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Critical writing

Critical Writing

Read our guide on critical writing to help improve your essay writing, including information on descriptive writing and questions to consider before you begin writing.  

Descriptive writing

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Descriptive writing involves reporting information and stating facts and ideas. Descriptive writing can be used to:

  • Provide context/background on a topic. 
  • Present a case study on a person, group or organisation. 
  • Introduce an event or experience. 
  • Outline a problem or issue. 
  • Summarise research.

Although some level of descriptive writing is needed within your work, you should only include what is necessary.

Critical writing

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Critical writing requires you to interpret and dissect the information that you have presented and outline its significance and relevance.

Writing critically involves:

  • Getting under the surface.
  • Examining the strengths and weaknesses.
  • Breaking down various arguments.
  • Offering solutions and alternative.

You can explore critical writing as a three step process: Description, Analysis and Evaluation.

Mode of critical writing

Critiquing literature

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Before you begin your critique of the literature, you first have to ensure that you have a good understanding of it. It will be difficult to critique the literature if you cannot make sense of it.

You may wish to include a brief summary of the literature but you should mainly focus on analysing and evaluating the literature itself.

To help you draw relevant information from the literature, you may find it useful to ask questions of the text.

Questions to consider

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