence.
To learn more, watch our Lightning Session, then read on!
[To skip the intros and jump right in, head to 4:00]
1. Have an Opinion
We’re often told that academic writing needs to be unbiased, and that essays shouldn’t be just our personal opinion. This is certainly true, but the reality is that academic essays should present an opinion– just one that’s backed up by the evidence. This is what academics call an “argument.” Having an “argument” is what takes our essay beyond description and into critical analysis.
Consider the following examples:
- 1. Penguins are the best kind of bird because I like them.
This is a personal opinion, and it isn’t very critical. The author thinks that penguins are best, but their only reason for thinking so is because they, personally, like penguins. We should avoid writing like this in academic essays.
- 2. Penguins are a kind of bird. They are known for being fast swimmers and for taking good care of their young.
This writing is descriptive. It tells you a few facts about penguins, but we don’t know what the author thinks about penguins. There isn’t any critical analysis here.
- 3. Penguins are the best kind of bird, because they are fast swimmers and they take good care of their young.
This writing is critical. While we certainly need more evidence (we’ll talk about evidence in the next point) the author has made a point (“penguins are the best bird”) and given a reason (their swimming speed, and how they take care of their young.) This is the basis of critical analysis.
Essentially, while essay writing can’t be just personal opinion, an opinion is an essential part of critical analysis. We must then back up that opinion with evidence, as we’ll see in point two.
2. Back up your Opinion with Evidence
Once you have an opinion, you need to back it up with evidence. In Example 1 above, the author had an opinion, but the evidence they presented wasn’t very good. Example 3 was better because the author had the exact same opinion, but they backed it up with better evidence.
What counts as evidence in an academic assignment?
- Academic books and journals
- Scientific studies
- Government (or third party) documents
- Personal experience (if writing reflectively)
- And much more!
Depending on what you’re researching, pretty much anything can be a source. For example, YouTube might not be the most reliable source for your Anatomy assignment on the bones of the hand, but if you were writing an Education essay about how teachers use the internet to engage students with science, then it might be perfect!
Once you’ve included evidence, your paragraph will look something like this:
Penguins are the best kind of bird. They are incredibly fast swimmers, with some species logging speeds of up to 25 miles per hour (Smith, 2018). They also take exceptional care of their young (Ravensburg, 2016), and have been known to adopt the abandoned young of other species (Greene, 2020). Compared to other similar birds, such as puffins, penguins are much faster and more caring, which makes them the best kind of bird.
[Note: all sources in this paragraph are fictional]
Of course, if this was a real essay, you’d need far more evidence to prove that penguins are the best kind of bird. The paragraph does, however, illustrate how to state your opinion, then back it up with evidence.
Any more questions? We know this article has only scratched the surface, so feel free to email us at asc@dundee.ac.uk if you have more questions.