Criticality and argument

In university, an argument is not a heated disagreement between two people. Rather, it refers to a structure that allows you to prove, evidence and defend a particular conclusion or informed opinion you have formed about a topic. 

In their simplest forms arguments look like a sum:

A quiet environment helps focus + Team collaboration boosts creativity + Natural light improves mood
= A well-designed office space can enhance productivity

However, like with a lot of the things we learn at university, arguments can be a lot more complicated than that...

Explore the interactive resource for this topic

Study resource: Argumentation Basics

Criticality at university refers to the approach you should take towards your learning. This applies across all aspects of your university life but especially when it comes to your reading, research and writing. 

Being critical means that you do not take the information you find at face value, nor do you present information to others without having thought carefully about the veracity and validity of that information, as well as the quality of your evidence. Therefore, you can think of criticality as a quality that you demonstrate by doing your due diligence when reading and writing at university.

If you’re still unsure as to what criticality means or you want to learn techniques to ensure you’re being critical, the resources on this page will help you.

Criticality and argumentation apply throughout the learning process, particularly when you’re reading and researching for your assignments.

These resources will show you techniques you can use to make sure you are critically evaluating the information you find and the texts you read.

Explore the interactice resources for this topic

Writing critically is the secret behind getting top marks at university. You may be reading and thinking critically but if you can’t clearly communicate that critical thinking in your writing then your lecturers won’t know and won’t be able to give you the marks.

Use these interactive resources to learn more about how you can incorporate criticality and argument into your academic writing. 

Using PEEL

This resource explains how the PEEL approach to writing an academic paragraph or series of paragraphs can support criticality in your writing.

Study resource: PEEL - a paragraph structure for writing critically

It is not enough to make your ‘Point’ and support this with ‘Evidence’. The second ‘E’ in a PEEL paragraph stands for ‘Explanation’. This is your opportunity to explain why the evidence, or examples used are important and how they contribute to and progress your argument.

Learn more about how to finish a PEEL paragraph by working through some examples in this resource.

Study resource: Criticality in writing: The last step

Remember that academic writing, like any skill, is something that you will get better at the more you practice and at university you will have many opportunities to gain feedback on your writing.

Remember that in order for you to submit your best work you should plan in time for editing and proof-reading. Drafting and re-drafting is all part of the process! Follow the links below to learn more about other aspects of great academic writing.