How to Read and Write Critically

Alex Baratta is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester, teaching within the Manchester Institute of Education. Here he runs a writing center – Write Away – for the School of Environment, Education and Development. His initial teaching experience was in EFL and academic writing, experiences he has brought to five books he has written which are focused on study skills, such as essay writing and critical thinking. He has taught in Korea, England and his native USA, and also researches language and identity, linguistic rights, and linguistic prejudice. Alex has also been published in prestigious journals, such as World Englishes, and presented his research at international conferences in South Africa, Australia and Singapore, to include acting as a keynote speaker for a linguistic prejudice conference at the University of Sheffield in 2018.

This is a clear and accessible text with practical content relevant to any student writing assignments in higher education. It analyses a range of authentic sources to clearly illustrate how to approach, plan and write an academic assignment effectively.

• Chapter 1: What does it mean to be ‘critical’?Chapter 2: Different ways to show your criticalityChapter 3: Understanding score bands and developing your skills within academic assessmentChapter 4: The connection between critical reading, thinking and writingChapter 5: How to structure your essaysChapter 6: How to structure your dissertationChapter 7: Additional assessments to considerChapter 8: Four ways to approach interpretationChapter 9: How to use quotes, paraphrase and summariseChapter 10: How to use critical language in your assessments