| Skill |
Definition |
Examples |
| Comparing and contrasting |
Identifying similarities and differences between two or more concepts |
To prepare for a sociology exam, you identify similarities and differences between Marxism and socialism. You want a new smartphone, so you compare and contrast data plans and other terms offered by several vendors to see which vendor offers the best deal.
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| Deducing |
Arriving at a conclusion using reason and logic |
You notice that all your friends who take time to study for exams get better grades than those who don’t study. You deduce that you can improve your grades if you study more. Someone you’ve dated several times has stopped responding to your texts and avoids looking at you in class. You conclude that this person has lost interest in spending time with you.
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| Synthesizing |
Combining facts into a larger understanding of a concept |
In your computer programming class, you learn that different techniques for finding and fixing software bugs all have limitations. You figure out a way to combine several techniques to compensate for their various limitations so that you can find and fix more bugs. As a marketing assistant, you review and synthesize comments from a focus group assembled to examine a new product. Participants’ comments suggest that the product name is intriguing but that it doesn’t communicate the product’s key benefits clearly.
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| Evaluating |
Judging the authenticity or soundness of an argument |
For a journalism class assignment, you read an article arguing against vaccinating children and adults against influenza (the flu) because the vaccine can have side effects and doesn’t guarantee immunity. You judge the argument weak because the author doesn’t address the fact that vaccination significantly lowers hospitalization rates for the flu.3 Your boss says you can’t have a raise because the company is having financial troubles. After evaluating the situation, you question this explanation because the company is hiring new employees.
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| Prioritizing |
Determining the order of importance of tasks |
To complete a term paper on the American Revolution, you list all the tasks involved (such as reading source materials, preparing an outline, and writing and revising the paper). You decide that the most important tasks are those that all the others depend on, such as reading sources, and those that will take the most time, such as preparing an outline. Your manager has just given you several new responsibilities. You prioritize those that directly support an important goal your manager has set for the team: increasing sales.
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