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Writing And Critical Thinking - An Essential Partnership by Carl Ramirez
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Writing And Critical Thinking - An Essential Partnership |
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Education
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Working as a writing tutor during my first year in graduate school I learned to perform triage. The writing lab, you see, was a busy place, very much like a hospital's emergency room. Many students walked in at the last minute, hoping to have their papers edited right before they were due. The role of the writing tutor, however, was not to give quick fixes, but to give guidance and strategies to help improve writing skills. But because we had limited time and staffing resources, tutors had a clear purpose: find the bleeding in the writing and help stop it. But to find this bleeding, I first had to rely on the writer's feedback. "What do you think is the problem with this paper?" I'd ask. Nine out of ten students said the same thing without a second thought: "Grammar." I believed them, of course, and quickly proceeded to read the essay in search for the grammar hemorrhage. I never learned how to break the news, but some days I wanted to say, "Honey, grammar is the least of your problems." I didn't. In the next two years, however, I also learned a most profound lesson -- one that deeply influenced my writing and the way I teach writing -- gibberish can be perfectly grammatical! Believe me, I have proof. Effective writers, I have found, are first and foremost effective thinkers who have intentionally developed critical thinking habits. For this reason, grammar is the furthest thought from my mind for the first few weeks of a writing class. Instead, I teach students how to develop their thinking muscles. How do you know if you are a good critical thinker? Critical thinkers have developed a series of habits, which contribute to their ability to articulate ideas and arguments effectively. As you review the list below, consider the following questions: have I developed these habits? Do I understand what these habits entail? Do I know how to develop them? Do I understand how developing these habits can improve my writing and ability to reach my target audience? A Critical Thinker... Observes and evaluates his or her own thinking process Withholds judgment while gathering information Maintains the focus necessary to ask questions and evaluate them Separates facts from inferences, opinions, and evaluations Identifies the presence or lack of evidence Recognizes assumptions Separates the relevant from the irrelevant, the inconsistencies from the consistencies Recognizes viewpoints and their limitations Seeks to offer convincing evidence and valid reasoning to support arguments Has sensitivity to word connotation, slant, definition, ambiguity, and disguise Understands and recognizes logical fallacies, unfair persuasion, and propaganda Seeks truth before rightness Is willing to admit mistakes and concede to a better argument Writers that see grammar as the only issue to address in their writing do not understand that effective critical thinkers make effective revisionists. Many writers overly stress about grammar. Yes, grammar is important, but if we invest more time exercising our critical thinking muscles, then we will truly understand what American novelist and short story writer meant when he said, "Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing." papers for money
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