Slides: Critical Writing Style

Critical Writing Style

Firstly,

• Choose a suitable writing style– and stick to it!

• Make the paragraph the basic unit

• Use the Active Voice

• Put statements in positive form

• Use clear, concrete, economical language

• Keep related ideas/people/things together

• Watch the tenses!

• Don’t overdo the emphasis

• Use the right word (denotation & connotation)

• Place yourself in the background

• Write naturally – don’t overdo it....!

• Draft, revise, edit

• Listen to the rhythm of the writing

• Don’t overwrite or overstate

• Don’t over-qualify (e.g. this was very quickly and stunningly, obviously, incredibly put right...)

• Make links clear – but don’t over explain – Make sure logical chain follows smoothly

Secondly,

• Revise your style!

 • Once the first draft is completed, it is important to review what has been written, and ensure that the writing style is concise and corresponds to the arguments, statements, evidence and flow of thought.

 • It is not enough to revise once; this process should be repeated to ensure consistency of your writing style throughout all the paper. Having different styles of communications relating to your argument may not help you to see relationships and determine if your premises are valid.

Thirdly,

Let others revise your style and overall work!

It is also important to have other critical thinkers review your work. While you should ideally be able to explore your own arguments recognize their validity and reasonableness, it is always helpful to have others review your work. Having a different perspective analyze your arguments may allow you to examine new relationships, reconsider old ones, and potentially better understand the premises purportedly supporting your conclusion.

Also, having another critical thinker break down your argument into its constituents

Further, having another critical thinker arrive at the same conclusion you arrived at is always a good checkpoint: comparing the two conclusions can help you determine which one, if either, is more valid. Perhaps they both are, and both need to be incorporated into your argument. Or perhaps neither are, and everything needs to be re-evaluated, including the evidence you gathered. One argument, perhaps yours, perhaps the other, may be valid. It is always important, however, to keep an open mind, be metacognitive, and be reasonable in your approach. Nothing damages the critical thinking process more than a lack of awareness and open-mindedness to arguments.