How To Demonstrate Critical Judgment

How to demonstrate critical judgment
What does critical judgment mean?

The terms critical judgment and critical thinking are both used to refer to more or less the same idea. In our everyday
lives we usually think of being critical as meaning to say negative things about something or someone. However, this can
be confusing because, at university, critical (or to critique) does not mean say negative things about, but more like
evaluate. That is, to be critical or to critique something you need to evaluate or weigh up evidence and arguments and
come to some judgment about them. That’s why critical judgment is used in this guide.
Being critical, in the way that the word is used here, involves asking yourself questions about what it is that you are
investigating and making judgments about words and ideas like how true, valuable or useful they are. It means you don’t
just accept ideas at face value, or believe that there is only one way of thinking about something. It also means
recognising that, when you think critically and analyse and judge things from a variety of perspectives, there is usually
not one ‘right’ answer or viewpoint. While there is seldom one ‘right’ answer or viewpoint, you do have to convince others
that your viewpoint is credible and based on sound evidence that comes from the appropriate literature in your
discipline/subject area.
How do you demonstrate critical judgment?

Let’s say you have reached the point where you have thoroughly analysed the assignment question, done a lot of research
and have collected and organised your information. By this time, you will have applied your critical evaluation skills to the
information you have and you will have reached an opinion which is based on carefully weighing up all the evidence you
have.
It’s all fairly clear to you now in your own head. Unfortunately, just understanding something is not enough. To get through
your degree you need to demonstrate to other people that you understand.
In order to demonstrate critical thinking, you need to show that you have:
• Collected relevant evidence

• Weighed up that evidence
• Organised the evidence
• Presented appropriate evidence to support the points you are making
• Organised your answer coherently and logically.
To find details of how to do each of the points above follow the links to the relevant related Quick Guides.
Applying critical judgment to the process of doing an assignment

Be very careful when interpreting what is expected of you in assignment tasks. Even though in many tasks, the word critical
is often not there explicitly, most academic assignments require you to take a critical approach even if it is not obviously
stated in the assignment task.
So, how do you apply a critical approach throughout the whole process of putting an assignment together? Remember
that almost all university assignments require analysis and many require persuasion (see Writing analytically and
persuasively Quick Guide). The tips below aren’t steps you do one after the other. You practise them all at once throughout
the whole process of putting an assignment together.
1. Always aim to understand how individual pieces of information connect together.
2. Try to organise the pieces of information that fit together into groups or categories and give these categories an
abstract heading (see Analysing assignment tasks Quick Guide).
3. Work out an overall picture of how these groups of information fit together in relation to each other and how they
contribute to the big picture.
Learning Experience Team

learningzone@scu.edu.au
+61 2 6626 9262 Last updated: 9.04.2020 p. 1
4. As you research, be flexible. As you order and classify information the overall picture might start to change. For
example, some information in one category might contradict something else in the same category. This is
something you need to resolve by applying critical thinking skills. Ask yourself questions like ‘does the
conclusion follow logically from the evidence?’; ‘which article put the strongest case?’ (Remember the
strongest case is the one based on a sound interpretation of solid evidence.)
5. As you proceed you will be constantly weighing up different points of view as you discover new ideas and
new evidence.
How do I structure critical analysis?

In essays, provide your thesis/position in the introduction and introduce (but don’t develop) the main points you are
going to be discussing. Make sure that paragraphs in the body of your essay are presented in a logical order and that you
develop points in the same order that you mentioned them in the introduction. Use supporting evidence to show critical
analysis and judgment. In the conclusion, say what you have found out along with an overview of the main reasons you
have given for your viewpoint/answer.
In reports, state the purpose of the report in the introduction. Give an outline of the theory behind your analysis. Make sure
that paragraphs (in the appropriate sections of the body, e.g. discussion section) show analysis and judgment. State your
findings together with the reasons in the conclusion. Include any recommendations (if relevant).
For more details on how to structure essays see A Model essay structure Quick Guide.
Related Quick Guides

Analysing assignment tasks
A model essay structure
Writing analytically and persuasively
Organising information for your assignments
How to evaluate sources of information
Writing paragraphs
p. 2

How To Demonstrate Critical Judgment

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

How To Demonstrate Critical Judgment

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

How To Demonstrate Critical Judgment

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

How to demonstrate critical judgment

What does critical judgment mean?

How do you demonstrate critical judgment?

• Collected relevant evidence

Applying critical judgment to the process of doing an assignment

Learning Experience Team

How do I structure critical analysis?

Related Quick Guides

You might also like