The power of verbs
To raise the quality of your writing, check your verbs. Select verbs that say exactly what you mean and carry the right amount of weight.
The hero argument
To make your writing as engaging and convincing as possible, it’s worth giving the counter-argument sufficient space and understanding.
Effective reading
Do you start reading an academic journal article, plough through a few paragraphs and realise you have lost your focus? Try this technique to gain a quick overview and identify the sections you need to read in depth.[1] 1 Reading…
Improve your critical thinking
Critical thinking is a skill you already have, put to work in a new environment. It gets easier with practice.
Developing a critical mindset
Developing a critical mindset involves drawing on qualities including confidence, motivation, curiosity and effort.
Successful endings
It's useful to think of endings as looking in one of three different directions: look back; look forwards; look beyond.
Teaching critical thinking
Tutors can teach critical thinking to all students, and it is best to introduce it from the start of their university journey. Offering skills training at the beginning of the course provides a framework for students who are new to critical thinking and helps more experienced students to achieve highly.
Don’t forget to think
1 Starting thoughts When an essay assignment arrives, read the title slowly. Put it aside for an hour then read it again. Take 15 minutes to ask yourself: • Do I understand what’s being asked of me? You might need…
Wrestling with the question
Wrestling with the question indicates that you’re not accepting the usual assumptions and you’re up for a battle of ideas.
A critical thinking game
Students use critical thinking all the time but often aren't sure how to apply it to academic tasks.
