LONDON’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY
Critical and Analytical Thinking
Critical & Analytical Thinking
• Key part of university study – developed as
you study
• BUT, Admissions Tutors will be looking for
evidence of these skills in your application
and at interview
• Demonstrates wider knowledge and
deeper understanding of subject
What is Critical and Analytical Thinking?
• Word ‘critical’ has positive and negative meanings – does not
mean just criticise
• Weigh up the arguments for and against
• Look deeper into what is being said and why it is being said
• Question what you read
• Identify strengths and weaknesses
• Evaluate what is being argued – do you agree with it?
Barriers to Critical and Analytical Thinking
• Misunderstanding of criticising
• Our reasoning skills are not objective – we are biased ourselves
• Reluctance to criticise experts
• Reluctance to criticise the ‘norm’
• Not reading deeply enough around a subject – surface knowledge
• Wanting to know the right answer
How to think critically and analytically
• Form a set of questions to help you think more deeply about
what you have read
• Apply these questions and similar ones to all of your
arguments and essays to encourage you to question why
things are the way they are
• Use your answers to develop your
academic argument
Question Bank
Assess your sources
• What is the source? (Web, academic journal, newspaper…)
• What are the strengths and limitations of this source?
Identify bias
• Does the author have a hidden agenda?
• What is the purpose of the writing?
• Does their writing reflect a political viewpoint?
• Who might disagree with the writer?
Evaluate evidence
• What evidence/examples does the writer use?
• How reliable or useful is the evidence?
• Does it support the argument?
• Is the evidence up-to-date?
• Do they make any assumptions?
Consider their argument
• What is the main argument?
• What statements/evidence in the article strengthen or weaken the
argument
• Think about the viewpoint in relation to the bigger picture – stand back
• Compare the same issue from the point of view of other authors – do their
views differ?
Draw conclusions
• Understand why authors have arrived at different conclusions
• Argue why one viewpoint is preferable to another
• All ideas and arguments must be supported by evidence to add credibility
• Question your own assumptions and biases as well as those of the author