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This guide is significantly more dense than many of the other subject guides. Reading it top to bottom, watching every video, and going to every link all at once is not recommended.
Source: Delapouite, used under CC BY 3.0
Critical thinking can be tough sometimes! It can help to remember that it's a skill you can build over time, like a muscle in your brain, making it easier and more automatic in the future. As you practice, you'll get better and better at it.
There are many definitions for critical thinking! Put simply, most would say it is thinking about ideas, arguments, and information with the goal of being reasonable, by noticing your own biases and faults and working to improve them. But some people might disagree - here are a few more definitions you can look through.
Defining Critical Thinking - The Foundation for Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking - Credo Reference
Critical Thinking About Sources - Molloy University
What is Critical Thinking? - University of Louisville
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving - University of Tennessee Chattanooga
These models can help you think through critical thinking methods visually. They're just guidelines (they don't need to be followed perfectly step-by-step or anything), but they can be helpful to work through.
Source: Jono Hey, Sketchplanations, CC 4.0.
Source: University of Southampton Critical Thinking LibGuide (via Batista, 2007).