Critical thinking in reading and writing

So what is critical thinking? It is the central intellectual skill that a tertiary education seeks to develop in students. It involves taking an attitude of ‘reflective skepticism’ (McPeck, 1981) towards information and ideas. This means thinking deeply about the ideas you encounter in readings, lectures, and other course material and asking questions of them.

This module will introduce you to the concept of thinking critically while reading, note-taking and writing. Reading critically allows you to analyse topics, relate one piece of research to others in the field and ultimately to establish your own view on a topic and provide a well supported argument for this view in your writing.

What will I learn?

This module will help you:

• Explore the concepts of critical thinking and critical reading
• Critically evaluate academic texts
• Apply critical reading strategies
• Recognise the importance of critical note-taking
• Explore how to develop your own view when reading academic texts
• Compare the features of descriptive and critical writing
• Examine the features and examples of the language of critique
• Examine the features and examples of the language of interpretation

How long will it take?

This module should take approximately 60 minutes to complete.

Begin the module

To fully engage with this module (for example, completing practice quizzes or posting in forums), you’ll need to enrol in the Academic Skills Hub.

Open the module