The role of critical analysis and research

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This article is specifically to help students who are undertaking their L6M4 Future Strategic Challenges for the Profession exam. 

To make the most of this module, and indeed all constructive response exams at Level 6 Professional Diploma, you must engage in critical analysis.  Critical analysis is the detailed examination and evaluation of another person’s ideas or work. It is your analysis and interpretation of your reading. 

In other words, get off the fence, give your viewpoint and ensure you are questioning texts rather than just accepting them as gospel.

For your L6M4 module, you will have to engage in detailed research, there is no textbook to rely on here (not that you should be anyway!) Therefore you will need to engage in critical reading.  Critical reading goes beyond mere description by offering opinions and making a response to what has been written. 

It relates different writings to each other, indicating their differences and contradictions & highlights what they are lacking.  Importantly as I mentioned above, critical reading does not take what is written at face value.

When engaging in your reading you should be aware and try to be explicit about values and theories that text has which may bias and colour their arguments.  Ideally, you should view research writing as something to be contested, within which alternative views and positions can be taken up. 

Therefore you mustn’t just read texts which support your viewpoint.  All you are doing here is creating an echo chamber of your views.  Actively seek out and think of alternative theories and arguments, all of this will strengthen your answers and lead to higher marks.

We hope you have found this useful. 

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3
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5
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4
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Level 5 Diamond Timetable

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November 2023
M1 & M2
4
4th Oct, 11th Oct, 18th Oct, 25th Oct, 1st Nov, 8th Nov
March 2024
M5, M15 & M9
4
31st Jan, 7th Feb, 21st Feb, 28th Feb, 6th March
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M3 & M8
4
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3
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5
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6
23rd Jan, 30th Jan, 6th Feb, 20th Feb, 27th Feb, 5th March
May 2024
M4 & M6
4
9th April, 16th April, 23rd April, 30th April
July 2024
M8
3
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