Writing a Critical Essay

A vital part of writing a critical essay is to analyse supporting evidence. This means you should not just add information from articles or newpapers reports wholesale (word-for-word). You need to 'carry out a dialogue' with the evidence you are providing. A good critical essay will have relevant supporting evidence that add credibility to your arguments. The following task will help you to search for and analyse supporting evidence.

Task: Write a response of at least 200 words to the statement below:

'Euthanasia should be legalised'

1) Before writing your essay, you should do the following:

a) Search for information on the latest debates concerning the topic (e.g. Factival/E-library)

b) Provide some statistics and figures related to the topic (both for and against euthanasia) ifpossible or case-studies (stories of patients)

c) Include the opinions of medical practitioners and carers (e.g. family members)

3) Carry out a discussion/debate (rebuttals and counter-arguments) with the information you obtained from (1) by adding your personal views and opinions.

Note: An example of a rebuttal could be : 'the writer of the articule/report fails to....'

'An example of a counter argument: 'While I agree generally with the argument stated, however, I....'

Finally, remember to post your comment as marks will be given for this task. You must finish it by the end of today's lesson. Have fun :)