Introduction

Thinking and Writing—A critical connection

Writing as thinking made visible Articulation in writing is thinking as its hardest Language as a two-way street, both

expressing and generating ideas

Defining critical thinking

Kriticos (Gk.), criticus (La.): able to discern or separate

Open mind—examining your worldview Self-defense Responsibility of engage in deliberate, critical

thinking

Profile of a critical thinker

question their own beliefs and the sources of these beliefs as well as the beliefs of others

Formulate well-reasoned argument to support their beliefs

Recognize the possibility of change in their beliefs

Express their beliefs in clear, coherent language

Being fair and reliable

Reason, Intuition, and Imagination

Critical thinking involve more than logical analysis

Intuition, imagination, and creativity as well as logic are ways of knowing

Welcome originality, encourage personal opinion, and consider paradox and ambiguity to be central to thinking and writing well

Audience and purpose

Writing as process

Rigid structure prevents writers from exploring their topic, from following thoughts that may lead to interesting insights, and from allowing the material, the content, to find the shape that best suits it

Most common misconception about writing

Writing, as life itself, is a voyage of discovery Generating ideas Focusing a topic Establishing a thesis Organizing the essay Organizing paragraphs Providing transitions between sentences and

paragraphs Polishing sentences for fluency Choosing appropriate diction (word choice) Correcting grammar, usage, spelling, and

punctuation

Writing must be done in stages

Creating, shaping, and correcting Common error: to focus your energy on what

should be the last stage at the beginning, when the focus should be on the creative stage of the writing process

Give ample time to the first stage, to generating ideas, to following impulsive thoughts even if they may initially appear unrelated or irrelevant

Allow yourself to experience confusion, to be comfortable with chaos

Learn to trust the writing process, to realize that out of this chaos a logical train of thought will gradually emerge

Learn to suspend all criticism as your explore your topic and your thinking

Start writing the first draft If your paper requires research…

The time to be critical Sometimes the writing of the first draft will tell

you when you need to do a little more research, expand your explanation of a point, or check some of your facts to be sure of your evidence

Spelling checking Punctuation Read your essay aloud to yourself or to a friend Every stage in the writing process is important, and

each must be given its due For most of us, successful writing results from an

extended writing process that is continually recursive

A caution, p.18: messy process

Cultural writing We need a wide spectrum of ways to adequately

understand or negotiate the complex positions people occupy and the often radically diverse practices and belief systems that underlie these differences

The images of conflict from the popular culture with which we are all familiar are often oversimplified and tend to extremes

The media frequently do not engage in the more detailed and subtle types of analyses in which you may engage in your personal life and which are essential if you are to enter the intellectual worlds of college

Historical analysis: analysis across time

Discovering the belief systems underlying past and present practices: to question the apparent naturalness or universality of our own points of view

Discovering where present points of view may have their origins: many of the beliefs and assumptions that we think of as “ours” have complex beginnings deep within our culture’s pasts

Cultural Analysis: analysis of issues within the same time period

Avoiding simplistic right/wrong arguments: discovering connections between a perspective, an issue, or a text and other aspects of its cultural period gives you a sense of the complex interweaving of different aspects of a culture. （ pp.5-6）

Moving from judgmental to analytical positions: we need to ask not so much who is right and who is wrong, but why such differences exist in the first place.

Combining historical and cultural analysis: negotiating conflict

Move back and forth between discovering difference and finding points of connection

The simplified image of “two sides” Tapestry

Writing process

Don’t expect too much of a first draft Writing as a process of exploration Making it manageable and exciting

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