13 Critical Thinking and Academic Writing Through Analysis

College writing demands more than just summarizing information. It requires you to engage with sources critically, analyze diverse perspectives, synthesize those perspectives, and contribute your own original insights to a larger academic conversation. This chapter explores strategies for effectively understanding and utilizing scholarly sources, the crucial role of analysis and synthesis in developing your arguments, and the importance of audience and context in shaping your writing.

Decoding Scholarly Sources: The Foundation for Analysis

Students often struggle with scholarly sources due to their unfamiliar format and language. A common mistake is to skim for easily digestible pieces of information to “force” into an essay, rather than engaging deeply with the source’s content. This approach prevents genuine learning and hinders the development of a true synthesis of ideas. Strategies like using NotebookLM can be helpful in navigating and understanding scholarly sources. Regardless of the specific method, actively working to understand the sources you use is essential. The more you practice engaging with scholarly sources, the more adept you’ll become at recognizing their structure and extracting relevant information. Remember, your sources lend credibility to your arguments, but only when used responsibly and ethically. Misrepresenting an author’s intentions due to a lack of effort is a serious academic offense.

The Stair Steps to Analysis: Building Towards Deeper Understanding

Analysis is a crucial skill for college-level writing. It’s a process of deconstructing meaning, examining individual parts to understand the whole. Think of analysis as a series of steps, each one building upon the previous one and leading to a deeper understanding:

1. Summary: Condensing the main points of a text or story. This is the foundational step, ensuring you understand the material.
2. Response: Your personal reaction to the text – your feelings and thoughts. While important, this is just one step on the way to analysis.
3. Interpretation: Adding meaning to specific parts of the text, such as symbols, metaphors, setting, character traits, or relationships. This involves focusing on smaller elements to gain insights.
4. Analysis: Breaking down the text into its components and examining how they relate to each other and contribute to the whole. This involves asking questions and exploring possible answers, considering how individual parts contribute to the overall meaning.

Examples of Analysis: From Starfish to Humpty Dumpty

Consider the story of the young man throwing starfish back into the ocean. An old man questions the futility of his efforts, given the vast number of starfish. The young man replies that it makes a difference to the ones he saves. Analyzing this story involves moving through the steps: We summarize the plot, note our personal responses (perhaps inspiration), interpret the symbolism (starfish as people in need), and then, at the level of analysis, examine the themes of individual impact, the value of small acts, and the power of hope.

Similarly, the rhyme of Humpty Dumpty can be analyzed. We summarize the rhyme, consider our responses (perhaps childhood memories), interpret the symbolism (Humpty Dumpty as something broken), and then, through analysis, explore how the rhyme reflects the difficulty of piecing things back together, even in complex situations.

Synthesis: Weaving Together Ideas and Sources

While some updated versions of Bloom’s Taxonomy have removed the explicit term “synthesis,” it remains a vital concept, particularly in this class. We will continue to use the traditional model: Knowledge > Understanding > Application > Analysis > Synthesis > Evaluation. Synthesis is the process of combining different pieces of information, including your own analysis of a text and insights from scholarly sources, to create something new. It’s about making connections between sources, identifying common themes, and developing your own unique perspective. You practiced a form of synthesis in your first essay when you created a table to identify shared themes across multiple sources. This week, we’ll delve deeper into this process, aiming to make it not only easier but also more engaging. Synthesis builds upon analysis. You analyze individual texts and then synthesize those analyses, along with insights from your research, to create a comprehensive argument.   

Applying Analysis and Synthesis to Your Essays

When writing an analytical essay, remember:

• Focus on Analysis: While summary and response are steps toward analysis, they shouldn’t be the focus of your essay.
• Use Interpretation as a Tool: Interpret specific parts of the text to support your overall analysis.
• Connect the Parts to the Whole: Explain how individual elements contribute to the overall meaning and themes of the work.
• Use the Article to Support Your Argument: In your assigned essay, use the chosen article to support your analysis of the story. Analyze the story through the lens of the article’s themes or arguments.

For example, if you’re analyzing Pinocchio, consider how the story’s magical elements relate to the themes of childhood, wish fulfillment, or the nature of reality. Use your chosen article to support your interpretation and analysis of these themes. Is Pinocchio’s journey a successful one? Base your argument on your analysis of the story and its connection to the ideas presented in the article.

Audience and Context: Shaping Your Communication

Effective communication requires an awareness of audience and context. We adjust our writing style and tone depending on the situation. A discussion board post will differ significantly from a text message to a friend. An academic essay, in turn, has a level of formality that sets it apart from both. While all these forms of writing aim to communicate ideas, the context and audience influence how those ideas are presented. An essay exists within a larger academic conversation, and you are contributing your own perspective to that ongoing dialogue.   

Cognition and Communication: The Role of Critical Thinking

The fundamental purpose of writing is to communicate ideas. Generating original ideas requires critical thinking. Critical thinking, in turn, relies on having ample information to consider and synthesize. Synthesis, in this context, means processing information to create new understandings. Just as a computer processes data, our brains process information to make connections and arrive at new realizations. Discussions play a vital role in this process. By discussing your topic with peers, you can refine your understanding, identify new connections, and solidify your thinking. This collaborative exploration of ideas prepares you to write a well-developed and insightful essay. The act of articulating your thoughts and engaging with others’ perspectives is a crucial step in the cognitive process of developing your own arguments.

Reading Questions:

1. Remembering: What are the four “stair steps” to analysis, as outlined in the chapter?
2. Understanding: Explain in your own words the difference between analysis and synthesis as presented in the chapter.
3. Application: How does the chapter suggest using “interpretation” as a tool in the analysis process?
4. Analysis: Why does the chapter emphasize the importance of moving beyond summary and response when analyzing a text?
5. Synthesis: How does the chapter suggest students should incorporate scholarly sources into their analysis to demonstrate synthesis?
6. Evaluation: Based on the information in the chapter, what conclusions can you draw about the importance of critical engagement with sources and the role of analysis and synthesis in college writing?