"Needs more critical analysis" is one of the most common comments on university assignments. But what does critical analysis actually mean, and how do you do it? This guide explains how to write a critical analysis for a university assignment, with a clear process, useful questions and example phrases.
What Is Critical Analysis?
Critical analysis means examining a text, theory, study, argument or piece of work closely and making a reasoned judgement about it. "Critical" doesn't mean negative. It means evaluating both strengths and weaknesses, and supporting your judgement with evidence.
| Descriptive writing | Critical writing |
|---|---|
| States what happened | Explains why it happened and its significance |
| Summarises what a source says | Evaluates how convincing the source is |
| Lists facts and findings | Compares, questions and interprets findings |
| Accepts claims at face value | Identifies assumptions, bias and limitations |
Step 1: Understand the Work You're Analysing
Read or examine the work carefully, more than once. Identify its main argument or purpose, key evidence, methods (for research studies) and conclusions. Summarise it briefly in your own words to check your understanding.
Step 2: Ask Critical Questions
Use questions like these to move from description to analysis:
- What is the author's main claim, and is it clearly supported?
- How strong and relevant is the evidence?
- Is the methodology appropriate? Is the sample size adequate?
- What assumptions does the author make?
- Is there any bias, or are there conflicts of interest?
- What are the limitations of the work?
- How does it compare with other research on the topic?
- Is it still current and relevant?
- What are the implications for theory, practice or policy?
Step 3: Form Your Judgement
Based on your answers, decide on your overall evaluation. This becomes your thesis. For example: "While Smith's study provides valuable evidence that peer mentoring improves first-year retention, its small, single-institution sample limits how far the findings can be generalised."
Step 4: Structure Your Critical Analysis
- Introduction: introduce the work, its author and context, and state your overall judgement.
- Brief summary: outline the work's main points (keep this short).
- Analysis and evaluation: discuss strengths and weaknesses in separate, well-supported paragraphs.
- Comparison: relate the work to other sources or theories where relevant.
- Conclusion: restate your judgement and its significance.
Remember the balance: most of your word count should go to analysis and evaluation, not summary.
Step 5: Support Your Analysis with Evidence
Every judgement needs support. Use quotations or data from the work itself, and compare it with other credible sources. See our guide to finding reliable academic sources.
Useful Phrases for Critical Writing
- Showing strengths: "A key strength of this study is...", "The argument is convincing because..."
- Showing weaknesses: "However, this claim is limited by...", "The evidence does not fully support..."
- Comparing: "This contrasts with the findings of...", "Similarly, Jones (2023) found..."
- Interpreting: "This suggests that...", "One implication of this is..."
- Judging: "Overall, the evidence indicates...", "On balance, it can be argued that..."
Common Critical Analysis Mistakes
- Spending too much time summarising
- Only criticising, without acknowledging strengths
- Giving opinions without evidence
- Ignoring the context of the work
- Failing to reach a clear overall judgement
Get Help with Critical Analysis
Critical thinking improves with practice and feedback. Collepals tutors can review your drafts, and our assignment writing support covers critical analyses, article critiques and case studies. For more writing tips, read 10 ways to improve your academic writing.