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

·         What is the issue?"

·         What conclusion does the author reach about the issue?"

·         What are the author's reasons for believing as he does?"

o        Be alert to bad reasoning (i.e. pity, fear, misuse of statistics etc.) that can fool you.

·         Has the author used facts or opinions?

o        Facts can be proven.

o        Opinions cannot be proven and may or may not be based on sound reasoning.

·         Has the author used neutral words or emotional words?

o        Critical readers look beyond the language to see if the reasons are clear.

·        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