Development of critical thinking and effective presentation of ideas 2

The rise of German nationalism in relation to the outbreak of World War II. Therefore he must read `critically', that is with a questioning mind rather than as a sponge simply soaking up all information on the page. Critical reading means trying to identify where the writers differ and why; it means trying to evaluate the strengths and weak nesses of each writer's argument. Finally it means coming to an independent judgement of the whole question: how important rise of German nationalism in causing the Second World War what other factors must also be considered as significant causes of the war?

Let us suppose that our student has read widely and critically, and that he has come to an independent judgement about the whole question. Is that all his lecturer would expect of him? No: he must now persuade the lecturer that his judgement is acceptable. That is, he must assemble his ideas, Pacts and other evidence and write them out in such a way that they convince the reader. He must argue the case that German nationalism was - or was not - a major cause of the war, showing at each step of his argument the reasons why he thinks that way. And he must do so in clear correct English, set out in the particular essay format required by the Department.

We can summarize what is expected in g university essa by listening the four main criteria which, together with factual accuracy, most academic staff in our own university use to assess an essay:

It is expected that the essay will be clearly focused on the set
Topic and will deal fully with its central concerns.
It is expected that the essay will be the result of wide and critical reading
It is expected that the essay will present a reasoned argument
It is expected that the essay will be competently presented

Only the final criterion, competent presentation, deals with aspect of style, grammar, and format. The other three criteria qualities of critical thinking and independent judgement.

Some of the criteria for writing essays apply also to lab reports. The material in the report must be relevant to its aim, the report should be correctly and well expressed, and so on. But there are differences as well. The most obvious of these relates to the structure and lay-out of the report. Though there will be variations among departments, the standard format includes the following sections: Introduction (including Aim), Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion. Within each section there are further `rules', or conventions, governing such things as the use of sub-headings, tables, diagrams, illustrations, etc. The Results section, you will be told, must.