30 of thinking, one needs to really understand how the elements of the text
constructed and related to each other to form a complete or a whole ideas of the subject matter by analyzing the text or breaking the elements, evaluating the text
or seeing the strengths, and weaknesses and interpreting the text or grabbing the message.
2.1.3.2.3 Nature of Critical Writing
Writing in English as foreign language EFL classes might be a big challenge in which one needs to have enough knowledge on a certain topic that he
or she is going to write in order to be able to produce a good and precise writing. This knowledge and ability to produce a precise writing should be supported by
mastering the ability of proficient English reading and writing. The fact that English mastery and knowledge should support one skill and another might be
another challenge encountered by most of EFL students. On the other hand, writing as a media to deliver critique or one’s critical point of view on something
or things that has been read might be another challenge. The fact is to produce a precise English writing giving a big challenge to EFL students. Then, the ability
to criticize the writing might be another higher level of task that should be performed.
As stated by Gorrell n.d., critical writing or critical response to other’s works is summarizing main ideas and respond to the main ideas as the readers
synthesize what they have read. Gorrell n.d. emphasizes that there are two things in critical writing or critical response: first is the summary and second is the
31 response. The response that Gorrell n.d. emphasizes is not an ordinary response.
It is response that one performs while one is synthesizing or extracting the information. The information he or she gained from reading the articles is applied
to identify the connections in order to be able to perform a powerful idea or argument about the subject matter. On the other hand, Wallace and Wray 2011
propose that the skill of self-critical writing lies in convincing your readers to accept the claims. The act of convincing the readers on the critical writing
provided can be conducted by presenting clear position, strong claims, deeper elaboration, and relevant evidence. The claims presented should be powerful and
logical. Wallace and Wray 2011 emphasize that this can be achieved through effective communication of adequate reasons and evidence. It means a good
reasoning is a powerful way to build critical writing, and evidence is essential. From the points proposed by Gorrell n.d., there are two natures of a
critical writing; the ability to provide the summary of the main ideas and the ability to respond to the main ideas presented. On the other hand, Kurland 2010
states in order to write better, one needs to read better. Regarding the ability to respond to the main ideas, he emphasized that one’s successful in writing
critically should be based on one’s ability to read critically as one stores what he or she read critically in mind and writes it down in form of a response.
This critical writing ability, according to Wallace and Wray 2006, is a matter of providing the summary of the main issues or problems raised by the
author. The main ideas are important but the main issues cannot be left behind because issues are the foundation for the author to build the ideas or the argument
32 of the text presented. On the other hand, Clanchy and Ballard 1991 support
Gorrell’s ideas that one needs to create notes on the ideas to be able to write a summary of the text by identifying its aims and main ideas. Clanchy and Ballard
1991 also propose that in order to write critically, one needs to analyze the text. The analyzing point needs to be produced by analyzing the key content of the
variables in the text. From the points presented by experts above, there are some points building
the nature of critical writing. The first is the summary of main ideas and issues. The second is the response to the main ideas or issues by analyzing the content or
variables and writing critically by reading critically the text. The third is in addition to the point of critical reading as the base of this critical writing, Fisher
2001 state that an evaluation is a way to find out whether the ideas presented is worthy or not or right or wrong.
2.1.3.2.4 Principles of Teaching Critical Writing
