Critical Writing


Take a look at this website on what essay grades mean. You'll see that "analyzing," "synthesizing," and "critical thinking"  are highly prized and absolutely necessary for high essay marks.  In general, this means that we want you to move beyond a repetition and into the realm of analysis.  You should treat references as what they are -- the work of real people, not the voice of pure truth.  There are two steps involved: choosing references critically, and then critically reading the ones you've chosen.

1. Choose references critically.

 How authoritative are the sources you've found?  Are they peer reviewed?  If not, what is their claim to authority?  Are they primary or secondary sources?

Books
We would like you to find books relevant to your topic and to draw from them as much as possible. See the University Catalog, and please rely primarily on Gerstein Science Library. You may find it useful to look up books on another database, like Amazon.com's or NASA ADS, and then find the same books in the University Catalog and libraries.

Internet sources
Textbooks are almost exclusively secondary sources, which means that they summarize information you can find elsewhere.  Your TA will be annoyed if you rely on these for your paper, especially if you're using the textbooks from your own classes.
Good textbooks give references to their sources (primary and secondary sources).

Online articles
See the Writing Centre's guidance on citing the sources.   If you use them, we prefer that you to provide information on whose view they represent, what institutional affiilitation or claim to authority they have, and when you accessed the site. 

The very easiest ones to identify come up on Google, with Wikipedia being a top example.  Most of these cannot be used in your paper because either they are not a real publication, or it is not clear who the author is.   However, you can always use them to learn about your topic and find more references.  You might find articles on magazines like astrobiology.com, space.com, or Science News.  These can be cited, but they're secondary sources too.  We will be much more impressed if you trace the information back to its source.  Journal or magazine articles that appear online can be cited as if you read them in print.

Institutional publications (NASA, NSF, NSERC, CSA, ESA, etc.) are acceptable but you must be very careful to evaluate them (see below).  Institutions always have a point of view.

Very useful sources:  Nature and Science magazines, which frequently have review articles on astrobiology topics.  These journals can be viewed from within the Univ. of Toronto or by using the my.access protocol. Also see the Publications of the U.S. National Academies of Science (PNAS). 

Also, consider the NASA ADS article query for a searchable database of astronomy-related articles and some books.  This requires extra work, since most of these will be too technical to use.  Google Scholar can also be of help.

2. Evaluate your sources critically.

The mark of a good research paper is a critical reading, evaluation, and presentation of the arguments and facts in your sources.  Think of yourself as an investigative reporter trying to get to the bottom of the story.   Don't get drawn into one source's biased view of the world, the way Judy Miller (NYT) did prior to the Iraq war!

See the Writing Centre's notes on critical reading and consider the following advice:

Look for the bias or point of view. 
Scientists are often wedded to their preferred theory, model, or interpretation.  This does not invalidate their work, but if they take a particular stance (especially an oppositional or controversial one), it should be acknowledged when citing them.   A good example would be articles by the proponents of panspermia.  The theory is not widely believed, but an uncritical reading of some sources has produced papers that don't appear to recognize this.

Likewise, institutional or corporate publications will ususally reflect an underlying motive (the desire for more funding or for public approval, for instance).

Look for opposing viewpoints.
Even if you are not doing a debate-analysis paper, or if you have chosen a position of your own, you must present opposing viewpoints if you can find them.  Analyzing the arguments on each side of a debate always leads to a stronger and more nuanced paper in the end.  It may erode your ability to make your point unequivocably, but this is always worth it.

Think for yourself.
Do not hide entirely behind the words and arguments of others (for instance, don't over-quote).  If you see something to comment on or criticize, do so. 

Thesis statements
An important part of thinking for yourself is deciding how you want to present your point of view.  One popular and successful method is the thesis statement.  Please read the advice page on thesis statements and consider carefully what works best for your paper.

3. Some important links:

I strongly recommend the University of Toronto Writing Centre's guidance on how to construct good essays and research papers.
  1. Especially useful is the Writing about Physics advice, which you should read before starting on the research paper. 
  2. Also quite useful are the pages on grammar and style,
  3. Please be sure to read "how not to plagiarize".
  4. Citation style: There are several citation styles to choose from; see the Writing Centre's page on documentation formats.  Just be sure to adhere to the guidlines in how not to plagiarize.
  5. If you feel the need for more help with composition, grammar, or punctuation, please consider these online resources.