Page 146 - Keys to College Success

When you need to solve a problem or make a decision, metacognitively combining
all three thinking skills gives you the greatest chance of achieving your goal. The rest
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of this chapter will explore analytical (or critical), creative, and practical thinking each
individually, ultimately showing how they work together to help you to solve problems
and make decisions effectively. Asking questions opens the door to each thinking skill,
and in each section you will find examples of the kinds of questions that drive that
skill. Begin by exploring analytical thinking skills.

HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR
analytical thinking skills?

Analytical thinking, also known as critical thinking, is the process of gathering
information, breaking it into parts, examining and evaluating those parts, and making
connections for the purposes of gaining understanding, solving a problem, or making
a decision.
Through the analytical process, you look for how pieces of information relate to
one another, setting aside any pieces that are unclear, unrelated, unimportant, or biased.
You may also form new questions that change your direction. Be open to them and to
where they may lead you.

Gather Information
Information is the raw material for thinking, so to start the thinking process you must
first gather your raw materials. This requires analyzing how much information you
need, how much time you should spend gathering it, and whether it is relevant. Say, for
instance, that you have to write a paper on one aspect of the media (TV, radio, Internet)
and its influence on a particular group. Here’s how analyzing can help you gather
information for that paper:
■ Reviewing the assignment terms, you note two important items: The paper should
be approximately 10 pages and describe at least three significant points of influence. Critical, Creative, and Practical Thinking
■ At the library and online, you find thousands of articles in this topic area. Analyz-
ing your reactions to them and how many articles focus on certain aspects of the
topic, you decide to focus your paper on how the Internet influences young teens
(ages 13–15).
■ Examining the summaries of six comprehensive articles leads you to three n-depth
i
sources.

Step 1 Gather information.

Break information into two parts—main ideas and
Step 2
supporting evidence.

Step 3 Examine and evaluate those two parts.

Step 4 Make connections.

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