What, Why, and How?
2
CRITICAL THINKING
Definition and rationale
Breaking down critical thinking into categories
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Applying higher and lower levels of thinking in writing
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
- Critical thinking is a set of skills designed to help the thinker analyze, assess and question
a given situation or reading.
- Critical thinking skills push the thinker to reject simplistic conclusions based on human
irrationality, false assumptions, prejudices, biases and anecdotal evidence.
- Critical thinking skills give thinkers confidence that they can see issues which are complex
and which have several answers and points of view and that opinions and insights can
change with new information.
WHAT DO CRITICAL THINKERS DO?
* Consider all sides of an issue
* Judge well the quality of an argument
* Judge well the credibility of sources
* Create convincing arguments using sound evidence and analysis
* Effectively recognize and use ethos (ethics), pathos (empathy) and logos (logic) in argument
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
People will listen to and respect critical thinkers with these abilities because…
Considering all sides of an issue means they are open-minded, informed, and mindful of alternatives and
other points of view.
Judging well the quality of an argument means they can effectively identify and evaluate another’s
reasons, assumptions and conclusions and not be fooled into believing false or unsubstantiated claims.
Judging well the credibility of sources means they can recognize and present the most reputable,
trustworthy and convincing evidence.
Creating convincing arguments using sound evidence and analysis means they can formulate plausible
hypotheses and draw conclusions which are thoughtful and verifiable.
Effectively recognizing and using ethos, pathos and logos in argument means they construct wellcrafted points using a balance of morality and ethics, consideration and empathy for others, as well as sound
and logical reasoning.
HOW DO I USE CRITICAL THINKING?
Breaking down into categories how to analyze a topic or text (one written by you or another author) will help
you examine it thoroughly and critically. Use the guiding questions to assist you:
Clarity: Is it understandable and can the meaning be clearly grasped?
Is the main idea clear?
Can examples be added to better illustrate the points?
Are there confusing or unrelated points?
Accuracy: Is it free from errors or distortions—is it true?
Do I need to verify the truth of the claims?
Is credible evidence used correctly and fairly?
Is additional research needed?
Precision: Is it exact with specific details?
Can the wording be more exact?
Are the claims too general?
Are claims supported with concrete evidence?
Relevance: How does it relate to the topic or assignment?
Does it help illuminate the topic or assignment?
Does it provide new or important information?
Who does the content have the most relevance for?
Depth: Does it contain complexities and delve into the larger implications?
What are some of the complexities explored?
What are some of the difficulties that should be addressed?
What are the larger implications or impact?
HOW DO I USE CRITICAL THINKING?
Breadth: Does it encompass multiple viewpoints?
Do I need to look at this from another perspective?
What other people would have differing viewpoints?
Do I need to look at this in other ways?
Logic: Do the parts make sense together and are there no contradictions?
Do all the points work together logically to prove one clear argument?
Does one paragraph follow logically from the next?
Does the evidence directly prove the main points ?
Significance: Does it focus on what is important?
Is this the most important aspect to consider?
Which of the facts or points are the most important?
Does it examine a larger significance?
Fairness: Is it justifiable and not self-serving or one-sided?
Do I have any vested interest in this issue that can affect my reaction?
Is personal bias or a hidden agenda driving the point?
Are the viewpoints of others sympathetically represented?
PRACTICE
Use this chart to help you apply these critical thinking
categories to a particular text or topic:
(Pause)
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Benjamin Bloom, a
well-respected American
educational psychologist,
headed a group who
developed a classification
of levels of intellectual
behavior important in
learning. The image of the
pyramid gives a visual of
how lower level thinking
builds up to higher level
thinking.
This hierarchy shows how a
critical thinker can build
upon and consciously
employ multiple levels of
thinking and learning:
PRACTICE
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Analyze a Text
When you analyze a text, you want to be able to employ all of the levels of thinking. Let’s take a
look at a passage from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
I was now about twelve years old, and the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon
my heart. Just about this time, I got hold of a book entitled The Columbian Orator. Every opportunity
I got, I used to read this book. Among much of other interesting matter, I found in it a dialogue
between a master and his slave. The slave was represented as having run away from his master
three times. The dialogue represented the conversation which took place between them, when the
slave was retaken the third time. In this dialogue, the whole argument in behalf of slavery was
brought forward by the master, all of which was disposed of by the slave. The slave was made to say
some very smart as well as impressive things in reply to his master—things which had the desired
though unexpected effect; for the conversation resulted in the voluntary emancipation of the slave on
the part of the master.
Continued…
PRACTICE
Either using this
passage from
Narrative of the
Life of Frederick
Douglass or your
current reading
assignment, fill in
an example
sentence (in the
white boxes below)
that demonstrates
each level of
thinking. An
example has been
included for each
level to guide you.
(Pause)
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Analyze a Text—Continued
APPLYING THE LEVELS OF THINKING IN YOUR WRITING
Now that we have looked at the hierarchy of low level to high level thinking, you as an academic writer want to
make sure that your writing includes and is lead by the higher level skills of analyzing, evaluating and creating
and does not get stuck solely in the lower levels of remembering (defining and repeating) and understanding
(reporting and summarizing).
In academic writing, you want a balance of higher and lower order thinking but be sure to LEAD the paper
with higher order thinking so reporting and summarizing does not take over your paper.
EXAMPLE
Here is a paragraph from the sample essay on Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
The higher levels of thinking are in bold and the lower levels of thinking are not:
PRACTICE
Identifying Higher and Lower Levels of Thinking
Using this paragraph from an essay written on The Autobiography of Malcolm X,
underline the parts that demonstrate higher order thinking:
The diligence and persistent effort Malcolm X showed in learning to read has become
disappointingly rare. Malcolm X in his autobiography tells us that when he went to prison, he could
hardly read or write. He decided the way to improve would be to copy the entire dictionary word for
word by hand. He said to copy just the first page alone took an entire day. The next day he
reviewed all the words he did not remember, so he slowly built his vocabulary, and at the same time
he started educating himself about the larger world as he describes the dictionary as a “miniature
encyclopedia” (2). Malcolm X carried on until he copied the entire dictionary cover to cover.
However, the time he dedicated to his writing was not confined to this amazing achievement alone:
“Between what I wrote in my tablet, and writing letters, during the rest of my time in prison
I would guess I wrote a million words” (2). The dedication to his own education and how he
strengthened his own intelligence and abilities through sheer force of will is impressive but
unfortunately is the exception rather than the norm. In Generation Me, the author Jean Twenge
addresses the present generation of people who have been taught to put themselves first and expect
instant results without working hard to achieve them. Twenge states: “They are less likely to work
hard today to get a reward tomorrow—an especially important skill these days, when many good
jobs require graduate degrees” (157). If people are less willing today to work hard, then we are
going to have increasingly uneducated, lazy people who spend more time complaining than
achieving. With a lack of education we won’t be strong critical thinkers so will be easily taken in by
people who want to exploit us for profit like advertisers and corporate America. Instead of defining
who we are, people who want to sell us things will continue to shape our wants, desires and
perceptions of ourselves.
(Pause)
ANSWER
Using this paragraph from an essay on Malcolm
X’s autobiography, underline the parts that
demonstrate higher order thinking:
The diligence and persistent effort Malcolm X showed in learning to read has
become disappointingly rare. Malcolm X in his autobiography tells us that when he went to prison,
he could hardly read or write. He decided the way to improve would be to copy the entire dictionary
word for word by hand. He said to copy just the first page alone took an entire day. The next day he
reviewed all the words he did not remember, so he slowly built his vocabulary, and at the same time
he started educating himself about the larger world as he describes the dictionary as a “miniature
encyclopedia” (2). Malcolm X carried on until he copied the entire dictionary cover to cover.
However, the time he dedicated to his writing was not confined to this amazing achievement alone:
“Between what I wrote in my tablet, and writing letters, during the rest of my time in prison
I would guess I wrote a million words” (2). The dedication to his own education and how he
strengthened his own intelligence and abilities through sheer force of will is impressive but
unfortunately is the exception rather than the norm. In Generation Me, the author Jean Twenge
addresses the present generation of people who have been taught to put themselves first and expect
instant results without working hard to achieve them. Twenge states: “They are less likely to work
hard today to get a reward tomorrow—an especially important skill these days, when many good
jobs require graduate degrees” (157). If people are less willing today to work hard, then we are
going to have increasingly uneducated, lazy people who spend more time complaining than
achieving. With a lack of education we won’t be strong critical thinkers so will be easily taken
in by people who want to exploit us for profit like advertisers and corporate America. Instead
of defining who we are, people who want to sell us things will continue to shape our wants,
desires and perceptions of ourselves.
that concludes
2
CRITICAL THINKING