CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISE
A large part of University life is to develop critical thinking skills. In order to do this you need to examine many differing perspectives and make decisions about those perspectives. You need to identify and analyse arguments so you can make informed decisions. So how do we work out what information is acceptable so we can make intelligent decisions?
• First, we need to be able to evaluate the evidence that is presented for an argument and not just accept the evidence that an author/s provides at face value.
• Second, we need to work out exactly what someone is arguing – to distil the argument from all the rhetoric and evidence.
• Finally, for the purpose of this assignment, we need to think critically about the arguments being presented as well as formulate ideas that could be expanded into longer essays.
The work you do for this assignment is to be used in preparation for your major essay (Assignment 3), which will be on the same essay question you choose for this assignment (Assignment 1). The author/s’ arguments outlined in the readings below can help with the development of supporting points in Assignment 3.
What you must do
Choose one of the essay questions below. Please note that the chapters from your textbook (Kossen, Kiernan & Lawrence) are for background reading. You will be evaluating the readings from the StudyDesk, not the chapters from the textbook.
Essay Q1:
Has communication technology made people less effective communicators?
You will find the articles (columns 1 and 2) under the following links on Study Desk:
Chapter 8 Kossen, Kiernan & Lawrence. Module 1 –Communication theory, perception and/or audience analysis The Internet And Social Life.
Is Social Media Sabotaging Real Communication?Essay Q2:
Does proxemics have a significant impact in the workplace?
Chapter 10 Kossen, Kiernan & Lawrence. Module 7 –Nonverbal communication Physical Communication and Organization Development
Magic In The Workplace: How Pixar And Disney Unleash The Creative Talent Of Their Workforce.Essay Q3: Module 3 (Oral communication)
Does a great speech rely more on charisma than skill?
Chapter 9, Kossen, Kiernan & Lawrence. Module 3 –Oral communication The Enduring Allure Of Charisma: How Barack Obama Won The Historic 2008 Presidential Election
Learning Charisma
Experience: Managing Your Professional Growth.
Essay Q4: Module 5 (Interpersonal communication)
Emotional intelligence and impression management are often regarded as positive traits, but can they be used to manipulate people?
Chapter 12, Kossen, Kiernan & Lawrence. Module 5 –Intrapersonal and professional communication Lying Up On The Job: Does Deceptive Impression Management Work?
Assessing The Role Of Aggression, Empathy, And Self-Serving Cognitive Distortions In Trait Emotional Manipulation.
Part A – Evaluate the credibility of resources
This part of Assignment 1 requires you to assess whether the arguments provided by authors from the readings are credible. To do this you need to justify your answer by responding to at least three of the credibility measures provided in your Kossen, Kiernan and Lawrence (2013) textbook, pp. 90–1. These are reproduced below:
Note: Not all academic research or research sources have credibility. Another important academic skill is that of evaluating the wide range of sources that besiege us in this age of information overload and technological advancements. The next section will help you evaluate the sources you use in your academic writing.
Evaluating sources – measures of credibility
If the sources you use in your academic writing lack credibility then your essay will also lack credibility (and you will lose marks). Your sources need to be experts in the area and you need the skills to be critical of both the sources themselves and where you found them. You need to ask the following questions of your source:
• Does the source have authority?
o What can you find out about the author?
o What are the author’s qualifications and how long have they worked in the field? Is the author recognised in their field?
o Has the author written anything else?
o Are there any linked biographical statements, resumes or other sources of background information about the author?
o Is the author associated with a society, an institution or a professional organisation?
o Has the author been given a grant to do their research?
• What can you find out about where the source was published or the publisher?
o What is the journal?
o Who is the publisher?
o Is it peer reviewed (by other experts in the field)?
o Is it an official site or private/business site?
o What is its purpose (to sell/persuade/inform) and how does this affect its credibility?
• Is the source accurate?
o Is the information reliable and free from error? How can you tell?
o Can you verify the information and are there links to verify it?
o Is there in-text referencing supported by a bibliography or a list of references?
o Has the information been through an editorial, refereeing process or quality assurance process?
• Is the source current?
o When was the material written, submitted and accepted?
o What is the date of publication?
o Are the references current and up-to-date?
o When was the site last updated or revised?
o What discipline is being discussed? In some disciplines, like information technology, currency moves very quickly and articles are out of date within two years.
• Is the source relevant?
o Why was it written: for information, to influence public opinion, for business/commercial purposes, for entertainment or for personal reasons?
o For whom was it written: school students, university students, a scholarly community or the general public?
o What level of detail is there and what topics are included?
o Is the material presented in an organised and logical way?
o From which country does the information originate and which countries does it cover?
• Is the source objective?
o What is the source of the information: a research study, literature review or personal story?
o Is the information fact or opinion or is there evidence of bias?
o For controversial topics, is the presentation biased (one-sided) or balanced (with both pro and con view points)?
o Are claims and arguments supported with documentation or are they unsubstantiated? Look for references to alternative points of view and assertions supported by evidence and documentation.
• Is the source stable?
o How changeable is the resource? The average lifespan of a Web page is just 36 hours.
o Can you (and the marker) return to the document again?
(Source: Kossen, Kiernan & Lawrence 2013)
You should write no more than 200 words on each reading (Total = 400 words).
Part B: Outline the arguments on the article/s topic
For the second part of this assignment you are required to read the 2 articles supplied for the essay question you have chosen; they may argue different positions. We need to work out exactly what someone is arguing – to distil the argument from all the rhetoric and evidence.
• Briefly summarise the overall argument/s being made by each author/s on the essay topic, in no more than 20 words. NOTE: This must be done for each reading (2 in total).
• Outline the main supporting arguments being made by each author on the essay topic, using 3–6 dot points. The aim is to outline the essential structure of the argument being made, which is why we want you to use dot points. Each dot point must be short — no more than 30 words — and written in your own words, not copied from the text.
Part C – Critical response paragraph
This task is designed to help you think critically about one of the arguments you have presented, as well as help with formulating ideas that can be expanded into longer essays (potentially your assignment 3). A critical response does not mean to simply summarize an article but rather, analyse the content.
You are required to write a 7–10 sentence (1 paragraph) persuasive and focused analysis, argument or interpretation, about the text.
Considerations to be made in writing your paragraph
• Choose one or two of the supportive arguments you have identified from one of the articles and decide whether you agree or disagree with the idea expressed by your author.
• Present and explain what you believe the author meant. Read the text carefully. You cannot make words mean what you want them to mean. You need to understand what the author meant.
In order to do this you will need:
• A topic sentence that makes a stance either for or against the argument
• Evidence in the form of quotations or paraphrases for the argument you are making
• Interpretation of the evidence in relation to the argument and
• A strong concluding statement.
Paragraph tips
There are four parts to a critical response paragraph:
• Topic sentence – (This is the most crucial step in writing a paragraph)
Always the first sentence of a paragraph should be a topic sentence. You must clearly state what you are going to argue, prove or analyse. The most common mistakes students make when writing a paragraph, is to make a general statement rather than a clear sentence that proves, argues, illustrates, interprets or explains something.
For example a weak topic sentence might state this:
There is an old saying that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
This is a poor topic sentence as it is a statement that leaves no interpretation or analysis and makes no argument.
A stronger topic sentence might be:
Irrespective of nonverbal communication recognition training, individuals’ baseline behaviours and perceptions are not identical and therefore, when attempting to assess the nonverbal cues of others, misinterpretation can occur as a result of unique individual differences in emotional response.
This is a better topic sentence as it makes a statement that can be argued. Several things will have to be proven: How individuals differ in their exposure to life experiences and how these experiences contribute to individual emotional responses? How generic interpretations of facial expressions doesn’t allow for an individual’s ‘uniqueness’? What considerations need to be made when examining nonverbal cues? Evidence will have to be provided and interpreted to support this claim. Your topic sentence and your paragraph should be able to pass the “So what?” test. When you’ve made a statement ask yourself, “So what?” If you can’t provide an answer then you probably have not made a strong topic sentence or argument.
• Evidence and interpretation:
Now that you have a topic sentence how do you prove your argument? Quotations and paraphrases from the text can supply the evidence you need to support your argument. Choose one or two of the supporting points from Part A of this assignment that illustrate what you are trying to prove (you do not have the space to incorporate all of them). When you use a quote or paraphrase, you must interpret or explain it in relation to your argument; evidence does not stand alone as proof. Introducing evidence tells the reader from where in the text the passage is taken and it helps highlight what you are using as the evidence to prove. For example, evidence could be presented as:
According to Gray (2011, p. 34) in his article Lies, Liars and Lie Detection, ‘There are always exceptions to every rule and because lying is an idiosyncratic behaviour, rigid rules for lie detection have a way of tripping people up’. Gray elaborates on this point by stating that (2011, p. 32) “truth tellers can often feel fearful, guilty and smug in situations where they are being utterly sincere. Because truth tellers are likely to express the same emotions as liars in similar circumstances, emotional leakage is by no means an acid test for falsehood”.
The passage is not explained or interpreted.
A better example:
According to Gray (2011, p. 34), ‘There are always exceptions to every rule and because lying is an idiosyncratic behaviour, rigid rules for lie detection have a way of tripping people up’. The underlying reasons for these exceptions lie in the fact that no two individuals are the same. Each individual has had their own life experiences and exposures to certain experiences throughout their lives, which determine the uniqueness of that individual. As a result of this uniqueness, each individual has their own unique set of anxieties or reactions to certain situations based on their previous life experiences. Therefore, if methods of lie detection are determined based on rigid rules governing nonverbal reactions, little consideration can be made to unique nonverbal communication reactions. For example, in the case of identifying whether an individual is lying under the scrutiny of a criminal investigator, certain assumptions or generic observations are applied to the interpretation of nonverbal cues such as facial expressions. Within the police interrogation context, it is suggested using the generic Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation (1974), that not blinking is a sign that an individual may be trying hard to formulate a lie. However, in using this method of nonverbal communication observation, little consideration is given to other factors that may contribute to an individual not blinking such as whether the individual is fearful of the situation of authority, feeling guilty about something other than the crime they may be accused of, or reacting smugly as they would in any situation where they know they are completely innocent. All situations may constitute the use of nonverbal cues such as that of not blinking but do not necessarily indicate a ‘liar’. Gray elaborates on this point by stating that (2011, p. 32) “truth tellers can often feel fearful, guilty and smug in situations where they are being utterly sincere. Because truth tellers are likely to express the same emotions as liars in similar circumstances, emotional leakage is by no means an acid test for falsehood”.
Notice that the same quotations from the previous example are used again. However, they are now more smoothly integrated into the paragraph and are now interpreted in relation to the argument. Notice also how much longer this example is to the previous one.
• Concluding statement:
Don’t allow your paragraph to stop abruptly after you have supported your argument. You’ve stated your argument, supplied evidence to support it and interpreted the evidence. End your paragraph with a concluding sentence that restates your topic sentence and summates your supporting points within this paragraph, into a final comment about the text. For example:
Weak:
Therefore, no one can really tell if a person is lying.
Better:
Therefore, as individuals react to certain situations in different ways, assessing nonverbal cues such as facial expressions is a practice that cannot be undertaken with an unambiguous approach.
Part D – Reference the two readings you have chosen to focus on for this assignment as well as the textbook.
At university it is necessary to reference every piece of evidence or research that you refer to or cite.
• Referencing may be in Harvard AGPS or APA style in accordance with the referencing style your major units of study require. A guide to referencing is available at the USQ Library website <http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing>.
How your assignment will be assessed
• Evaluation of the credibility of each of your readings
• Accuracy of the outline of the two arguments as they relate to the essay question
• Clarity of your two argument outlines
• Quantity and quality of the evidence found relating to the dot point/s chosen for critical response
• Clarity and correctness of writing and quality of referencing.
The marking template for this assignment is in the course materials.
A guide to writing up your assignment
You are required to submit:
• Heading: Credibility evaluation of article – Author A.
• Heading: Credibility evaluation of article – Author B.
• Heading: ‘Outline of (Author A)’s argument’ Overall argument and dot points for Author A.
• Heading: ‘Outline of (Author B)’s argument’ Overall argument and dot points for Author B.
• Heading: ‘Critical response paragraph’. (Write a critical response based on 1 or 2 of the quotations from your chosen Author.)
• Heading: List of references – (correctly formatted end text references for the 3 sources used in this assignment).
Give your assignment the correct filename
You must give your assignment a filename that includes:
• Your name
• The number of the essay question you’re writing on. For instance: smith j _assignment 1_q3.docx
Submit your assignment to EASE
See the section on Submitting your assignments for details; and the section on Academic integrity and plagiarism.
What skills does this assignment help you develop?
USQ undertakes to develop ten qualities and skills in everyone who graduates from the university. This assignment aims to help you develop:
Skill 1: Ethical research and inquiry (basic level).
Skill 2: Academic and professional literacy, and in particular:
• Research and information literacy (basic level)
• Academic literacy (basic level)
• Critical thinking (intermediate level)
• Referencing (basic level).
Skill 3: Communication, and in particular:
• Expression (intermediate level)
• Writing (intermediate level
• Evaluation of the credibility of each of your readings
• Accuracy of the outline of the two arguments as they relate to the essay question
• Clarity of your two argument outlines
• Quantity and quality of the evidence found relating to the dot point/s chosen for critical response
• Clarity and correctness of writing and quality of referencing.
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