Quick Guide to Critical Thinking

1. Being Critical in an Academic Context

Being critical involves an open-minded approach in reading and writing. Evidence
and arguments need to be evaluated and alternative explanations and conclusions
considered. It may be necessary to accept that current understanding is only partial,
or that there are no clear-cut answers to questions.

2. Key Attributes to Critical Thinking

Open-mindedness
Maturity of Judgement Inquisitiveness

Self-confidence Attributes of a
Critical Thinker Truth-seeking

Adapted from Casey

et al. (2013, p.25)
Systematicity Analyticity

3. Why it can be difficult to be critical

 There may be little time to think deeply or to adopt different perspectives.
 It may be inconvenient to examine evidence that ‘does not fit’, or to change a
line of argument.
 It may feel presumptuous to question experts’ views and findings.

4. Blooms Taxonomy
This hierarchy of knowledge, which goes from the easiest level of challenge at the
bottom of the pyramid to the highest at the top, can help us understand the types of
thinking that are required at university level education. In order to think critically and
show this in our work, we need to build ourselves up to the higher levels.
 (Vanderbilt
University Center
for Teaching, 2016)

A developing ability to be critical in this way is seen as a sign of growing academic

maturity (as reflected in the Descriptors for study at Levels 4 to 7. For more on these,
see http://www.seec.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/SEEC-descriptors-2016.pdf.

5. Critical Thinking for Your Studies

Search for relevant

information,
Understand the task
interact with the
text and make notes

Evaluate others'
arguments

Convice your reader Find your own Adapted from

of your argument argument Cottrell (2017)

6. A Model for Critical Thinking

In order to help the development of critical thinking skills, we can look at this model
for guidance. The idea is to encourage generation of meaningful questions which will
facilitate critical engagement throughout your studies.
 So what? What?
What Where?
next? When? Who?

(University of
Leeds, 2020)
How? Why? What
if?

References
Casey, D., Clark, L., and Hayes, S. (2013). Study Skills for Master’s Level Students.
Banbury: Lantern.
Cottrell, S. (2017). Critical Thinking Skills: Effective Analysis, Argument and
Reflection. London: Palgrave.
University of Leeds (2020) Critical Thinking. Available at:
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/academic_skills/105/critical_thinking/2 (Accessed
6 May 2020).
Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching (2016) Bloom’s Taxonomy. Available at:
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/ (Accessed 21 January
2020).