Critical Writing: Don’t Believe Everything You Read
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As writers, most of us probably know intimately that old axiom, “Don’t believe everything you read”. With all the research that goes into producing a good piece of copy it’s inevitable that you’re going to eventually run into information that on the surface appears authoritive, but in reality is anything but. The truth of the matter is, even though the internet is a wealth of information, it also represents a minefield of bad information interspersed among the good.
Because of this, it’s critical that anyone interested in producing quality content occasionally winnow the chaff from the wheat. Although there may be a thousand websites repeating the same thing, it doesn’t mean it’s correct. Quantity is not quality, and incorrect information can come back to haunt you in the form of a displeased client.
One of my favorite personal subjects involves thinking processes. How people come to believe something, how something patently false becomes embedded in the public psyche as true, and why people will put stock into things that for all intents simply aren’t reasonable has always been a subject of intense interest for me. My first forays into content production involved writing about the paranormal, and if ever there was fertile ground for studying thought processes, the paranormal is it. Researching paranormal claims and needing to understand just why people will believe and repeat things that are demonstrably untrue is what led me to learn about critical thinking. Since that time I’ve learned that it relates to just about every facet of reasoning and problem solving, if you are willing to apply it.
Put simply, critical thinking is a process whereby you discipline your thought processes in order to methodically examine a subject and determine its validity. To be sure, critical thought can be applied to just about anything, but when researching subjects for a piece of content, it has proven for me an oftentimes invaluable tool. So without further ado, here in all of its glory is the process of critical thinking.
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Basic Tenets of Critical Thinking
#1 Formulate questions to facilitate the gathering of pertinent information.
#2 Identify the core of the problem.
#3 Examine the evidence without applying your own subjective opinions; allow the evidence to speak for itself.
#4 Identify and examine any assumptions or bias regardless of their origins.
#5 Exclude emotional reasoning. Do not allow personal feelings to taint judgment.
#6 Refrain from reducing a problem to simplify it without justification. Problems are often complex, and exclusion without justification can void the process.
#7 Consider all possible interpretations.
#8 Discard personally held convictions to avoid applying them to the problem at hand. Accept that those convictions may be wrong if disproved by evidence.
#9 Accept that definitive answers may not be possible. It’s ok not to know something, it’s worse to make an assumption if you don’t and be proven wrong later.
The next time you’re about to hammer out an op-ed piece, or review the claims about a new gadget or piece of software, consider applying the tenets of critical thinking. You might be surprised what you discover.
Great article there is so much garbage out there sometimes it is hard to know what is real.
“How people come to believe something, how something patently false becomes embedded in the public psyche as true”
That reminds me of the book I just finished…Predictably Irrational. Have you read that? I think you would like it if you enjoy observing how people think. It’s a fascinating read.
Great article! I really like number 3. All too often people offer their subjective opinions without looking at all the evidence before them.
@ Melinda. There is a LOT of garbage out there, that’s for sure. Writers are so often on a deadline that it’s tempting to take shortcuts and just grab some “facts” if they look good. Critical thinking becomes second nature once you decide to practice it, and it really does help when researching for material. I’m familiar with Predictably Irrational”, I just haven’t got my time management straightend out enough to get my reading time in like I used to. New to do for the list. Thanks.
@ Rose
Thanks Rose. Yeah, #3 is a big one. It’s where disimissing things out of hand, ignoring possibly helpful information, and rejecting things simply because we don’t “like” the source comes from.
It’s also trooublesome cause it so easily gets us without our realizing it.
With a long background in media I completely agree with you. Some newspapers even feature outright lies and pay the libel since it will sell an abundance of more copies. It was policy for the Daily Mirror in the UK. A friend of mine was their lawyer.
Amazing isn’t Catarina? Most folks have no idea just how often the media giants play fast and loose with the facts. Hard to believe, especially when you consider how important credibility is, or rather, should be. Maybe I’ll do something more indepth, like show how the media routinely alters photographs in order to “improve the focus” of a story.
“Winnow the chaff from the wheat” – perfectly stated. There is definitely an abundance of misinformation on the Internet. I believe what contributes to the confusion is that everyone these days want instant gratification. It’s so easy to do a quick search and find your answer at the top of the search engine results page. And it has to be true if that many people have viewed it and made it popular right? That’s a very dangerous assumption and simply promotes the misinformation. Sometimes, I feel that “the process of critical thinking” is becoming a lost skill. Thanks for the thought provoking post!
You’re welcome Sherryl. (see, I got it right that time;)
Far as critical thinking becoming a lost skill, it doesn’t get promoted enough! Schools teach kids how to do problems, what to absorb, but they don’t teach them how to think. Colleges are offering courses in critical thinking, but really it should be a part of elementary curriculum. It would make an incredible difference in how well children do in school if they were only taught how to approach problems and not just how to Do the problem.
Critical thinking is definitely a lost art. I am amazed how many professionals do not use critical thinking in everyday life. They want the quick answer and they want someone to give it to them instead of figuring it out on their own.
Hi, Paul! Interesting article. I think there are times when using this style of reasoning would be important, but other times when personal experience and opinion enter in.
If there are two sides to the argument, one should state them, but why not express your opinion? You, as the author, have a viewpoint and the reader is interested to hear it.
I write articles about mortgages for first time homebuyers and when I research other articles on the net I’m appalled by the quantity of inaccurate info. The data is simply wrong! I think research is vital and fortunately my personal experience in the area allows me to sort through it all.
Hi Laura. I agree. There are plenty of times when personal observations and opinion are necessary. Especially when doing reviews or evaluations.
When it comes to factual information though, critical consideration is a must. After all, if someone wants you to promo their link building software, and gaurantees it wont get a buyer banned from the search engines, yet in reality it uses black hat tactics well, it’s best to be safe and preserve your own credibility.
Hi Paul,
As I am not a writer I found this post really useful. Reading through this article it actually has a lot of similarities when making decisions re the marketing of your brand especially number 8.
Thanks Susan. That’s the great thing about critical thinking, it can apply to just about anything.
Paul — your excellent description of the steps in critical thinking reminds me of the 8 steps in problem solving that I wrote about last year and that I used to teach in a basic management development course. Where people go off the rails in critical thinking, or problem solving, is that they don’t “Consider all possible interpretations” BEFORE they apply criteria. In group problem solving nothing will dampen creativity more than having someone say OK this is the budget or establishing a time frame first. Of course, applying criteria is important, but only after all alternatives have been explored.
I agree Jeanette. A lot of people will take what they “know”, and make assumptions from there and forget to consider there are other possibilities. Later they wonder why they had such a hard time coming up with a more workable solution. From reading the replies here, especially among the folks involved with marketing, it’s clear that they already have an innate understanding of critical thought without even thinking about it.
That’s one of the more interesting tangents that arises when you consider thought processes. When something holds little chance of negatively impacting you, it’s easier to be “sloppy” in your thinking. But when it is something that has direct and acute consequences, we tend to be much more critical.