Critical Thinking, Thoughtful Writing

Masterfully combining two skills that students are expected to learn in freshman composition, CRITICAL THINKING, THOUGHTFUL WRITING helps students develop creative and critical thinking skills through writing.

Each chapter encourages students to apply critical and creative thinking skills to all facets of their lives, enabling them to make enlightened decisions, solve challenging problems, analyze complex issues, communicate effectively, nurture creative talents, and become more thoughtful and socially aware citizens.

The “Thinking-Writing Model” introduced in Chapter 1 and reinforced throughout the book provides a clear graphic representation of the writing process and of the connections between critical thinking and thoughtful writing, as well as creative thinking and inventive writing.

Illustrating how creative thought can and should be an integral part of academic writing, the text explains that all aspects of the writing process can be approached creatively, including topic selection, generating ideas and drafting, using specific details, and writing introductions and conclusions. In learning to think creatively, students discover strategies to make their writing more inventive, while also infusing creative energy into other areas of their lives. Chapters 3-14 contain writing process sections that provide tools for thinking creatively and applying those skills to the writing process.

In Chapter 12, students learn a thoughtful approach to making decisions by applying the decision making process to revising drafts as well as to making important decisions in other areas of their lives. By developing their problem-solving abilities, students learn how to compose a problem-solving essay as well as how to be more effective in solving problems beyond the classroom.

Each chapter includes a “Thinking Critically About Visuals” feature, while vibrant color photos challenge students to think critically about visual rhetoric by evaluating what they see in the media and in everyday life.

Chapter-opening photos and texts focus on individuals who exemplify critical thinking in action.

“Thinking Critically About New Media” features in each chapter enable students to explore, critically analyze, and write about the unique dilemmas and opportunities posed by new media.

“Questions for Writing Thoughtfully” appear at the end of each reading to emphasize and reinforce the focus on writing.

Expanded writing projects help students more fully interact with the writing process. Each project includes a comprehensive overview as well as specific questions and examples to help transition students from conceptualizing the writing situation to engaging with the writing process. Each project also includes a redesigned section dedicated to peer review, revision, and editing and proofreading.

New readings by such noteworthy authors as Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer, Will Portman, Kate Rice, Bob Morris, Joel Kotkin, Dan Baum, Ken Caldeira, and Jeff McMahan cover timely and provocative topics, including gun control in the aftermath of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the changing concept of what it means to be a family, the pros and cons of genetically modified foods, and the debate surrounding the science of global warming.

New “Reflection on Writing Questions” give students ample opportunity to practice their critical thinking skills by responding to questions following each essay.

A focus on source-based, objective, and investigative writing means that text coverage moves quickly from first-hand, personal writing to more academic rhetorical models.

Four integrated elements--a critical thinking focus, a writing focus, a reading focus, and a writing project--tie each chapter together.