Critical Thinking and Literacy Skills in Student Scientific Writing: Evidence from Universitas Terbuka

Abstract

Teaching scientific writing has been compulsory in many Indonesian universities. It is usually the main indicator for completing an undergraduate program. Despite this fact, not only do universities apply similar policies, but training in that particular skill is also an increasingly common trend. The Open University of Indonesia, widely known as Universitas Terbuka, is the biggest and the only university that administers distance learning in the state, to implement this policy. An example is the existence of a scientific writing course, a compulsory course in the English Education Department of the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, where the course is taught to all students as a requirement to graduate from the university. This research was established by selecting seven participants who were enrolled in the course. The objective is to assess the appearance of critical thinking and literacy among students who have been trained in the subject. Seven academic papers representing these seven students were analyzed to identify traces of both necessary skills for conducting research: critical thinking and literacy. The qualitative method was chosen to determine whether students write using critical thinking and literacy. After analyzing the data, the researcher concluded positive findings on the use of both skills, although not all students performed well. However, one particular student showed a unique pattern in applying these skills. In terms of critical thinking, the researcher identified three sequences, while pairing techniques were employed in critical literacy to accommodate this skill's presence.