This concise, no-nonsense guide shows students how to adopt a critical approach in order to unlock their academic potential. It explains: - WHAT 'getting critical' means - WHY students need to adopt a critical approach - HOW students can integrate critical analysis into their research, reading and writing Each succinct chapter is visually engaging and informative, and includes plenty of snippets of real students' work to show readers what good critical writing looks like. This 3rd edition has been updated throughout, and now contains new chapters on getting critical with numbers and critical appraisal, fresh examples from a wider range of assignments and more STEM examples. _Getting Critical_ is an invaluable resource for all students who are required to write essays, reports and other pieces of extended writing as part of their course. It is also an ideal text to be used in conjunction with study skills programmes and critical thinking modules at Higher Education and Further Education level.