Critical thinking skills : effective analysis, argument and reflection / Stella Cottrell.

Description based upon print version of record.

Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introducing Critical Thinking Skills -- Do critical thinking skills matter? -- Building'critical muscle' -- Using the book -- Overview of the chapters -- Glossary -- About the Companion Site -- 1 What is critical thinking? -- Introduction -- What is critical thinking? -- Reasoning -- Critical thinking: Where does it come from? -- Benefits of critical thinking skills -- Underlying skills and attitudes -- Self-awareness for accurate judgement -- Personal strategies for critical thinking -- Critical thinking in academic contexts

Barriers to critical thinking -- Critical thinking: Knowledge, skills andattitudes -- Priorities: Developing critical thinkingabilities -- Summary: What is critical thinking? -- 2 How well do you think? -- Introduction -- Assess your thinking skills -- Scoring sheet -- Focusing attention -- Focusing attention: Identifying difference -- Focusing attention: Recognising sequence -- Categorising -- Activity: Categorising text -- Close reading -- Close reading and listening -- Summary: How well do you think? -- 3 What's their point? -- Introduction -- The author's position

Activity: Capturing the author's position -- Argument: Persuasion through reasons -- Identifying the argument -- Activity: Identifying simple arguments -- Activity: Reasons and conclusions -- Hunting out the conclusion -- Summary of features -- Summary: What's their point? -- 4 Is it an argument? -- Introduction -- Argument and disagreement -- Activity: Argument and disagreement -- Non-arguments: Description -- Non-arguments: Explanations and summaries -- Activity: What type of message? -- Distinguishing argument from other material -- Activity: Selecting out the argument

Recognising other non-arguments -- Summary: Is it an argument? -- 5 How well do they say it? -- Introduction -- How clear is the author's position? -- Internal consistency -- Activity: Internal consistency -- Logical consistency -- Activity: Logical consistency -- Independent reasons and joint reasons -- Activity: Independent reasons and joint reasons -- Intermediate conclusions -- Intermediate conclusions used as reasons -- Activity: Intermediate conclusions -- Summative and logical conclusions -- Activity: Summative and logical conclusions -- Logical order -- Activity: Logical order

How well do they say it? -- 6 Reading between the lines -- Introduction -- Assumptions -- Activity: Identify the underlying assumptions -- Identifying hidden assumptions -- Implicit assumptions used as reasons -- Activity: Implicit assumptions used as reasons -- Inference, assumption and syllogism -- False premises -- Activity: False premises -- Implicit arguments -- Activities: Implicit arguments -- Denoted and connoted meanings -- Activities: Associations and stereotypes -- Activity: Denoted and connoted meanings -- Summary: Reading between the lines -- 7 Does it add up?

Introduction

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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