Writers Den

Definition of
Critical Thinking

The first reading
contained the following definition of critical thinking:

According to the
article, Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence in
Critical Thinking,
(http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766), “Critical
thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and/or evaluating
information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience,
reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to belief and action.
(Critical Thinking.org)

This definition
uses words with which you may be unfamiliar. For our assignment this week, you
will need to write an extended definition of each of the following words and
demonstrate how these words apply to the critical thinking process and to your
own experiences:

Conceptualizing

Analyzing

Synthesizing

Your assignment
this week will be a five-paragraph essay, each paragraph should address the
following:

Paragraph One

Begin by writing
your own definition of critical thinking. Consider the following questions to
guide your definition:

What does it mean
to think critically?

What is the
difference between thinking and thinking critically?

What do we gain
or lose by thinking critically?

Paragraphs Two,
Three, and Four

Once you have
your definition of critical thinking, look up the definition for each of the
three words listed above, and, in a paragraph for each word, use those
definitions to describe how each of them apply to your definition of critical
thinking. Be sure to identify the source or sources where you found your
definitions. If you use any direct words from a source, be sure to place those
words in quotation marks.

Paragraph Five

In your
concluding paragraph, give an example or examples of a time or times when you
applied critical thinking in your own life.

Your completed
assignment should be written primarily in first person and should be 500-750
words in length. If you use sources in your writing, be sure to identify them.
If you use any direct language from a source, be sure to place those words in
quotation marks.

Your assignment
should adhere to the stated page length requirement for the week and use APA
style formatting including a title page and reference section. You should use
Times New Roman, 12pt. font, double-spaced lines, and one inch margins. A
description of APA style and the APA template can be found in the Writing
Center.