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Referencing
Critical Thinking
Organisation
Academic
Style
CRITICAL THINKING
English Language Teaching Unit
Alex is a student.
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He has a lot of experience
He has a lot of ideas
He remembers facts and figures from lectures and TV
programmes
He is creative and wants to express his ideas
He has so much to say he doesn’t need to read books to fill his
essays
The growth of the World Wide Web
In the history of civilisation there have been many significant
developments, such as the invention of the wheel, money and
the telephone, but the development of the internet is perhaps
the most crucial of all. In the space of a few years the World
Wide Web has linked buyers in New York to sellers in Mumbai
and teachers in Berlin to students in Cairo, so that few people
can imagine life without it.
It is estimated that over 70 per cent of North Americans, for
instance, have internet access, and this figure is steadily
increasing. Physical shops are under threat, as growing
numbers shop online. In areas such as travel it is now
impossible to buy tickets on certain airlines except on the
internet. The web also links together millions of individual
traders who sell to buyers through websites such as Ebay.
The growth of the World Wide Web
In the history of civilisation there have been many significant
developments, such as the invention of the wheel, money and
the telephone, but the development of the internet is perhaps
the most crucial of all. In the space of a few years the World
Wide Web has linked buyers in New York to sellers in Mumbai
and teachers in Berlin to students in Cairo, so that few people
can imagine life without it.
It is estimated that over 70 per cent of North Americans, for
instance, have internet access, and this figure is steadily
increasing. Physical shops are under threat, as growing
numbers shop online. In areas such as travel it is now
impossible to buy tickets on certain airlines except on the
internet. The web also links together millions of individual
traders who sell to buyers through websites such as Ebay.
So…
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If you don’t provide fully referenced support,
what is there to evaluate?
Sara
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Sara is a serious student
She lives in the library
She eats and sleeps in the library
She reads books and makes notes
She puts these notes together to write her essay
Classification of Life
All life forms are divided into one of two categories: plant or
animal. Animals move and take in food. Plants are rooted into
the earth in some way and lack locomotion. They
photosynthesise their food (Smith, 2004). According to Johnson
(2001) Zoologists study animals, and botanists study plants.
Bacteria were classified as plants because many kinds of
bacteria photosynthesise their food. However, they also have
locomotion. Recent research has shown that there is an
enormous variety of bacteria. Some are able to survive at
extreme temperatures and in the absence of oxygen. Most
plants cannot usually survive in those conditions. Therefore,
even though bacteria photosynthesise, they are not now
regarded as plants (Zhang, 2011).
Sara’s writing
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Mainly descriptive
Mostly statements
Statements are not linked
No evaluation
No development
No conclusion
What Sara should have done.
The difficulty in categorising bacteria was partly based on the assumption that
all life forms were divided into two main categories, plants and animals.
Organisms that photosynthesised and lacked mobility were classified as plants;
those that had locomotion and ingested food were classified as animals.
Bacteria were traditionally categorised as plants because many forms of
bacteria photosynthesised their food like plants. However bacteria also have
locomotion, associated with animal life. Genetic research has now shown that
there are at least eleven major divisions of bacteria, all of which are more
genetically distinct than plants are from animals (Fuhrman et al, 1992). In
addition, the minute organisms formerly described as 'bacteria' are now found
to consist of several major kingdoms and domains of unicellular and
multicellular life (bacteria, archaea, eucarya) (Woese, 1994). This research is
significant as it has shown that the fundamental division of all life forms into
'plant' or 'animal' was an error, and that plants and animals form only a very
small part of a much more diverse range of living organisms.
Evaluation Signposting Referencing
The difficulty in categorising bacteria was partly based on the assumption that
all life forms were divided into two main categories, plants and animals.
Organisms that photosynthesised and lacked mobility were classified as plants;
those that had locomotion and ingested food were classified as animals.
Bacteria were traditionally categorised as plants because many forms of
bacteria photosynthesised their food like plants. However bacteria also have
locomotion, associated with animal life. Genetic research has now shown that
there are at least eleven major divisions of bacteria, all of which are more
genetically distinct than plants are from animals (Fuhrman et al, 1992). In
addition, the minute organisms formerly described as 'bacteria' are now found
to consist of several major kingdoms and domains of unicellular and
multicellular life (bacteria, archaea, eucarya) (Woese, 1994). This research is
significant as it has shown that the fundamental division of all life forms into
'plant' or 'animal' was an error, and that plants and animals form only a very
small part of a much more diverse range of living organisms.
So…
When you write an essay you are showing that you
have:
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an ability to select the right texts for the assignment
a knowledge of the reading
an ability to analyse and evaluate the texts you
read
Now look at Passages 4&5
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Which contains critical evaluation?
Underline the evaluative language.
Passage 4
Scientists do not agree about the extent to which creativity can be
linked to activity in the right hemisphere of the brain. It is known that
the biochemistry of the two hemispheres of the brain is different. For
example there is more of the neurotransmitter, norepinephrine, in the
right hemisphere than the left (Oke etoi, 1978). Norepinephrine is
associated with increased alertness to visual stimuli. It has been
suggested by Springer and Deutsch (1981) that this may lead to
increased right-hemisphere specialisation for visual and spatial
perception. However, this link is not yet proven. It is not yet clear
whether one hemisphere of the brain can be responsible for any
creative task. Moreover, although it might seem reasonable to assume
that responsiveness to visual stimulus may be an important factor of
creativity, this has also not yet been proved.
Types of Critical Thinking
Identify opinion
e.g. Is this the author reporting facts or giving an opinion?
 Evaluate evidence
e.g. How big is the sample size? When was the study
conducted?
 Weigh up opposing arguments
e.g. read two texts on the same subject – look for the
differences
 Draw conclusions &Speculating
e.g.What does this mean for your assignment?
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The In-Sessional Programme
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Academic English Lecture Series
 Style
 Organisation
 Critical
Thinking
 Referencing
References
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Bailey, S. (2011) Academic Writing. Oxford:
Routledge
Cottrell. S (2008) The Study Skills Handbook. 3rd
Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan