SMILE
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Unit 6: Writing a critical review

image of film clipThis video resource from the University of Plymouth, Learning from WOeRk project helps summarise the main points of critical thinking and reflection. You may need to adjust the sound levels from time to time.

Read and take notes

  • Read the article and highlight the key points, thinking about how they might be used in your review. Key points will include:
    • Contextual information that could be used in your introductory section
    • Method used
    • Results
    • Strengths and weaknesses of the research
  • Bullet the key points on a post-it note and stick it to the front of the article for quick reference

Organise your notes in a structured way

  • Sort your notes into categories by, for example, research design, sample size, results and so on
  • This allows you to get an overall picture of the research findings and prevents you feeling overwhelmed
  • Allows you to see findings at a glance so will help with pulling together (synthesising) key points

Creative Commons License
SMILE - Writing a critical review by Steve Draper, Glasgow University, Dr Jane McKay and Marion Kelt Glasgow Caledonian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/resources/crs.html.