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Thinking for Yourself Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading and Writing

by: Mayfield, Marlys

Thinking for Yourself Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading and Writing

by: Mayfield, Marlys

ISBN 13:
9781413017724
ISBN 10:
141301772X
Edition: 7th
Format: Paperback
Copyright: 02/24/2006
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
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Summary

THINKING FOR YOURSELF: DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH READING AND WRITING offers a unique integration of composition, reading, and critical thinking. As you complete the book's writing assignments, you'll see how your writing reflects your thinking and how self-directed improvement in thinking also improves writing. The book offers step-by-step nstruction, humor, cartoons, Internet research exercises, and up-to-date social and political examples.

Preface

xvii

Introduction Introduction to Critical Thinking

(1)

Learning How You Think

(1)

Discovery Exercise

Experiencing How We Actually Think: A Whole Class Exercise

(1)

Learning from Sharing How We Think

(1)

What Is Critical Thinking?

(2)

Relationship to Creative Thinking

(2)

Why Learn Critical Thinking?

(4)

Box: Habits of a Critical Thinker

(3)

PART I Basics of Critical Thinking

Observation Skills: What's Out There?

(32)

Discovery Exercises

Comparing Our Perceptions

(1)

What Is Observing?

(1)

Observing a Cube

(1)

Observation and Insight

(1)

Using Observation Skills to Develop New Knowledge

(5)

Reading: Look at Your Fish

(4)

Samuel H. Scudder

Core Discovery Writing Application

Observing the Familiar: Vegetable or Fruit

(4)

Evaluating Your Work by Using the Scoring Boxes

(1)

Alternate Core Discovery Writing Application

Observing the Unfamiliar: A Tool

(3)

The Observation Process: Sensing, Perceiving, Thinking

(3)

Barriers to Observation

(1)

How Discomfort Leads Us to Think

(2)

Building Arguments: Observation Skills

(1)

The Rewards of Skilled Observation

(3)

Reading: The Innocent Eye

(3)

Dorr Bothwell

Chapter Summary

(1)

Chapter Quiz

(1)

Composition Writing Application

Survival as a Result of Observing: A Descriptive Narrative Essay

(1)

Reading: Desert Solitaire

(3)

Edward Abbey

Optional Internet Research Assignment

(1)

Word Precision: How Do I Describe It?

(31)

On Finding the Right Word

(1)

Discovery Exercise

Taking an Interest in Dictionaries

(2)

How Well Do You Use Your Dictionary?

(1)

Clear Thinking Depends on Clear Word Definitions

(1)

What Makes a Definition?

(1)

Diagram: Definition Boundaries

(1)

Exercise

Word Boundaries

(1)

Kinds of Definitions

(2)

The Connotations of Words

(1)

The Importance of Defining Key Ideas

(1)

Word Concepts

(2)

What Is Critical Reading?

(2)

Building Arguments: Word Choices

(1)

Chapter Summary

(1)

Chapter Quiz

(1)

Composition Writing Application

A Short Essay of Definition

(1)

Box: Clustering

(2)

Reading: The Professor and the Madman

(2)

Simon Winchester

Reading: Saved

(3)

Malcolm X

Reading: What Privacy Is---and What It Is Not

(3)

Charles J. Sykes

Advanced Optional Writing Assignment

(1)

Optional Internet Research Assignment

(1)

Facts: What's Real?

(30)

Discovery Exercises

Beginning with the Word Fact

(1)

Learning to Recognize Facts

(1)

Verifying Facts

(1)

Facts and Reality

(1)

Facts Are Not Absolutes

(2)

Distinguishing Facts from Fiction

(1)

Feelings Can Be Facts

(2)

Facts and Social Pressure

(3)

Facts and Our Limited Senses

(1)

Reading: The Blind Men and the Elephant

(1)

Statements of Fact

(3)

Core Discovery Writing Application

Using a List of Facts to Describe a Photograph

(1)

Standards We Use to Determine Facts

(1)

Chapter Summary

(1)

Chapter Quiz

(1)

Composition Writing Application

Writing a Short Fact-Finding Report

(2)

Reading: The Debt Explosion Elizabeth Warren and Amelia

(2)

Warren Tyagi

Reading: Fast Food Nation

(3)

Eric Schlosser

Building Arguments: Facts

102

(1)

Advanced Optional Writing Assignment

103

(1)

Optional Internet Research Assignment

103

(2)

Inferences: What Follows?

105

(39)

Discovery Exercises

Recognizing Inferential Thinking

107

(1)

Defining Infer

107

(1)

Understanding the Words Infer and Inference

107

(1)

Discovery Exercises

Drawing Inferences from Evidence

108

(1)

Drawing Inferences from Facts

109

(1)

Distinguishing Inferences from Facts

109

(3)

How Inferences Can Go Right and Wrong

112

(4)

Reading: The Adventure of the Speckled Band

113

(3)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Drawing Inferences from Careful Observation

116

(3)

Core Discovery Writing Application

Using Facts and Inferences to Describe a Photograph

119

(1)

Generalizations Are Inferences

120

(2)

Composition Writing Application

Writing a Paragraph from Facts, Inferences, and Generalizations

122

(2)

Core Discovery Writing Application

Analyzing the Use of Facts and Inferences in a Newspaper Article

124

(1)

Reading: Tougher Grading Better for Students

125

(2)

Building Arguments: Inferences

127

(1)

Chapter Summary

128

(1)

Chapter Quiz

129

(13)

Reading: The Three Perceptives

130

(2)

Idries Shah

Reading: The Stone Boy

132

(10)

Gina Berriault

Objectives Review of Part I

142

(2)

PART II Problems of Critical Thinking

Assumptions: What's Taken for Granted?

144

(31)

Discovery Exercises

Defining Assumption

145

(1)

Finding Assumptions in Cartoons

145

(1)

Finding Assumptions in Stories

145

(2)

Understanding Assumptions

147

(2)

Types of Assumptions

149

(2)

Identifying Hidden Assumptions in Reasoning

151

(2)

Hidden Assumptions in Arguments

153

(1)

Discovery Exercise

Articulating Hidden Assumptions Underlying Arguments

154

(1)

Value or Belief Assumptions

155

(1)

Assumption Layers in Arguments

156

(3)

Assumptions, Incongruities, and Thinking

159

(3)

Chapter Summary

162

(1)

Building Arguments: Assumptions

163

(1)

Chapter Quiz

163

(1)

Composition Writing Application

Expository Essay: Solving a Problem by Uncovering Assumptions

164

(4)

Reading: Lateral and Vertical Thinking Edward de Bono

168

(3)

Reading: Winterblossom Garden

171

(2)

David Low

Advanced Optional Writing Assignment

173

(1)

Optional Internet Research Assignment

174

(1)

Opinions: What's Believed?

175

(20)

Discovery Exercises

Comparing a Sample of Opinions

176

(1)

Why Do We Get Confused by the Word Opinion?

176

(1)

An Exercise in Evaluating Opinions

177

(1)

Types of Opinions

178

(1)

Distinguishing between Responsible and Irresponsible Opinions

179

(2)

Looking at Public Opinion Polls

181

(1)

Opinions as Claims in Arguments

182

(2)

Composition Writing Application

First Option: A Short Argument Supporting an Opinion

184

(1)

Second Option: A Short Expository Essay About an Opinion

184

(1)

Third Option: A Short Essay Analyzing Three Opinions

185

(1)

Chapter Summary

186

(1)

Building Arguments: Opinions

186

(1)

Chapter Quiz

187

(7)

Reading: The Loss of Innocence

187

(2)

James P. Steyer

Reading: A Modest Proposal

189

(5)

Jonathan Swift

Optional Internet Research Assignment

194

(1)

Evaluations: What's Judged?

195

(22)

Discovery Exercises

Defining Evaluate

196

(1)

Recognizing Evaluative Words

196

(1)

On Evaluations

197

(1)

Premature Evaluations

198

(1)

Evaluations Are Not Facts

199

(2)

Expectations Influence Evaluations

201

(1)

Recognizing Evaluations in Word Connotations

201

(1)

Discovery Exercise

Recognizing Evaluative Words' Persuasive Powers

202

(2)

Skilled Use of Evaluations

204

(2)

Reading: Million Dollar Brutality

205

(1)

Vicki Haddock

Propaganda and Hidden Evaluations

206

(2)

Building Arguments: Evaluations

208

(1)

Chapter Summary

209

(1)

Chapter Quiz

209

(1)

Composition Writing Application

First Option: Observing and Analyzing Evaluations in Advertisements

210

(1)

Second Option: Writing a Critical Review

211

(1)

Reading: Prices Without Values

211

(2)

Frank Ackerman

Lisa Heinzerling

Reading: Porn, Pervasive Presence

213

(2)

William F. Buckley, Jr.

Advanced Optional Writing Assignment

215

(1)

Optional Internet Research Assignment

216

(1)

Viewpoints: What's the Filter?

217

(23)

Discovery Exercises

Understanding the Term Viewpoint

218

(1)

What Types of Viewpoints Are There?

218

(1)

Viewpoints in Literature

219

(1)

On Unconscious Viewpoints

220

(2)

Discovery Exercise

Recognizing Political and Social Points of View

222

(1)

Recognizing Viewpoints Left and Right

223

(6)

Reading: Beyond the Myth of Objectivity

227

(2)

Jay Davis

Core Discovery Exercise

Learning to Recognize Political Viewpoints

229

(1)

Composition Writing Application

A Survey of Some Alternative Viewpoints

229

(3)

Hidden Viewpoints: The Use of News Framing

232

(1)

Discovery Assignment

Observing How a Newspaper Frames Its Information

233

(1)

Building Arguments: Viewpoints

234

(1)

Chapter Summary

234

(1)

Chapter Quiz

235

(3)

Reading: Why Can't We Talk About Religion and Politics?

235

(3)

Jim Wallis

Objectives Review of Part II

238

(2)

PART III Forms and Standards of Critical Thinking

Argument: What's a Good Argument?

240

(34)

Discovery Exercise

Reading and Judging Arguments

241

(1)

Critical Reading of Arguments

242

(2)

What Viewpoint Is the Source of This Argument?

244

(1)

What Is the Issue of Controversy?

244

(2)

Is It an Argument or a Report?

246

(3)

How Is the Argument Structured in Terms of Reasons and Conclusions?

249

(3)

Identifying the Conclusion of an Argument

250

(1)

Identifying Reasons

251

(1)

Exercise

Identifying Reasons and Conclusions

252

(1)

More on Distinguishing Reasons from Conclusions

253

(2)

Implied Conclusions

253

(1)

Conclusions in a Series

254

(1)

Conclusion at the Beginning

254

(1)

Conclusion in the Middle

255

(1)

Exercises

More Practice in Identifying Reasons and Conclusions

255

(1)

More Practice with Longer Arguments

256

(1)

Core Discovery Writing Application

Writing a Short Persuasive Argument: A Letter of Complaint

257

(3)

What Are the Strengths and Weaknesses of This Argument?

260

(1)

Is Any Important Information Missing?

260

(2)

Following Up on Missing Information

262

(2)

Reading: Eczema Drugs Carry Cancer Risk US FDA Says

262

(2)

Is Any Information False, Contradictory or Irreconcilable?

264

(2)

Chapter Summary

266

(8)

Reading: Job Outsourcing Good for America

267

(2)

Michael Hussey

Reading: 30 Little Turtles by Thomas L. Friedman

269

(1)

Reading: What's Wrong with Outsourcing?

270

(4)

Rory L. Terry

Fallacies: What's a Faulty Argument?

274

(27)

Discovery Exercise

Recognizing Fallacies

275

(1)

The Fallacies

275

(2)

Fallacies That Manipulate Through Language

277

(6)

Word Ambiguity

277

(2)

Misleading Euphemisms

279

(2)

Prejudicial Language

281

(2)

Fallacies That Manipulate Emotions

283

(8)

Emotional Appeals to Fear and Pity

284

(1)

Appeal to False Authority

285

(3)

Appeal to Prejudice: Personal Attack and Poisoning the Well

288

(3)

Fallacies That Manipulate Through Distraction

291

(6)

Red Herring

291

(3)

Pointing to Another Wrong

294

(1)

Straw Man

294

(2)

Circular Reasoning

296

(1)

Chapter Summary

297

(1)

Chapter Quiz

298

(3)

Inductive Reasoning and Inductive Fallacies: How Do I Reason from Evidence?

301

(46)

Discovery Exercises

Defining Key Terms

302

(1)

Answering a Survey on Test Performance

302

(1)

Looking at Inductive Reasoning

302

(2)

Reasoning from Sensory Observation

304

(1)

Reasoning from Enumeration

305

(1)

Analogical Reasoning

306

(1)

Discovering Patterns

307

(1)

Reasoning From and About Causes

307

(3)

Reasoning with Hypotheses

310

(2)

Reasoning Through Statistics and Probability

312

(3)

Composition Writing Application

Working from Facts to Inferences to Hypotheses

315

(3)

Chapter Summary

318

(1)

Chapter Quiz

318

(1)

Building Arguments: Induction

319

(6)

Reading: The Global 2000 Study of 1975: An Interagency Forecast

320

(5)

Fallacies of Inductive Reasoning

325

(1)

The Hasty Generalization

326

(2)

The Either-Or Fallacy, or False Dilemma

328

(1)

The Questionable Statistic

329

(3)

Contradictions and Inconsistencies

332

(3)

The Loaded Question

335

(1)

The False Analogy

336

(1)

Discovery Exercise

Evaluating Analogies

337

(2)

False Cause

339

(3)

The Slippery Slope

342

(1)

Chapter Summary

343

(1)

Chapter Quiz

344

(2)

Advanced Optional Short Research Assignment

Detecting Fallacies in an Argument

346

(1)

Deductive Reasoning: How Do I Reason from Premises?

347

(25)

Discovery Exercises

What Is Deductive Reasoning?

348

(1)

Evaluating Deductive Arguments

348

(1)

About Deductive Reasoning

349

(2)

The Basic Vocabulary of Logic

351

(4)

Argument

351

(1)

Reasoning

351

(1)

Syllogism

352

(1)

Premises and Conclusion

352

(1)

Validity

353

(1)

Soundness

354

(1)

Standardized Forms in Syllogisms

355

(1)

Discovery Exercise

Practice in Constructing Syllogisms

356

(1)

What Syllogisms Do

357

(4)

What Is Said and Is It True?

358

(1)

Is There a Hidden Premise?

359

(1)

Is the Reasoning Correct?

360

(1)

Exercise

Reviewing the Vocabulary of Logic

361

(1)

The Interplay of Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

362

(2)

Composition Writing Application

Writing a Deductive Argument

364

(1)

Chapter Summary

364

(2)

Building Arguments: Deduction

366

(1)

Chapter Quiz

367

(4)

Reading: The Declaration of Independence

368

(1)

Thomas Jefferson

Reading: Letter from a Birmingham Jail

369

(2)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Objectives Review of Part III

371

(1)

APPENDIX ONE: The Research Paper

372

(13)

Research Paper Assignments in This Text

372

(1)

First Option: Analysis of Two Arguments Pro and Con on a Recent Controversial Issue

372

(5)

Overall Format

373

(1)

Research Preparation

373

(1)

Instructions for the Argument Analysis Assignment

373

(1)

Outline Form Used in This Assignment

373

(3)

Arguments, Not Reports

376

(1)

Length and Viewpoints of Arguments Selected

376

(1)

Second Option: An Argumentative Research Essay

Preparation Instructions

377

(1)

Writing the First Draft

378

(1)

Final Touches

378

(2)

Student Model Paper

Analysis of Two Arguments on the Issue: Is Job Outsourcing Good for America?

380

(5)

Claire Frey

APPENDIX TWO: Media Literacy

385

(11)

On Being Well-Informed

385

(2)

Media Literacy Skills for Assessing News Reliability

386

(1)

Some Guiding Principles

387

(1)

Journalism in the Role of the Fourth Estate

388

(3)

Suggestions for Further Study

391

(1)

Some Recent Books on the Media

391

(1)

Steps for Assessing Information Reliability

392

(1)

Sample Websites for Studying the News

393

(3)

Directories for News from International Sources

393

(1)

Samples of Online Foreign News Sources in English

393

(1)

Some U.S. Newspaper Sites

393

(1)

Some U.S. Think Tanks

394

(1)

Media Critique Sites

395

(1)

Independent Voter Information Sites

395

(1)

Some Political Activism Sites

395

(1)

Index

396

(10)

Credits

406

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Thinking for Yourself Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading and Writing

Thinking for Yourself Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading and Writing

9781413017724

141301772X

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Write a Review

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Thinking for Yourself Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading and Writing

Thinking for Yourself Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading and Writing

9781413017724

141301772X

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Write a Review

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