Study Skills for Foundation Degrees by Dorothy Bedford & Elizabeth Wilson

Author:Dorothy Bedford & Elizabeth Wilson [Bedford, Dorothy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781136316531
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2013-01-03T16:00:00+00:00

■ Writing a critical review

A critical review is a writing task that asks you to summarise and evaluate a text that you have been given; it might be a book, chapter or journal article. The word ‘critical’ can cause confusion because it is often interpreted as finding fault. However, in this case you are being asked to make a reasoned judgement based on your extended and in-depth reading where you consider the strengths and weaknesses of the article. To do this well you need to attempt to understand the topic from different perspectives and in relation to your learning on the course. You will need to consider its purpose, who it was written for and what it aimed to do. You need to use your skills of summarising and paraphrasing.

You begin by:

• Scanning, asking yourself what do the title, headings, introduction and conclusion tell me about the main points of the text?

• What is the main argument, the point of view or the case that the author is making?

• What are the key sentences?

• Now re-read the text and make notes of the main points, you could note examples and evidence at this stage.

Paraphrasing means putting the text into your own words, it shows you understand what the author is saying; it offers an alternative to direct quotation. The great danger is that you use some of the author’s words and of course that is plagiarism.

Next, you:

• Review your summary notes.

• Re-write them in your own words.

• Use a reporting style of writing. For example, ‘Bedford (date) argues that…’, or ‘the author states …’.

• Use quotation, remember to cite it and to use it in such a way that it is clear to your reader that you understand what the author is saying.

Now you are ready to write the critical review, which usually follows the following format.

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