Chapter+7

= "Critical Thinking" =

Chapter 7 of this book discusses critical thinking, which is important when interpreting the meaning of a text. The writers of the text say: Critical thinking involves seeing an issue from all sides, to as great a degree as possible… Nevertheless, in one sense the term critical thinking does approach the usual meaning, since critical thinking requires you to take a skeptical view of your response (Barnet and Cain p.95). In order to write about a text, a reader must think critically, which means they must think about the meaning of a text and what its meaning symbolizes. After the reader thinks critically, they must then formulate an argument and write about their position. In the text, Barnet and Cain describes critical thinking as: “Critical thinking, in short, means examining or exploring one’s own responses, by questioning and testing them. Critical thinking is not so much a skill as it is a habit of mind, or, rather, several habits, including” (Barnet and Cain 90).

This information is similar to what the rhetorical book They say, I Say discusses about critical thinking:

We eventually realized that the move from reading for the author’s argument in isolation to reading for how the author’s argument of others help readers become active, critical readers rather than passive recipients of knowledge. You have to start by locating the writer’s thesis and then imagine some of the arguments that might be made against it (Graff and Birkenstein p.147).

Both books offer a method to writing about certain texts. First you must understand an author’s meaning, a writer must think critically about that meaning, decide whether you agree or disagree, and then formulate a written argument about your position. If a writer needs help formulating an argument they should seek secondary sources. These sources should consist of other texts written in relation to the book or other essays written about the book. This method is a rhetorical strategy, and in his essay Fulkerson calls this mimetic; mimetic deals with: “emphasizing research during pre-writing stages and heuristic system” (Fulkerson p.433). Students will write better if they learn about certain issues holistically, and when students know more they write better.


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