Critical Thinking is "the careful, deliberate determination of whether we should accept, reject, or suspend judgment about a claim, and the degree of confidence with which we accept or reject it."

From Critical Thinking by Moore and Parker.

Strategies for Critical Reading

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the issue?"
• What conclusion does the author reach about the issue?"
• What are the author's reasons for believing as he does?"
  • Be alert to bad reasoning (i.e. pity, fear, misuse of statistics etc.) that can fool you.
• Has the author used facts or opinions?
  • Facts can be proven.
  • Opinions cannot be proven and may or may not be based on sound reasoning.
• Has the author used neutral words or emotional words?
  • Critical readers look beyond the language to see if the reasons are clear.

Characteristics of Critical Thinkers

• They are honest with themselves
• They resist manipulation
• They overcome confusion
• They ask questions
• They base judgments on evidence
• They look for connections between subjects
• They are intellectually independent
  
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