Critical thinking in writing

This paper undertakes a review of the literature on critical thinking in writing with the goal of developing a framework for understanding the relation between critical thinking and critical writing. Theoretically, writing is an effective way of engaging students in critical thinking. The development of writing skill is affected by many aspects involved in the process of generating the dynamic of critical thinking and both reading and writing critically. Definition, conceptions and key characteristics of critical thinking are elaborated comprehensively to highlight critical thinking. Furthermore, the issue of critical thinking rooted from Bloom’s taxonomy is also presented. To break down the critical thinking skills reflected in learner’s writing, teachers can make use of Bloom hierarchy of cognitive domain. Stages of critical thinking are also discussed in depth. This paper also proposes a cyclic model of critical writing that emerges from a review of the literature on the strong emphasis on writing as an integrated critical thinking process. Writing and critical thinking have obviously strong link across different courses and various contexts as it is generalizable. Accordingly, writing critically should incorporate the teaching and learning of critical thinking skills which involve well-designed and specific assessment model