English for Critical Analysis

Overview

Start building your analysis skills through topics that invite close reading and thoughtful response. You begin with technology, where you examine artificial intelligence and big data as you practice separating facts from opinions, spotting generalizations and overgeneralizations, and supporting your own views with evidence.

You then turn to customs and cultural perception, using texts and video to identify an author's purpose, recognize positive and negative bias, and consider how customs shape meaning. Across vocabulary work, comprehension checks, instructional activities, skill practice, interactions, quizzes, and evaluation tasks, you strengthen the language you need to analyze ideas rather than just react to them.

By the end of the course, you will be able to explain purpose, bias, and factual support more clearly and express your own perspective in English with stronger reasoning.

Syllabus

• Technology
In this module, you will explore the multifaceted role of technology in our lives, focusing on artificial intelligence and big data. You will develop critical thinking skills to distinguish between facts and opinions, and identify generalizations and overgeneralizations within technological discussions. Through engaging activities, you will analyze various perspectives on technology's impact and learn to support your own ideas with evidence.
• Customs
This module delves into the concept of customs and their influence on individual and societal perceptions. You will learn to identify the author's purpose—to persuade, inform, or entertain—in various media, and critically analyze content for underlying biases. Through a case study on cultural identity and photography, you will explore how customs shape our understanding of the world and develop the ability to articulate your own perspectives.

---

Taught by

John Deal, Director ASU Global Launch

---

Subjects

Personal Development