Critical thinking

• What is critical thinking?
  • Am I a critical thinker?
• Developing critical thinking skills
  • Reading critically
  • Persuasion and argument
• Analysis of an argument
  • Assertion
  • Evidence
  • Assumptions
  • Reasoning
• Putting it all together
• Critical thinking tips

You use critical thinking skills every day - think about the process you go through when you buy a new piece of equipment, or choosing where to go on holiday. At university you need to use critical thinking skills in your reading, and demonstrate critical thinking skills in your writing.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking involves reading and writing critically. Reading critically means examining different points of view with an open and enquiring mind, evaluating your own position, and drawing conclusions as to whether a particular point of view is persuasive. Writing critically means presenting your conclusions in a clear and well-reasoned way to persuade others.

When you think critically, you:

• analyse - break things down
• synthesise - bring parts together in a coherent way
• evaluate - make judgements, based on sound evidence