Critical Analysis

Evaluate arguments, strengths and weaknesses.

Examples

• The author overlooks...

Key rules

• Critical analysis examines an argument's assumptions, evidence, logic and conclusions
• Summarise briefly, then evaluate
• Compare the argument with other views to show its strengths and limits

Common mistakes

• The author is right about everything. → The author's argument is persuasive, but it rests on an untested assumption about consumer behaviour.

Use cases

• Literature and film criticism
• Policy analysis
• Assessing a research paper