A Process of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking, like critical reading, draws on a cluster of intellectual strategies and skills.
For more on critical reading, see Ch. 2.
| Critical Thinking Skill | Definition | Applications for Readers | Applications for Writers |
| Analysis | Breaking down information into its parts and elements | Analyzing the information in articles, reports, and books to grasp the facts and concepts they contain | Analyzing events, ideas, processes, and structures to understand them and explain them to readers |
| Synthesis | Putting together elements and parts to form new wholes | Synthesizing information from several sources, examining implications, and drawing conclusions supported by reliable evidence | Synthesizing source materials with your own thoughts in order to convey the unique combination to others |
| Evaluation | Judging according to standards or criteria | Evaluating a reading by determining standards for judging, applying them to the reading, and arriving at a conclusion about its value, significance, or credibility | Evaluating something in writing by convincing readers that your standards are reasonable and that the subject either does or does not meet those standards |
These three activities — analysis, synthesis, and evaluation — are the core of critical thinking. They are not new to you, but applying them rigorously in college-level reading and writing may be. When you approach college reading and writing tasks, instructors will expect you (and you should expect yourself) to think, read, write, and think some more.
