Tips for critical thinking, reading

Tips for critical thinking, reading and writingFollow these steps to help you with critical thinking:1. Take time to understand the question: think critically about the requirements. Askyourself why you are being required to write it, the tutor’s expectations and whatyou need to cover. Note down in bullet-point form your thoughts and ideas inresponse to the question and its key terms. List all of the topics/issues that you thinkyou will need to cover in the essay and record your initial ideas. See key questionwords resource.2. Create a reading list composed of relevant material that relates to your specificessay question. Begin by searching in the readings listed in your module guide. Listmaterial that is definitely relevant and possibly relevant in separate columns.3. Then go to the library and collect the ‘definitely relevant’ material. While there,browse through and check the indexes of the ‘possibly relevant’ material, discardingany readings that do not look fully relevant and adding to the ‘definitely relevant’those readings that will be useful to you in answering the question. Review the listand cut it down if it is too long and overwhelming. If it is a manageable list, and youfeel that you could comfortably do a few additional readings, search QDiscover for afew of these. But keep the list relevant and manageable! See our website sectionon reading skills.4. Employ critical reading skills. Identify and evaluate current evidence. Why arecertain arguments successful? What evidence do they use? What are thestrengths/weaknesses? Why are other arguments less convincing? See our criticalreading and writing resource below.5. Make focussed, relevant notes. As you read through the items on your reading list,add relevant points, quotations and information under the headings you createdwhile brainstorming. As you develop a firmer idea of the topic and how best toanswer the question while reading, you may find it necessary to add in a couple ofsections that you had not thought of during the initial stage, or, indeed, to removesome. You may find the ‘critical notes’ sheet useful in encouraging critical readingand note-taking skills.