Technical Report Writing

Lecture no. 4Session Spring 2013Instructor: Engr. Arifa Saher

Critical Thinking• Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council

for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987• Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined

process of▫ actively and skillfully conceptualizing, ▫ applying, ▫ analyzing, ▫ synthesizing, ▫ and/or evaluating information gathered from, or

generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

• In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions:• clarity, • accuracy, • precision, • consistency, • relevance, • sound evidence, • good reasons, • depth, • breadth, • and fairness.

Components of critical thinking• Critical thinking can be seen as having two

components: ▫ 1) a set of information and belief generating and

processing skills, and ▫ 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using

those skills to guide behavior. • It is thus to be contrasted with:

▫ 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated;

▫ 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and

▫ 3) the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results.

Why Critical Thinking?• The Problem• Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of

our thinking, left to itself, is ▫ biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right

prejudiced. • Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce,

make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought.

• Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life.

• Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

A Definition

•Critical thinking is that mode of thinking – about any ▫subject, ▫content, ▫Or problem

•in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.

The Result: A well cultivated critical thinker who• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them

clearly and precisely;• gathers and assesses relevant information, using

abstract ideas to interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;

• thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and

• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Summing it up• Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-

disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.  (Taken from Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools, Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2008).

How to think critically?

•The Six thinking Hats

• http://www.triz-journal.com/archives/2001/03/b/Image175.gif

Purpose

•Role Playing•Attention directing•Convenience•Possible basis in brain chemistry•Establishing the rules of the game

• http://www.fuzz2buzz.com/files/imagecache/node-view/SIX%20THINKING%20HATS.png

White Thinking Hat• White Hat Thinking focuses on

▫ data, ▫ facts, and ▫ information known or needed.

• White Hat Thinking separates ▫ fact from speculation.

• With the White Hat, we look for information that is ▫ relevant to the current focus.

• The value of the information will fall along a spectrum of relevance and of accuracy.

Continued..

•Relevance may range from ▫crucial fact to barely relevant.

• Accuracy may range from ▫hard fact that can be checked easily to

information that is likely to be untrue. •Information that falls at any point along

these two spectrums can be offered in White Hat thinking so long as the person who offers it also indicates where on each spectrum it falls.

White Hat Thinking: Information That We Have•We can often find more information by

taking a close look at what is known than we might expect. It’s like detective work: each known fact can be examined for its significance.

•Example:▫“The dates of employment for each position

on this applicant’s resume shows that she has never held a job for more than 18 months.” (Note: we don’t jump to conclusions, we just note the fact.)

White Hat Thinking: Information That We Would Like to Have•Here we include everything that comes to

mind, without deciding whether there is a way to get the information or how urgently it is needed. Sometimes there are ways of getting information that at first seems unattainable.

•Example:▫“It would be nice to know how this

applicant would cope if George retires early and she is left to sort out his recruiting system on her own.”

White Hat Thinking: Information That We Need• If we focus on information that we need after

we’ve listed everything that we’d like to have, then it’s a matter of prioritizing. If we’ve gone straight to thinking about what is most needed, then it’s a matter of discriminating. What’s the minimum information we must have before we can move forward?

• Example:▫ “We have to find out if this applicant has

experience in integrating social media into a marketing plan before we put her in the final running.”

White Hat Thinking: Information That is Missing

•Here we are pinpointing exactly what information is missing.

•Example:▫“We do not know why this candidate has

never held a job for more than 18 months.”

White Hat Thinking: Sources for Getting any Missing Information• Listing sources of information and planning how

to get information are part of white hat thinking. It’s never enough to complain that the information is missing. We have to go out and get it.

• Example:▫“We could ask people who have worked with her

in the past.”

• White Hat Thinking is very important because the quality of any decision made depends on the quality of the information on which it is based.

Fact or Opinion• 1. War is always wrong.

▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 2. Many innocent people are killed in war.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 3. There is too much unemployment in Britain.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 4. Wild animals should not be kept in zoos.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 5. Teachers should be allowed to smack children if they misbehave.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 6. Royal weddings always attract a lot of interest.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 7. Cigarettes cause lung cancer.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 8. England is a nation of pet-lovers.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

•9. The Government organises a census of the whole population every ten years.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

• 10. The census is a waste of time and energy.▫ Fact▫ Opinion

End Punctuations

•Sentences end with a period, question mark, or an exclamation mark.▫You have a second PC.▫You have a second PC?▫You have a second PC!

Periods for ending sentences

•Use a period to end most sentences, including statements, commands and indirect questions.

•Statement:▫I installed the program on my PC.

•Command: ▫Install the program on your PC.

•Indirect Question:▫He asked if I installed the program on my

PC.

Bulleted List• If complete sentences, period needs to be put at the

end of each.• Example

To install the software: Close all running application. Insert the CD in the CD-ROM drive. Follow the on-screen instructions.

• Do not end entries with a period if the entries are phrasesBefore installing the software, close all running

applications, including: Word processors Graphic programs

Other uses of the Period

•Follows most of the abbreviations, including days, months, and titles, even if a comma also follows the abbreviation.

•Example