Assignment #2 -- What exactly is Critical Thinking?

I'm stalling a bit because some people are waiting for their textbooks to arrive. That's actually good because it gives us the chance to do a little research on our own. Your mission is to find three definitions of the term "critical thinking" from sources available on the Internet and then to write your own.

I suggest that you start with Wikipedia, but as wonderful as Wikipedia is, it is not considered a reliable source for academic research. So when writing for school you never want to draw your information directly from Wikipedia. However, Wikipedia can often give you a good overview of a topic, and more importantly, if there are footnotes, Wikipedia can lead you to reliable and respected sources of information. 

You can also use search engines to find some definitions.

Pick out three outstanding definitions. Then persuade me of their value as definitions. Explain to me why these definitions make the most sense and why they are superior to the other definitions you come across.

Finally, I want you to use the knowledge you have gained to write your own definition of critical thinking.

There is no minimum or maximum length to this essay. However, you must use proper academic citations (footnotes or embedded citations and sources cited list at the end) so I know where you found your information.

Your essay may follow an outline like this:

INTRODUCTION

THREE DEFINITIONS

1. ______________

1. a -- the strengths and weaknesses of this definition compared to other definitions you've read

1. b -- how it might be helpful from your personal perspective

2. ______________

2. a -- the strengths and weaknesses of this definition compared to other definitions you've read

2. b -- how it might be helpful from your personal perspective

3. ______________

3. a -- the strengths and weaknesses of this definition compared to other definitions you've read

3. b -- how it might be helpful from your personal perspective

MY OWN DEFINITION OF CRITICAL THINKING

Use language that makes sense to you and which an ordinary person can understand, to define critical thinking.

The strengths and weaknesses of this definition compared to other definitions you've read

How it might be helpful from your personal perspective

CONCLUSION

LIST OF SOURCES CITED 

Relax and have fun with this. Even if you struggle you'll do fine if I can recognize that you have made the effort.

You can earn up to 60 points for this assignment. You can submit your essay embedded in an email to me at bboydston@piu.edu (no attachments -- just write it in the body of the email) or as a Google Doc shared with me at the same email address. Let me know if you have any questions. This assignment should take 8-10 hours.