Learning content "Critical Thinking" (Chapter 3)

The main text discusses the relationship between critical thinking and writing

Critical thinking is important for writing, especially The relationship between thesis writing and writing is very intimate. Thesis writing generally includes four parts: stating the topic, expressing the position on the topic, providing arguments to support the position, and refuting the arguments supporting the opposite position.

Among them, the beginning of the paper is to introduce the topic by describing the importance and interest of the topic. Therefore, in this part, the statement of the paper author must be neutral, that is to say, he can neither put his opinion on the topic. The position must be stated as the only correct position, and his position on the topic must be made clear. This is very interesting. My understanding is that the author of a paper must have his own position, but he cannot suppress or deny other positions on the topic because of his own position. This is a bit like Voltaire's famous saying " I don’t agree with what you said, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” It sounds contradictory, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that it involves critical thinking-the specific questions raised depend on the issue being discussed. , in short, as we often say, "discuss the matter as it is."

The arguments supporting the position and the arguments supporting the opposite position should be as concise and concise as possible, but clarity is more important than simplicity. My understanding is that the reasons stated in this part must be obviously related to the topic, which also includes critical thinking. The language expression must be clear and cannot cause various types of ambiguity due to vagueness, nor can it cause ambiguity due to abstraction. , these are pitfalls that hinder clarity; at the same time, as mentioned above, if an argument does not provide evidence or support for the conclusion, then it is often a deductive argument, so deductive reasoning is not suitable here.

In summary, it can be said that essay writing is very "routine", and it also helps us become readers with critical thinking skills so that we can train our own essay writing skills.