What is Critical Writing? (Review and Applications)

Effective writing is critical to the clear communication of your research ideas. Developed specifically for HDR students, this is the fifth in a series of five workshops that will help you build fundamental academic writing skills, including the ability to write succinct and cohesive content. 

This workshop will cover how to build up your knowledge base so that you can respond to the ideas of researchers in your area by: 

• writing about the quality of the evidence and argument you have read 
• identifying key positive and negative aspects in the research 
• assessing relevance and usefulness to the debate you're engaging in 
• identifying how you can use these ideas in the argument you're developing 

Before you attend the workshop, you should read the materials and complete the activities available here: 

https://canvas.uts.edu.au/enroll/AXRX7W 

These materials will help prepare you for the workshop and ensure that you get the most benefit out of it. You'll have access to the whole "Writing Effectively" module, but for this workshop you can focus on section 5, "What is Critical Writing?" 

1. Watch the MP4 videos before each session. 
2. Write down any questions you have either during, or afterwards. 
3. Complete the exercises in the sequence suggested, and as soon as possible after the watching the resources. 
4. Join the Zoom session! 

The entire series of Effective Research Writing includes: 

The entire series of Effective Research Writing includes: 

• Workshop 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs (Part 1) 
• Workshop 2: Writing Effective Paragraphs (Part 2) 
• Workshop 3: Writing Effective Sentences (Wordiness Part 1) 
• Workshop 4: Tightening Up Your Writing (Wordiness Part 2) 
• Workshop 5: What is Critical Writing? (Review and applications) 

About your facilitator: 

Dr Terry Royce is a forensic linguist and discourse analyst focusing on graduate research communication and thesis rhetorical organisation. He is also a Professional Member of the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd), specialising in research publications and dissertations.