Critical Thinking

What is Critical Thinking?

• Critical Thinking is the importance of asking and answering the appropriate questions
• In Higher Education the term critical is to get the truth through reasoned question and answer.
• We must always ask question.
• Critically we do not accept what we hear and see at face value

Model To Generate Critical Thinking

Following this model is fairly simple, first off you have the subject to generate critical thinking you must ask a series of questions these being:

• What
• This identifies the issue.
• What is this about?
• What is the context/ situation?
• What is the main point/ problem/ topic to be explored?
• Where
• Where does this take place.
• Who
• Who does this effect.
• Who is this by?
• Who is involved?
• Who is affected?
• Who might be interested?
• When
• When does this occur.

All of these provide your description, providing with introductory and background information to contextualize problem/ topic.

• How
• Allows you to look at the processes of work.
• How did this occur?
• How does it work?
• How does the one factor affect another?
• How do the parts fit into the whole?
• Why
• Explains in-depth, addresses causes using theory.
• Why did this occur?
• Why was that done?
• Why this argument/ theory/ suggestion/ solution?
• Why not something else?
• What If?
• What if this were wrong?
• What are the alternatives?
• What if there were a problem?
• what if this or that factor were added or removed?

Once you have asked all of these question you should be able to perform your analysis.

• So what?
• What does this mean?
• Why is this significant?
• Is this convincing? Why/Why not?
• What are the implications?
• Is it successful?
• How does it meet the criteria
• What Next?
• Is it transferable?
• How and where else can it be applied?
• What can be learnt from it?
• What needs doing now?

After you have applied these you should be able to apply these to your conclusion.

If you apply these sequentially you will be able to form the basis of study in Higher Education.

• Description
• To define clearly what we are talking about
• what exactly is involved
• Where it takes place
• Under what circumstances or conditions
• Analysis
• The function of effective analysis is to Examine and EXPLAIN how the many parts fit into the whole
• How do the many facets of your research combine with reference to the original question or problem
• Evaluation
• Evaluation isn't easy to define, it is sometimes defined as: 
• To judge the success or failure of something
• to give reason or value to the outcome of the research
• the evaluation is found at the end of a project as in the project report

All of the above supplies you with the basis of critical thiking allowing you to write reports out with a proper description an indepth analysis and good evaluation. Not to mention after all of this you will have a fabulous abstract.