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How was critical thinking cultivated during an eight week EAP writing…
How was critical thinking cultivated during an eight week EAP writing course? 
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lack of logical thinking training and some foundation needed into what is an argument, what is evaluation, what is an academic opinion?
emphasis in materials that essay questions require more than a yes/no or + and- response. Evaluation of different perspectives needed rather than presenting polarised opinions
encouraging stds to understand that there are a range of stances in relation to the essay question= developing a tolerance for ambiguity and encouraging students to 'make up their own mind' about how to organise their response to the essay question -> intellectual courage; fostering independence
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students encouraged to reflect on the use of the prescribed source texts. Encouraged to re evaluate their assumptions as they read more
advice on helping students choose suitable ways to incorporate evidence i.e when to use direct quotation vs paraphrase
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Focus on contextualised grammar items, but opportunities for critical thinking lacking
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prompted students to comment when the information they read was new to them, extended or challenged their previous beliefs/understanding
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analysis of a sample essay to help students identify : the genre, academic conventions
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Directing students to the 'relevant' or 'right' evidence in sources- sometimes necessary but inhibits their own development
little opportunity for freer discussion on the essay questions/source texts. This would help students make their own meaning of the source texts first.-> verbal reasoning?
Much consensus of opinions towards topics. Tutor felt they could have interrogated areas of consensus more to generate discussion
emphasised role of the student writer i.e the need to persuade your readers of your argument, choose the best evidence and not just any evidence
Providing written feedback which enters into a dialogue with the student, questioning and prompting them to defend their
written opinions
Some deeper exploration of lexical items in the texts and how the author's choice of words conveys a particular meaning i.e identifying dimensions of meaning that may be concealed or missing
activities on identifying the genre, audience and purpose of each text-> understanding what something is, is often the first step in understanding what it says
developing inference i.e making connections between different types of texts and types of knowledge e.g Do the authors have similar or opposing views on the impact of water scarcity?
The issue of water scarcity presented in several global case studies in the prescribed sources raises critical consciousness
presenting media as well as textual sources of information for students to use in their essay responses-> challenged assumption that only scholarly textual sources can be used in student academic work
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How was critical thinking inhibited during an eight week EAP writing course?
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I only showed them one model of paragraph organisation- students throught there was only one way to structure this
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The term 'governance'; in the essay title raised some critical interaction. We had a good discussion on their previous understanding of the term.
Little attention in the course to the less overt bias or subjectivity of the texts e.g a connecting the author/publication bias with the article's argument
Language to compare sources of evidence presented, but how language choices influence the meaning not explored
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Tutor felt they could have created more opportunities for students to orally defend opinions they had expressed in their essays