CRITICAL THINKING

SKILLS

Critical

Exercising or involving careful judgement

(The only kind of thinking that will hold up

under careful examination is logical
thinking- thinking that is reasonable,
reliable and believable.)

Logical
- in accordance with the inferences
reasonably to be drawn from preceding or
surrounding events or circumstances

Thinking
logically
means
thinking
sensibly. It means looking at all sides of a
question, proposing reasonable and
sensible solutions, and then supporting
the
solutions
with
good
reason,
interesting example, and solid evidence.

The Logical Thinking Process

1. Decide on the purpose and state it clearly.
2. Gather information on the topic.
3. Focus on a central point which can support or
prove. This is called making a claim.
Claims fall into three main groups: claims of
fact, claims of value, claims of policy.

a. Claims of fact state or claim that something is true

or not true.
ex: Television violence causes violent behaviour in
children.
b. Claims of value state that something has or does
not have worth.
ex: The Bigfoot Cross- Trainer is the best all-around
shoe for the money.
c. Claims of policy assert that something ought to be
done or not done.
ex: We need a law to prevent any more farmland
from being terms into suburban housing.

4. Add qualifiers as necessary to strengthen the claim.

Qualifiers are terms that make a claim more flexible. Note
the difference between the two claims below:
Teachers ignore students excuses.
Some teachers tend to ignore students excuses.
The second claim is easier to defend because it makes a
qualified claims rather than an all-or nothing claim. Some
of the useful qualifiers are:
almost
if .......then.......
maybe
probably
frequently in most cases
might
sometimes
often
likely
usually
5. Define any term that maybe unclear.

6. Support the points with evidence that is both

interesting and reliable. A claim needs
evidence for support. The more kinds of
evidence one offers and stronger the
evidence, the stronger his argument will be.
Observation: I personally observed the
audiences reaction to the movie.
Statistics: According to Entertainment Weekly,
over 2 million people saw the movie in the
first week.

Comparison: The movie was almost as moving

as Schindlers List.
Expert Testimony: Siskel and Ebert gave it two
thumbs up.
Experience: Ive seen it three times.
Demonstration: The movie begins with the wide
shot of.......
Analysis: The plot hinges on the secret that...
Prediction: Early predictions are that it will be
nominated......

7. Explain the evidence and why others should accept

it.
8. Consider any objections others could have to ones
explanation.
9. Make concessions; admit that some of the
arguments maybe weak. Concessions are points that
one lets the other side score. When an argument has
some true weaknesses, it is usually best to admit it. A
concession often adds believability to an overall claim.
Here are some useful expressions for making
concessions:
Admittedly
I cannot argue with
Even though
I agree that
granted

10. Point out weaknesses in the arguments on

the other side of the issue, the arguments one
does not accept.
11. Restate the point or central claim.
12. Urge the audience to accept the viewpoint.
One will not use all of these steps, or stage,
each time he sets out to prove a point. Each
situation is different and, in addition to logic,
requires some creative thinking and common
sense.

Using Evidence and Logic

An argument is a claim of reasons that a
person uses to support a claim or
conclusion. To use argument well, one
needs to know both how to draw logical
conclusions from sound evidence and how
to recognize and avoid false arguments or
logical fallacies.

Fallacies of Thinking
1. Appeal to Ignorance
One commits this logical fallacy by
claiming that since no one has ever proved a
claim, it must therefore be false. Appeals to
ignorance unfairly shift the burden of proof to
someone else.
Ex: Show me one study that proven seat belts
save lives.

2.Appeal to Pity

This fallacy may be heard in courts of law

when an attorney begs for leniency because
his clients mother is ill and so on. The strong
tag on the heartstring can also be heard in the
classroom when students say may I have an
extension on this paper?
Ex: Imagine what is must have been like. If
anyone deserves a break, he does.

3. Bandwagon
This is appeal to everyones sense of
wanting to belong or be accepted and tries
to avoid the real question-Is this idea or
claim a good one or not?
Ex: Everyone on the team wears high-tops.
Its the only way to go.

4. Broad Generalization
This takes in everything and everyone at
once, allowing no exceptions All voters spend
too little time reading about a candidate and too
much time being swayed by 30-second sound
bites. It may be true that quite a few voters
spend too little time reading about the
candidates, but it is unfair to suggest that this is
true of all voters.
Ex: All teenagers spend too much time watching
television.

5. Circular Thinking
This fallacy consists of assuming, in a
definition or an argument, the very point one is
trying to prove.
Ex: I hate Mr. Baldwins class because Im
never happy in there.
(But whats wrong with the class?)

6. Either- or Thinking
This consists of reducing a solution to two
possible extremes. This fallacy of thinking
eliminates every possibility in the middle.
Ex: Either this community votes to build a
new school or the quality of education will
drop dramatically.

7. Half-Truths
Avoid building an argument with evidence
or statements that contain part of the truth, but
not the whole truth. They are especially
misleading because they leave out The rest
of the story. They are true and dishonest at
the same time.
Ex: The new recycling law is bad because it
will cost more money than it saves. (Maybe
so; but it will also save the environment.)

8.Oversimplification
This is signified by the phrases
It all boils down to.....
Its a simple question of.....
Ex: Capital punishment is a simple question
of protecting society.

9. Slanted Language
By choosing words that carry strong positive
or negative feelings, a person can distract the
audience, leading them away from valid
arguments being made.
I am firm. You are obstinate. He is
pigheaded.
Bias in comparing three synonyms for the
word stubborn.

10. Testimonial
If the testimonial or statement comes
from a recognized authority in the field,
great. If it comes from a person famous in
another field, it can be misleading.
Sports hero : Ive tried every cold medicine
on the market, and - believe me - nothing
works like Comptrol.

Critical Thinking Skills

1. Syllogistic Reasoning
2. Decision from an assumption
3. Interpretation
4. Evaluation of arguments
5. Numerical Arguments
6. Reasoning about groups or categories using
All or Some statement
7. Reasoning based on Either or Neither
statement
8. Reasoning about parts of group using some,
Most, A Few, Almost All or Many
statement
9. Reasoning from If-Then statements
10.Reasoning by drawing probable conclusions

Reviewer-Critical Thinking Skills

I.
II.

Skill: Syllogistic Reasoning

Concept: Syllogism is a logical scheme or analysis of a
formal argument consisting of three propositions- the
major premise, the minor premise and the conclusion.
The conclusion necessarily follows from the premises, so
that if these are true, the conclusions must be true, and
the argument amounts to demonstration, as in the
following example:
Every virtue is laudable.
Kindness is a virtue.
Therefore, kindness is laudable.

The major premise is usually treated as a

general rule of which the major premise is a
case and the conclusion is an application.
The two premises are related by a middle or
common term which disappears in the
conclusion; and for this reason, the syllogism
is often treated as a process of elimination.

The formal validity of the syllogism is

entirely distinct from its truth, which depends
upon the truth of its premises; hence, the use
of the syllogism, as any piece of deductive
reasoning, may be either to prove a
conclusion by showing that it follows from
known premises or to test the truth of
premises by showing what follows from them.

III. Activities/Exercises
Set A
Directions: Read and analyse the items
very carefully. Choose the letter of the
correct answer.
1. Tanya is older than Eric.
Cliff is older than Tanya.
Based on this, we validly conclude that
A. Cliff is older than Eric.
B. Eric is older than Cliff.
C. Tanya is older than Cliff.
D. Eric and Cliff are older than Tanya.

Set B
Directions: Read and analyse the items very
carefully. Choose the letter of the correct
answer.
1. One of the warmest winters on record has put
consumers in the mood to spend money.
Spending is likely to be the strongest in
thirteen years. During the month of February,
sales of existing family homes hit an annual
record rate of 4.75 million.
This paragraph best supports the statement
that

A. Consumer spending will be higher

thirteen years from now than it is today.
B. More people buy houses in the month of
February than in any other month.
C. During the winter months, the prices of
single family homes are the lowest.
D. Warm winter weather is likely to affect
the rate of home sales.