Today’s video provides a special session on critical analysis that is an essential requirement in this course and that I’ll be looking for in your papers. At the end, I offer some tips for writing a grade A paper.

Critical analysis. When you have to evaluate an argument, let’s say in a book, how do you critically assess the content? First, every book has limits! One limit is length. An author has a limited number of words so they can’t say everything. A good first step, then, is to think in terms of strengths and limitations. As you read, take notes. What are the strengths of the book and what are the limitations of the book?

Second, let’s talk about the content within the book. Is the author consistent? That’d be good. Or is the author self-contradictory? That’d be a major weakness. What about evidence? Does the author provide balanced evidence? A good book presents both sides of the argument. A book that quotes the Bible fairly gives a complete sense of what the Bible says, rather than only quoting Bible verses that seem to fit with the argument. So when you evaluate the content of a book, consider: Is the perspective balanced? Is the evidence balanced?

The next level of criticism is to step out of the content within the book and ask yourself: Does the author’s argument correspond to my own experience and knowledge? I’ll give you an example. Suppose someone tells you that churches should stop telling people how to vote. Sounds good. But how many times have you heard a leader of the church tell the congregation how to vote? So, to what extent is this really a problem? And many more questions can be raised. We all need to think about how an author’s message corresponds to our own experiences and reality.

Finally, I have a real challenge for you. The last level of criticism is to move beyond the content of the book to the author. How does the author benefit from you believing their message? How will the author personally benefit? What bias does the author have? What are their motives? Now, I think it’s easy to hear someone talk about a verse in the Bible or to talk about science and assume that there can’t be too much bias. But one really important point to remember for life is that the Bible provides many perspectives. At one point, the Bible teaches us to act; and at another point, to wait. At one point, the Bible talks about the blessedness that is upon those who obey God, and at another, we are reminded that God allows suffering even on the righteous. There is a lot the Bible says about justice and punishment, and then there is a lot about mercy and forgiveness. It takes wisdom to know how to act in a given situation. But beware of a book that only speaks of one side of Scripture or only quotes certain parts of Scripture.

More to come on this topic in the coming weeks. God bless!