Critical Thinking
1. In this module, we’re continuing our work on critical thinking, and in particular, writing as a way of thinking. Central to the topic is a focus on examining and evaluating assumptions, which often, but not always, go unstated. And in particular, we read in the textbook this week a “letter of response” to a short article. These are often called “letters to the editor”, because readers of newspapers and magazine will write to the editor to reply to some story or article that they’ve read. You usually find these on the back page of the physical paper, and they’re usually published to the paper’s website. Here are some examples: Atlanta Journal Constitution, Tampa Bay Times (under “letters”), New York Times, The Washington Post. These letters will be argumentative — i.e., they’re arguing for some point, usually that the author of the original article is wrong or has omitted some fact. They’re also usually very short; less than 100 words. Thus, they’ll generally contain lots of assumptions, usually unstated. Your job in your first post is to choose a letter to the editor, either from the above newspapers, or your favorite hometown paper, and identify the assumptions in the letter. There will usually be several, so try to pick out and enumerate (that is, number) at least three, and explain why they are assumptions of your letter. Give a quick overview of the article and the letter, provide a link or citation to the letter and, if possible, to the article that the letter addresses.
In your third post, write a short essay (200-250 words, two or three paragraphs) in which you address each of the questions in the “checklist for examining assumptions” (p.28 8/e). Remember that you’re writing about someone else’s letter that you claimed, not the one you identified. You should make good use of the assumptions that the student found, in addition to any that you’re able to identify. The idea here is that we’re identifying, and then examining, assumptions; so focus your writing on this subject. You are writing an essay, not a list of bullet points. Don’t “attach”: simply copy/paste your essay into the discussion box.
The first should be a short discussion and the 2nd should be an essay