Reading and Writing Critically GUIDELINES

Writing in the first person and more advice
✓While the use of the first person in academic writing is debated, using the first person in your social science assignment allows to have different voices throughout. Your voice is important in this assignment as you will be encouraged to reflect on our practice or what you see in the classroom.
✓ Understand who your audience is and consider this throughout the assignment.
✓ Use simple sentences and keep them relatively short and when you are using longer sentences use logical indicator to tell the reader what you are doing.

Reading and Writing Critically
Structuring your written assignment
Understand how the assignment is laid out. What is the word count for every section? Be clear of what is required in every section. Ensure that you address all the points in each section.

Introduction and context (Approx. 750 words)
Describe why you have chosen this topic and how this is relevant to the context of your school/class. Provide an overview of the focus for your assignment signposting key areas you will address.
Literature review (Approx. 1500 words)
1. Consider the literature regarding your chosen topic and in relation to your class environment and climate for learning.
2. Provide a brief summary of the key points from the literature that you will take with you into the classroom to explore further.
Include a range of perspectives and theories on the topic and ensure that you are reviewing them critically. You do not need to locate your reading in this section in your subject area.
Practical reflections (Approx. 1000 words)
Consider your own practice using the reflective model, you may want to use this to support your practical reflections.
Discuss what you observed/what you learned and make an explicit link to your literature review.
Conclusion (Approx. 750 words)
Summarise your findings, going back to your research question. Explain the most important finding and why you have chosen this. Explain how this project has affected your own practice.

The introduction:
Be clear about what the focus of your assignment is right from the start. Make it evident to the reader what fascinates you, what you feel you need to know more about or what might even trouble you.
You introduce the reader to the issue that is interesting or troubling.
Example
Indeed, the work of Jerome Bruner defined the purpose of education as being encapsulated in three questions: “1) What makes us human?; 2) How did we become so?; 3) How might we become more so?” (Gardner, 2001, p91) – these are three questions not fully realised by the national curriculum, the third being potentially lost. However, in both this essay and my practice I aim to give full consideration to all three questions, with a particular focus on furnishing students with the skills they need to become proactive, independent thinkers.

Reading and Writing Critically
The introduction
You are setting the scene and your reader needs to understand the context of your school and/or why you have chosen this topic.
Then give an overview of what you are going to address.
Two key points:
1. Be clear about the overall point of your assignment
2. Outline the map of the assignment.

Reading and Writing Critically
Academic Literature
Four types of academic literature:
✓Theoretical – present conceptual systems to understand aspects of social world, often underpins research literature
✓Research Literature – written by academic empirical research in research journals
✓Policy Literature – developed by policy makers and often written by those in government
✓Practice Literature – Literature that relates to your subject and will give you practical advice

Reading and Writing Critically
Writing your review
Aim to critique and synthesise all different types of literature and ensure that there is a balance of different types of literature. Research, theory etc.
Avoid doing a ‘shopping list’; like ‘Jones (2004) reports that….’
Aim to interrogate texts and write notes when you are reading. Only make relevant notes and note the references Avoid starting with the author but aim to address the key issue and then reference the author at the end.
And:
Writing your review
• Demonstrate that you have the ability to analyse, criticise, discuss and evaluate the issues.
• Avoid trying to impress how much you know.
• Demonstrate how you get to your conclusions.
• Avoid giving too much evidence, use a balance of different sources.
• But also avoid giving too little.

Reading and Writing Critically
Practical reflections
Refer to the four (three) Brookfield´s lenses (1) the autobiographical, (2) the students’ eyes, (3) ?our colleagues’ experiences?, and (4) theoretical literature
• and support your findings with the literature that you have read.
• Evaluate your findings in light of the literature that you have read.
• Be critical and explain why.
Reading and Writing Critically
Conclusion
• Summarise the key points briefly.
• Here you can give your opinion but ensure that it is
supported with the literature that you have read.
• Share your thoughts about how the assignment will influence your future practice.

Reading and Writing Critically
What does your tutor look for in a written assignment
1. First impressions – is the title clear? Is the assignment well structured and are there subheadings, how much literature has being quoted, introduction and first paragraph need to inform the reader, grammar spelling, Does have the coversheet,
2. Things a tutor would like to see – wide range of references, clear arguments, fluency, strong voice, a sense of wrestling with something to reach a statement, a good introduction, needs to be passionate about the subject, overall a clear structure and a thread that runs through the assignment.
3. Things that disappoint – poor spelling and grammar, poor referencing, sweeping statements, colloquialism, large quotations, absence of own voice,
4. Double check your work, have a clear plan, develop a sense of reader, audience, make links between sections, introduction and conclusion are crucial. TIP: ‘a gentle introduction and a noisy conclusion’.

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