Critical review

How it is used

Used in coursework and research writing when comparing studies, judging quality, and building an informed academic argument.

Example sentences

1. Her critical review of the policy papers showed that most authors made broad claims without reporting comparable data.

   Here the term means an evaluative reading that judges the quality of evidence and reasoning rather than merely listing sources.

2. The lecturer asked for a critical review, so I discussed the sample limitations instead of only describing each article.

   In this example, the term signals a task requiring analysis and judgment, especially about how reliable each study is.

Common collocations

• write a critical review
• critical review of the literature
• publish a critical review

Related terms

• literature reviewA critical summary of what has already been published on a topic, showing the main ideas, debates and gaps that a new study responds to.
• argumentA position supported by reasons and evidence, or the line of reasoning that runs through an essay, article or thesis.

More terms: Literature Review

• literature
• research gap
• theoretical framework
• seminal
• synthesize
• draw on
• build on
• primary source
• secondary source
• systematic review
• database
• meta-analysis