INTRODUCTION

Suppose you receive your assignment in which says BE MORE CRITICAL. No hints of what that even means to be “critical”. That’s the only feedback given by your teacher, and you do not know how to get grades by being critical in your assignments. Do not panic because most students face this problem in their assignments, especially when it is about achieving grades. But once you know how to decode your tutor’s feedback, it will make your future assignments a piece of cake for you. Yes! This can be possible because this guide will tell you what being critical actually means and help you in future assignments, because you will be able to decode your tutor’s feedback and turn it into actionable steps and tell the difference between critical and descriptive. 

TUTORS SAY “BE CRITICAL” BUT WHY?

When we write academically, we are supposed to write more than what others have written and describe it. Your tutor expects you to demonstrate, to think deeply about the subject. If you are giving your opinion or arguing on any point, then you should give proper evidence to prove your point. In short, when you answer in your assignment about “what”, you also need to answer “why”. This is also called critical analysis, which is a basic skill in university writing. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Critical analysis means to scan information deeply and closely and then give your own point of view with evidence. This is different from descriptive writing, which is paraphrasing other people’s observations.

 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRITICAL WRITING AND DESCRIPTIVE WRITING 

Now we will briefly discuss the difference between descriptive and critical writing. Descriptive writing is what something is, while critical writing is to evaluate what it means. In descriptive writing, we present facts, while in critical analysis, we present our own opinions. Unlike descriptive writing, we need to give evidence in critical writing. This is just a small discussion about both writings. The following are examples of descriptive and critical writing, so that if there is any doubt remains, it can be cleared.

EXAMPLE FOR DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

The novel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is from the 19th century. It is about the life of a young woman, Elizabeth. It tells her relationship with her family and a man named Mr. Darcy.The focus is on the main idea of the novel without any analysis or personal judgment.

EXAMPLE FOR CRITICAL WRITING

The film JOKER explores mental health issues. It highlights and critiques a system that neglects an individual until they become dangerous to society. The focus is on providing a deeper message and societal context through analysis.

HOW TO TURN VAGUE FEEDBACK INTO PRACTICAL STEPS

 We have discussed basic concepts, so now we will discuss how to turn vague feedback into actionable steps. When the teacher gives comments like BE CRITICAL it’s frustrating, but it can become easy if we try to actually understand the particular feedback. As we have discussed critical writing, now we will discuss how the feedback can be transformed into useful steps.

 QUESTIONING ABOUT THE TOPIC

Critical writing starts when we start questioning the topic. So the first step is to begin with posing deeper questions about the particular topic you are assigned. For instance, these questions can be like: Why is the theory important? What are the strong and weak points of this theory? Is there any other evidence for this theory? Who introduced this theory? How is this theory important? In this way, we can ask critical questions by starting from asking simple questions and then going back to judging the theory.

USE DIFFERENT EVIDENCES AND COMPARE THEM

After questioning, your next point of attention will be using different sources. You need to search about your particular topic from different sources instead of relying on one source, because it can be either true or false. So search from different sources to get different evidence. Then compare those different pieces of evidence with each other to get the desired outcome. In this way,it will illustrate your critical thinking by balancing different opinions.

USE OF CRITICAL LANGUAGE

As we are talking about critical writing so we need to use such phrases that show that we are analysing rather than describing the topic. Phrases like, on the other hand here raise the question; however, this suggests that, and many more phrases show that you are thinking critically instead of just writing.

BALANCE

Critical writings which are considered good offer more than one view. We just need to keep in mind that we are thinking and writing critically, so it can either be positive or negative. It is not only about opposing the given theory and writing negatively. So, while writing, you need to balance both perspectives, talk about facts, and it should be considerate.

THINK ABOUT TUTOR’S COMMENTS

To achieve good grades, you need to focus and think carefully about the tutor’s comments because they can open the doors for good grades in your assignment. First, check for the “feedback”. Secondly, try to understand what it means. The last and important step is that you need to know “what to do”. For example, the feedback is “be more critical”. Then, according to the second step, it means that you need to think and write in a judgmental manner. Then, keeping in view the last step, you need to do an analysis with evidence and question different sources.

FINAL TIPS FOR FUTURE WRITING

If you want to improve your grades and want to write confidently in future following are some tips that will definitely be helpful for you. 

• Organise your arguments and thoughts like what you are trying to prove.
• Review your work critically and challenge your own points of view.
•  Utilise the given feedback. You should look for any repeated patterns and work on them.
• You can seek help from the academic skills centre, or you can also attend workshops; both will be very helpful for you to get the targeted information.
• Keep practising by reading regularly and critically. The more you practice, the more it will help you improve.

CONCLUSION

If you have ever been confused by feedback in your past, you can overcome that because now you know how to break feedback and write critically without losing your grades. It is not about being negative, but it is actually about thinking deeply and judging by giving your points with evidence. So, next time you see your tutor’s feedback, just try to break it down and understand what it means and what to do and then start working on it. As it is a saying that practice makes perfect, allow follow this quote by keeping in mind the tips and guidelines for writing your assignment.

BEST OF LUCK!

Written by Ansa