What is criticality or taking a critical approach?
You may come across different terms such as critical thinking, criticality, critical analysis, critical appraisal, critical discussion or critical reflection. All of these terms share a common goal of asking you to take a questioning approach to your studies. This means that you compare ideas and theories, and analyse the evidence used to support arguments.
The differences between the terms often relates to the situation you are in (the context) and what your assignment is asking you to do. For example, the term ‘critical reflection’ usually asks you to reflect on your own experience. This might be when completing an assignment, a project, a work placement or reflecting on your professional practice through reflective writing. For consistency, throughout these resources we will use the terms ‘taking a critical approach’ or ‘critical appraisal’.
You will need to take a critical approach every day when you are studying; when you are reading, writing, listening and discussing. Demonstrating your critical appraisal skills may be part of an assessment (e.g. written assignments, exams, presentations, project work) or it may be in other situations such as in seminar discussions, supervision meetings, practical sessions, team projects or work placements. You may also use these skills when giving feedback to peers or when working as a peer mentor.
For your own discipline, it is important to be aware of:
In higher education, criticality refers to the ability to think, question, and engage with knowledge in an active, analytical way. It goes beyond just understanding facts and involves examining ideas, challenging assumptions, and forming judgments. In another word, it is the skill of thinking clearly and independently by analysing, questioning, and evaluating information, arguments, and evidence. This is to help you form your own informed opinions and communicate them effectively.
This briefly means:
Key skills in criticality include:
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Analysis |
Breaking problems or arguments into smaller pieces to understand them better |
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Evaluation |
Judging if information is useful, trustworthy, and based on solid evidence |
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Synthesis |
Putting together different ideas to create your own understanding |
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Application |
Using what you’ve learned to solve real-life problems |
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Inference |
Making smart guesses based on facts and patterns |
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Reflection |
Thinking about how you think, recognising your own strengths and biases |
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Communication |
Explaining your ideas clearly so others understand and are convinced |
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Problem-solving |
Finding good solutions to tricky issues using logic and creativity |
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Open-mindedness |
Being willing to listen to different views, even ones you don’t agree with |
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Decision-making |
Making smart choices by weighing all sides and thinking through the results |
Criticality is a key part of academic work because it helps students and researchers:
Create knowledge that is trusted and useful
Think independently and clearly
Additionally, it matters because:
You learn to break down other people’s arguments and understand how they built their ideas.
You build your own arguments using proper evidence not just opinions.
You learn to think fairly and logically, even when dealing with complex or confusing information.
You get better at spotting bias, flaws, or weak logic, either in others’ work or your own - how your own background or beliefs could affect your thinking.
You learn to be careful with how you collect and use data, especially in higher levels of study like postgraduate research.
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