Reflective writing is becoming more and more common in universities because it is seen as such a useful learning process. It is particularly popular in courses where students gain some practical experience (eg teaching, care work) and are then asked to reflect on their experience. The greatest danger is that students write a description of what happened. Simply writing about what happened to you is not reflection, it is a narrative account and you will not get good marks. The important thing about reflective writing is to think about what you have learned from the experience you had. The reason your university gives you practical work is to build up your experience, but an experience which is not reflected upon is not a useful one. You wouldn’t want to make the same mistakes again, would you? So you need to choose the most important aspects of your experience to talk about because otherwise your writing will degenerate into a descriptive account of what happened. Of course the most important things in your experience are often the worst things! It is important to show your feelings and concerns in reflective writing – but again be careful of simply describing how you felt at the time because description is not reflection. You should also be careful about writing a reflection too soon after an experience has happened. Imagine you do something (eg give a presentation) and immediately you are asked to write about it. If it went badly you are likely to have a very negative reflection and if it went well you would be so relieved that your reflection would say how great your presentation was. It is a good idea to make some notes immediately after your experience without writing the final reflection. After a few days of mulling things over (yes, that means thinking about it for a few days) look back at your notes and think of your experience again. Think about what you wrote – think about what you thought when you wrote the notes. Do you still feel the same? Now you might think your presentation wasn’t quite so bad. If you can show that you have reflected upon your thoughts and feelings then you are getting there. Very importantly, what will you differently next time to do it better? What have you learned?
Original source: Grab Your Example Essays Now
Showing posts with label What Is.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label What Is.... Show all posts
Friday, April 15, 2011
What is Reflective Writing~Free Sample Essays
Reflective writing is writing which involves '… consideration of the larger context, the meaning, and the implications of an experience or action' (Branch & Paranjape, 2002, p. 1185). In medical and health science courses you are required to produce reflective writing in order to learn from educational and practical experiences, and to develop the habit of critical reflection as a future health professional.
Reflective writing may be based on:
* description and analysis of a learning experience within the course:
o a community placement
o a clinical placement
o a rural placement
* description and analysis of a past experience
* review of your learning or course to that point
* description and analysis of a critical incident.
Original source: Grab Your Example Essays Now
Reflective writing may be based on:
* description and analysis of a learning experience within the course:
o a community placement
o a clinical placement
o a rural placement
* description and analysis of a past experience
* review of your learning or course to that point
* description and analysis of a critical incident.
Original source: Grab Your Example Essays Now
Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing
Critical writing depends on critical reading. Most of the papers you write will involve reflection on written texts - the thinking and research that has already been done on your subject. In order to write your own analysis of this subject, you will need to do careful critical reading of sources and to use them critically to make your own argument. The judgments and interpretations you make of the texts you read are the first steps towards formulating your own approach.
Critical Reading: What is It?
To read critically is to make judgements about how a text is argued. This is a highly reflective skill requiring you to "stand back" and gain some distance from the text you are reading. (You might have to read a text through once to get a basic grasp of content before you launch into an intensive critical reading.) THE KEY IS THIS:
* don't read looking only or primarily for information
* do read looking for ways of thinking about the subject matter
When you are reading, highlighting, or taking notes, avoid extracting and compiling lists of evidence, lists of facts and examples. Avoid approaching a text by asking "What information can I get out of it?" Rather ask "How does this text work? How is it argued? How is the evidence (the facts, examples, etc.) used and interpreted? How does the text reach its conclusions?
How Do I Read Looking for Ways of Thinking?
1. First determine the central claims or purpose of the text (its thesis). A critical reading attempts to assess how these central claims are developed or argued.
2. Begin to make some judgements about context . What audience is the text written for? Who is it in dialogue with? (This will probably be other scholars or authors with differing viewpoints.) In what historical context is it written? All these matters of context can contribute to your assessment of what is going on in a text.
3. Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs. What concepts are defined and used? Does the text appeal to a theory or theories? Is any specific methodology laid out? If there is an appeal to a particular concept, theory, or method, how is that concept, theory, or method then used to organize and interpret the data? You might also examine how the text is organized: how has the author analyzed (broken down) the material? Be aware that different disciplines (i.e. history, sociology, philosophy, biology) will have different ways of arguing.
4. Examine the evidence (the supporting facts, examples, etc) the text employs. Supporting evidence is indispensable to an argument. Having worked through Steps 1-3, you are now in a position to grasp how the evidence is used to develop the argument and its controlling claims and concepts. Steps 1-3 allow you to see evidence in its context. Consider the kinds of evidence that are used. What counts as evidence in this argument? Is the evidence statistical? literary? historical? etc. From what sources is the evidence taken? Are these sources primary or secondary?
5. Critical reading may involve evaluation. Your reading of a text is already critical if it accounts for and makes a series of judgments about how a text is argued. However, some essays may also require you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an argument. If the argument is strong, why? Could it be better or differently supported? Are there gaps, leaps, or inconsistencies in the argument? Is the method of analysis problematic? Could the evidence be interpreted differently? Are the conclusions warranted by the evidence presented? What are the unargued assumptions? Are they problematic? What might an opposing argument be?
Some Practical Tips
1. Critical reading occurs after some preliminary processes of reading. Begin by skimming research materials, especially introductions and conclusions, in order to strategically choose where to focus your critical efforts.
2. When highlighting a text or taking notes from it, teach yourself to highlight argument: those places in a text where an author explains her analytical moves, the concepts she uses, how she uses them, how she arrives at conclusions. Don't let yourself foreground and isolate facts and examples, no matter how interesting they may be. First, look for the large patterns that give purpose, order, and meaning to those examples. The opening sentences of paragraphs can be important to this task.
3. When you begin to think about how you might use a portion of a text in the argument you are forging in your own paper, try to remain aware of how this portion fits into the whole argument from which it is taken. Paying attention to context is a fundamental critical move.
4. When you quote directly from a source, use the quotation critically. This means that you should not substitute the quotation for your own articulation of a point. Rather, introduce the quotation by laying out the judgments you are making about it, and the reasons why you are using it. Often a quotation is followed by some further analysis.
5. Critical reading skills are also critical listening skills. In your lectures, listen not only for information but also for ways of thinking. Your instructor will often explicate and model ways of thinking appropriate to a discipline.
Original source: Grab Your Example Essays Now
Critical Reading: What is It?
To read critically is to make judgements about how a text is argued. This is a highly reflective skill requiring you to "stand back" and gain some distance from the text you are reading. (You might have to read a text through once to get a basic grasp of content before you launch into an intensive critical reading.) THE KEY IS THIS:
* don't read looking only or primarily for information
* do read looking for ways of thinking about the subject matter
When you are reading, highlighting, or taking notes, avoid extracting and compiling lists of evidence, lists of facts and examples. Avoid approaching a text by asking "What information can I get out of it?" Rather ask "How does this text work? How is it argued? How is the evidence (the facts, examples, etc.) used and interpreted? How does the text reach its conclusions?
How Do I Read Looking for Ways of Thinking?
1. First determine the central claims or purpose of the text (its thesis). A critical reading attempts to assess how these central claims are developed or argued.
2. Begin to make some judgements about context . What audience is the text written for? Who is it in dialogue with? (This will probably be other scholars or authors with differing viewpoints.) In what historical context is it written? All these matters of context can contribute to your assessment of what is going on in a text.
3. Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs. What concepts are defined and used? Does the text appeal to a theory or theories? Is any specific methodology laid out? If there is an appeal to a particular concept, theory, or method, how is that concept, theory, or method then used to organize and interpret the data? You might also examine how the text is organized: how has the author analyzed (broken down) the material? Be aware that different disciplines (i.e. history, sociology, philosophy, biology) will have different ways of arguing.
4. Examine the evidence (the supporting facts, examples, etc) the text employs. Supporting evidence is indispensable to an argument. Having worked through Steps 1-3, you are now in a position to grasp how the evidence is used to develop the argument and its controlling claims and concepts. Steps 1-3 allow you to see evidence in its context. Consider the kinds of evidence that are used. What counts as evidence in this argument? Is the evidence statistical? literary? historical? etc. From what sources is the evidence taken? Are these sources primary or secondary?
5. Critical reading may involve evaluation. Your reading of a text is already critical if it accounts for and makes a series of judgments about how a text is argued. However, some essays may also require you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an argument. If the argument is strong, why? Could it be better or differently supported? Are there gaps, leaps, or inconsistencies in the argument? Is the method of analysis problematic? Could the evidence be interpreted differently? Are the conclusions warranted by the evidence presented? What are the unargued assumptions? Are they problematic? What might an opposing argument be?
Some Practical Tips
1. Critical reading occurs after some preliminary processes of reading. Begin by skimming research materials, especially introductions and conclusions, in order to strategically choose where to focus your critical efforts.
2. When highlighting a text or taking notes from it, teach yourself to highlight argument: those places in a text where an author explains her analytical moves, the concepts she uses, how she uses them, how she arrives at conclusions. Don't let yourself foreground and isolate facts and examples, no matter how interesting they may be. First, look for the large patterns that give purpose, order, and meaning to those examples. The opening sentences of paragraphs can be important to this task.
3. When you begin to think about how you might use a portion of a text in the argument you are forging in your own paper, try to remain aware of how this portion fits into the whole argument from which it is taken. Paying attention to context is a fundamental critical move.
4. When you quote directly from a source, use the quotation critically. This means that you should not substitute the quotation for your own articulation of a point. Rather, introduce the quotation by laying out the judgments you are making about it, and the reasons why you are using it. Often a quotation is followed by some further analysis.
5. Critical reading skills are also critical listening skills. In your lectures, listen not only for information but also for ways of thinking. Your instructor will often explicate and model ways of thinking appropriate to a discipline.
Original source: Grab Your Example Essays Now
What is critical writing and descriptive writing
What is critical writing
— filed under: Communicating your research, Resources, Writing
Study guide
It is common for feedback on student writing to focus on the need to engage more critically with the source material. Typical comments from tutors are: ‘too descriptive’, or ‘not enough critical analysis’. This Study Guide gives ideas for how to improve the level of critical analysis you demonstrate in your writing. Other Study Guides you may find useful are: What is Critical Reading? Using Paragraphs and The Art of Editing.
What is critical writing?
The most characteristic features of critical writing are:
* a clear and confident refusal to accept the conclusions of other writers without evaluating the arguments and evidence that they provide;
* a balanced presentation of reasons why the conclusions of other writers may be accepted or may need to be treated with caution;
* a clear presentation of your own evidence and argument, leading to your conclusion; and
* a recognition of the limitations in your own evidence, argument, and conclusion.
What is descriptive writing?
The most characteristic features of descriptive writing are that it will describe something, but will not go beyond an account of what appears to be there. A certain amount of descriptive writing is needed to establish for example:
* the setting of the research;
* a general description of a piece of literature, or art;
* the list of measurements taken;
* the timing of the research;
* an account of the biographical details of a key figure in the discipline; or
* a brief summary of the history leading up to an event or decision.
The difference between descriptive writing and critical writing
With descriptive writing you are not developing argument; you are merely setting the background within which an argument can be developed. You are representing the situation as it stands, without presenting any analysis or discussion.
Descriptive writing is relatively simple. There is also the trap that it can be easy to use many, many words from your word limit, simply providing description.
In providing only description, you are presenting but not transforming information; you are reporting ideas but not taking them forward in any way. An assignment using only descriptive writing would therefore gain few marks.
With critical writing you are participating in the academic debate. This is more challenging and risky. You need to weigh up the evidence and arguments of others, and to contribute your own. You will need to:
* consider the quality of the evidence and argument you have read;
* identify key positive and negative aspects you can comment upon;
* assess their relevance and usefulness to the debate that you are engaging in for your assignment; and
* identify how best they can be woven into the argument that you are developing.
A much higher level of skill is clearly needed for critical writing than for descriptive writing, and this is reflected in the higher marks it is given.
Finding your academic voice
When you engage in critical writing you are developing your own academic voice within your subject. Wellington et al. (2005 p.84) offer some suggestions for distinguishing between the academic and the non-academic voice. They suggest that the academic voice will involve:
* “healthy scepticism … but not cynicism;
* confidence … but not ‘cockiness’ or arrogance;
* judgement which is critical … but not dismissive;
* opinions … without being opinionated;
* careful evaluation of published work … not serial shooting at random targets;
* being ‘fair’: assessing fairly the strengths and weaknesses of other people’s ideas and writing … without prejudice; and
* making judgements on the basis of considerable thought and all the available evidence … as opposed to assertions without reason.”
Wellington J., Bathmaker A., Hunt C., McCulloch G. and Sikes P. (2005). Succeeding with your doctorate. London: Sage.
Try to get into the habit of writing critically, by making sure that you read critically, and that you include critique in your writing.
Stringing together of quotes
It can be tempting to string together quotes to support an argument, feeling that the more quotes you include, the stronger your argument. It is important, however, to remember that you also need to interpret the quotes to the reader, and to explain their relevance, discuss their validity, and show how they relate to other evidence.
Strategic use of paragraphs
There are several ways in which you can use the paragraph to enhance your critical writing.
You can use paragraphs to make a clear and visual separation between descriptive writing and critical analysis, by switching to a new paragraph when you move from description to critical writing, and vice versa. This can help in:
* emphasising to the reader that you are including both description and critical analysis, by providing a visual representation of their separation; and
* pushing you to produce the necessary critical writing, especially if you find that your description paragraphs are always longer, or more frequent, than your critical analysis paragraphs.
A paragraph break can provide a brief pause for your readers within a longer argument; giving them the opportunity to make sure they are keeping up with your reasoning. Paragraphs that are overly long can require readers to hold too much in their mind at once, resulting in their having to re-read the material until they can identify the point you are making.
You can also use paragraphs to push yourself to include critical writing alongside descriptive writing or referencing, by considering each paragraph almost as an essay in miniature. Within each paragraph you would:
* introduce the point you want to make;
* make the point, with supporting evidence;
* reflect critically on the point.
If it’s worth including, it’s worth telling us why
A certain amount of descriptive writing is essential, particularly in the earlier parts of the essay or assignment or dissertation. Beyond that, however, there is a danger that too much descriptive writing will use up valuable words from your word limit, and reduce the space you have for the critical writing that will get you higher marks.
A useful habit to get into is to make sure that, if you describe some evidence relevant to your argument, you need then to explain to the reader why it is relevant. The logic of your explanation contributes to the critical component of your writing.
So, a sentence or two might describe and reference the evidence, but this is not enough in itself. The next few sentences need to explain what this evidence contributes to the argument you are making. This may feel like duplication at first, or that you are explaining something that is obvious, but it is your responsibility to ensure that the relevance of the evidence is explained to the reader; you should not simply assume that the reader will be following the same logic as you, or will just work out the relevance of the quote or data you have described.
Line of argument
So far this Study Guide has considered the detail of what you write. The other key element in critical writing is the overall structure of your piece of writing. For maximum effectiveness, your writing needs to have a line, or lines of argument running through it from the Introduction to the Conclusion.
Just as you have used paragraphs on a micro scale to present your critical writing, so you need to consider the ordering of those paragraphs within the overall structure. The aim is to lead your readers carefully through the thread of your argument, to a well-supported conclusion.
Example of effective critical writing
The text below is an example of good critical writing, and is based on essay material supplied by University of Leicester’s School of Psychology.
The author refers to the available evidence, but also evaluates the validity of that evidence, and assesses what contribution it can realistically make to the debate.
There are a number of inherent methodological difficulties in evaluating treatment efficacy in this area, and this has contributed to controversy within the research literature surrounding treatment outcomes for this group of offenders (Marshall, 1997). Firstly, while there is no doubt that the primary criterion of treatment success is a reduction in the rate of re-offending (Marshall et al., 1999), reconviction data does not, in isolation, provide a realistic representation of actual levels of re-offending by this group. It is well established that there is a discrepancy between re-offending and reconviction rates: the latter underestimating the number of offences committed (Grubin, 1999). Indeed, a significant proportion of offences committed by offenders are either unreported, or do not result in the offender being convicted (Abel et al., 1987).
You can see how the author is considering the available evidence, but also the limitations on that evidence, and will be taking all of this into account in drawing conclusions.
Checklist for an overall review of your writing
It is always worth taking a critical look at your own writing before submitting it for assessment. The kinds of questions that might be useful to ask at that stage are:
What is the balance between descriptive and critical writing?
While a certain amount of description is necessary to set the context for your analysis, the main characteristic of academic writing is its critical element. A useful way to check this balance in your own writing is to use two coloured pens and to mark in the margin whether the lines are descriptive or critical. The balance will change at different points, but you need to make sure there is enough of the colour that represents critical writing.
Why should the reader be convinced by what I’ve just written?
Remember that, just as you are asking ‘Why should I believe what I’ve just read?’, the readers of your work will be asking the same question of your writing. A critical read through your own writing may reveal gaps in your logic, which you can rectify before you submit it for the critique of others.
Is my conclusion trailed and supported sufficiently well by my preceding analysis and argument?
Check out the conclusions that you have drawn, then locate and check the supporting evidence you provide earlier on. This is a good way of making sure you haven’t forgotten to include a crucial piece of evidence. It is also a way of checking that, when your reader comes to the end of your writing, the conclusions make sense, rather than being a surprise, or an unconvincing leap of logic.
Have I included any unsubstantiated statements?
Sometimes a generalised, sweeping statement can slip through: the kind of statement that might be acceptable on conversation, but not in academic writing. There are three main ways of dealing with such statements:
* present the evidence to support the statement
* re-phrase the statement to sound more cautious e.g.: ‘it could be argued …’ or ‘this suggests that …’
* remove the statement
Original source: Grab Your Example Essays Now
— filed under: Communicating your research, Resources, Writing
Study guide
It is common for feedback on student writing to focus on the need to engage more critically with the source material. Typical comments from tutors are: ‘too descriptive’, or ‘not enough critical analysis’. This Study Guide gives ideas for how to improve the level of critical analysis you demonstrate in your writing. Other Study Guides you may find useful are: What is Critical Reading? Using Paragraphs and The Art of Editing.
What is critical writing?
The most characteristic features of critical writing are:
* a clear and confident refusal to accept the conclusions of other writers without evaluating the arguments and evidence that they provide;
* a balanced presentation of reasons why the conclusions of other writers may be accepted or may need to be treated with caution;
* a clear presentation of your own evidence and argument, leading to your conclusion; and
* a recognition of the limitations in your own evidence, argument, and conclusion.
What is descriptive writing?
The most characteristic features of descriptive writing are that it will describe something, but will not go beyond an account of what appears to be there. A certain amount of descriptive writing is needed to establish for example:
* the setting of the research;
* a general description of a piece of literature, or art;
* the list of measurements taken;
* the timing of the research;
* an account of the biographical details of a key figure in the discipline; or
* a brief summary of the history leading up to an event or decision.
The difference between descriptive writing and critical writing
With descriptive writing you are not developing argument; you are merely setting the background within which an argument can be developed. You are representing the situation as it stands, without presenting any analysis or discussion.
Descriptive writing is relatively simple. There is also the trap that it can be easy to use many, many words from your word limit, simply providing description.
In providing only description, you are presenting but not transforming information; you are reporting ideas but not taking them forward in any way. An assignment using only descriptive writing would therefore gain few marks.
With critical writing you are participating in the academic debate. This is more challenging and risky. You need to weigh up the evidence and arguments of others, and to contribute your own. You will need to:
* consider the quality of the evidence and argument you have read;
* identify key positive and negative aspects you can comment upon;
* assess their relevance and usefulness to the debate that you are engaging in for your assignment; and
* identify how best they can be woven into the argument that you are developing.
A much higher level of skill is clearly needed for critical writing than for descriptive writing, and this is reflected in the higher marks it is given.
Finding your academic voice
When you engage in critical writing you are developing your own academic voice within your subject. Wellington et al. (2005 p.84) offer some suggestions for distinguishing between the academic and the non-academic voice. They suggest that the academic voice will involve:
* “healthy scepticism … but not cynicism;
* confidence … but not ‘cockiness’ or arrogance;
* judgement which is critical … but not dismissive;
* opinions … without being opinionated;
* careful evaluation of published work … not serial shooting at random targets;
* being ‘fair’: assessing fairly the strengths and weaknesses of other people’s ideas and writing … without prejudice; and
* making judgements on the basis of considerable thought and all the available evidence … as opposed to assertions without reason.”
Wellington J., Bathmaker A., Hunt C., McCulloch G. and Sikes P. (2005). Succeeding with your doctorate. London: Sage.
Try to get into the habit of writing critically, by making sure that you read critically, and that you include critique in your writing.
Stringing together of quotes
It can be tempting to string together quotes to support an argument, feeling that the more quotes you include, the stronger your argument. It is important, however, to remember that you also need to interpret the quotes to the reader, and to explain their relevance, discuss their validity, and show how they relate to other evidence.
Strategic use of paragraphs
There are several ways in which you can use the paragraph to enhance your critical writing.
You can use paragraphs to make a clear and visual separation between descriptive writing and critical analysis, by switching to a new paragraph when you move from description to critical writing, and vice versa. This can help in:
* emphasising to the reader that you are including both description and critical analysis, by providing a visual representation of their separation; and
* pushing you to produce the necessary critical writing, especially if you find that your description paragraphs are always longer, or more frequent, than your critical analysis paragraphs.
A paragraph break can provide a brief pause for your readers within a longer argument; giving them the opportunity to make sure they are keeping up with your reasoning. Paragraphs that are overly long can require readers to hold too much in their mind at once, resulting in their having to re-read the material until they can identify the point you are making.
You can also use paragraphs to push yourself to include critical writing alongside descriptive writing or referencing, by considering each paragraph almost as an essay in miniature. Within each paragraph you would:
* introduce the point you want to make;
* make the point, with supporting evidence;
* reflect critically on the point.
If it’s worth including, it’s worth telling us why
A certain amount of descriptive writing is essential, particularly in the earlier parts of the essay or assignment or dissertation. Beyond that, however, there is a danger that too much descriptive writing will use up valuable words from your word limit, and reduce the space you have for the critical writing that will get you higher marks.
A useful habit to get into is to make sure that, if you describe some evidence relevant to your argument, you need then to explain to the reader why it is relevant. The logic of your explanation contributes to the critical component of your writing.
So, a sentence or two might describe and reference the evidence, but this is not enough in itself. The next few sentences need to explain what this evidence contributes to the argument you are making. This may feel like duplication at first, or that you are explaining something that is obvious, but it is your responsibility to ensure that the relevance of the evidence is explained to the reader; you should not simply assume that the reader will be following the same logic as you, or will just work out the relevance of the quote or data you have described.
Line of argument
So far this Study Guide has considered the detail of what you write. The other key element in critical writing is the overall structure of your piece of writing. For maximum effectiveness, your writing needs to have a line, or lines of argument running through it from the Introduction to the Conclusion.
Just as you have used paragraphs on a micro scale to present your critical writing, so you need to consider the ordering of those paragraphs within the overall structure. The aim is to lead your readers carefully through the thread of your argument, to a well-supported conclusion.
Example of effective critical writing
The text below is an example of good critical writing, and is based on essay material supplied by University of Leicester’s School of Psychology.
The author refers to the available evidence, but also evaluates the validity of that evidence, and assesses what contribution it can realistically make to the debate.
There are a number of inherent methodological difficulties in evaluating treatment efficacy in this area, and this has contributed to controversy within the research literature surrounding treatment outcomes for this group of offenders (Marshall, 1997). Firstly, while there is no doubt that the primary criterion of treatment success is a reduction in the rate of re-offending (Marshall et al., 1999), reconviction data does not, in isolation, provide a realistic representation of actual levels of re-offending by this group. It is well established that there is a discrepancy between re-offending and reconviction rates: the latter underestimating the number of offences committed (Grubin, 1999). Indeed, a significant proportion of offences committed by offenders are either unreported, or do not result in the offender being convicted (Abel et al., 1987).
You can see how the author is considering the available evidence, but also the limitations on that evidence, and will be taking all of this into account in drawing conclusions.
Checklist for an overall review of your writing
It is always worth taking a critical look at your own writing before submitting it for assessment. The kinds of questions that might be useful to ask at that stage are:
What is the balance between descriptive and critical writing?
While a certain amount of description is necessary to set the context for your analysis, the main characteristic of academic writing is its critical element. A useful way to check this balance in your own writing is to use two coloured pens and to mark in the margin whether the lines are descriptive or critical. The balance will change at different points, but you need to make sure there is enough of the colour that represents critical writing.
Why should the reader be convinced by what I’ve just written?
Remember that, just as you are asking ‘Why should I believe what I’ve just read?’, the readers of your work will be asking the same question of your writing. A critical read through your own writing may reveal gaps in your logic, which you can rectify before you submit it for the critique of others.
Is my conclusion trailed and supported sufficiently well by my preceding analysis and argument?
Check out the conclusions that you have drawn, then locate and check the supporting evidence you provide earlier on. This is a good way of making sure you haven’t forgotten to include a crucial piece of evidence. It is also a way of checking that, when your reader comes to the end of your writing, the conclusions make sense, rather than being a surprise, or an unconvincing leap of logic.
Have I included any unsubstantiated statements?
Sometimes a generalised, sweeping statement can slip through: the kind of statement that might be acceptable on conversation, but not in academic writing. There are three main ways of dealing with such statements:
* present the evidence to support the statement
* re-phrase the statement to sound more cautious e.g.: ‘it could be argued …’ or ‘this suggests that …’
* remove the statement
Original source: Grab Your Example Essays Now
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