Critical Thinking

1) 4 types of questions:
– Conclusion
– Assumption
– Flaws
– Strengthen/Weaken

Please read the lessons in which I discuss each of the four types of critical thinking questions.

2) Don’t read the long bit of text first! Read the main question first: ‘e.g. what is the main conclusion?’ or “what is the assumption?’ this will save A LOT of time. Some texts can take 1 minute or 2 to understand which is a complete waste of time. You neither need to read nor understand the full text or passage.

3) By reading the question first, you will have an idea of what to look for in the passage.

4) Underline the sentence, which summarises or concludes the passage. This sentence is NOT necessarily the last sentence of the text, although it often is.

5) If you are asked to find the flaw, conclusion or assumption, this sentence will help you to arrive at your answer.

6) Work out what the answer is and use the process of elimination to discard all options, which are incorrect.

7) If you are confused between two or three options, skim through the passage quickly and look for certain keywords. The answer is often the option, which has the keywords the passage has, although you must ensure whether or not that option is potentially the answer.