Critical Thinking and Study Skills

Thinking caps on.

  • Course Length: 18 weeks
  • Course Type: Elective
  • Category:
    • English
    • Life Skills
    • High School

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Shmoop's Critical Thinking and Study Skills course has been granted a-g certification, which means it has met the rigorous iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Courses and will now be honored as part of the requirements for admission into the University of California system.


Critical thinking and study skills sounds about exciting as a tub of broccoli. It's good for you, but there's no flash. No razzle-dazzle. No ranch topping.

(Usually, that is.)

But just like broccoli is a key ingredient to life-long health, critical thinking and study skills are the tools you need to succeed in school—and, by extension, life. Once you learn how to memorize information and pass that all-important exam, problem solve like a pro, or learn how to form an argument better than Socrates himself, you'll be on your way to academic and career stardom.

This semester-long course, aligned to Florida standards, is jam-packed with lessons, handouts, and activities that'll help you form all kinds of school superpowers. You'll develop abilities to

  • apply various technology/life hacks to stay organized and on task.
  • identify and practice test-taking strategies and memory tricks for concept retention.
  • effectively identify, read, and annotate difficult texts of all types.
  • critique and build your own formal arguments using rhetorical appeals but none of the fallacies.
  • understand the purpose of and create the key components of an argumentative essay.

Basically: pass the broccoli. It's time to think critically.


Unit Breakdown

1 Critical Thinking and Study Skills - How to be a Student

Today, in Deep Thoughts with Shmoop: School is tough, but you're tougher. In this unit, we're getting primed for a scholastic shock and awe campaign with basic study/life skills like getting organized, whaling on time management, taking notes that are actually useful, slaying distractions, battling stress, and mastering those two magic words to students everywhere: Google and Word.

2 Critical Thinking and Study Skills - How to Study

This unit right here is where we're covering test-taking strategies for every kind of test in the teacher's arsenal, as well as memory tricks to dominate every course, every time. Plus, we included a special bonus section on how to not be the only one in the "group project" doing the work and still produce a killer presentation.

3 Critical Thinking and Study Skills - How to Read

In this unit, we're diving into the specifics of that most treasured of school pastimes: reading. We've got a heaping helping of text structures with a side of graphic organizers and a dash of online research (there's an essay lurking in unit 5), as well as lessons on how to read trickier stuff like textbooks, primary sources, pictures, and poetry.

4 Critical Thinking and Study Skills - How to Think

School contains lots of reading, sure, but the lynchpin is being able to think critically about what we read. In this unit, we're starting it off easy with a good talk on main ideas, summaries, and critiques. Then, we're analyzing formal arguments and rhetoric from top to bottom (and bottom to top). Brush up your Greek, because Logos, Ethos, and Pathos are coming out to play. Oh, and by the end, you'll form your own very special argument from all that research.

5 Critical Thinking and Study Skills - How to Write

Those mental analysis powers we've now got are very impressive, but unfortunately, not many teachers or universities will just take our word for it. We'll need to persuade them, and that means writing. In this unit, we're getting all up in that argumentative essay's face and showing it who's boss. We've got all the trade secrets about hammering out introductions, transitions, evidence, citations, conclusions, and even how to avoid jail time from plagiarizing, so get your game face on, boss.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 2.09: The In-Class Essay

Have you ever heard the phrase "you can't walk and chew gum at the same time"? Because it's totally true. We cannot do two things at once. Take the time we tried to blow a bubble while walking down a flight over stairs. Let's just say we did more falling than walking and had to cut our hair. Talk about a bad hair day!

Even worse things can happen if we try to think about what we want to write and write at the same time. It just doesn't work.

A girl blowing a giant bubble. Oh, the magic of bubble gum.
We only blow bubbles while leaning on a stable surface for support.
(Source)

So when tasked with the challenge of an in-class essay, we like to break things down step by step. Thinking is the first and most repeated step. Some would even say that, without thinking about exactly what we want to say and how to say it, the essay would never come to exist. The other steps for success include planning, and then drafting what will become an impromptu masterpiece.

A masterpiece? Okay, not really. No one has ever written a masterpiece in 60 minutes or less. Nevertheless, you can crank out a stellar essay if you plan your essay and then leave time for revising and its best bud, editing, before handing that sucker in.


Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 2.2.09: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

An essay is a process. It can be a long one, too. Because most writers think about what they want to write as they write, it's easy to get confused and lost along the way. Thinking while writing is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can lead to some nasty consequences.

As you read through today's wisdom, take notes on our handy-dandy note sheet. By the end, those sparkly notes should contain all the vital info about each of the five parts of the writing process.

Collected Writing Process Wisdom

The quickest way to get a poor essay grade is to do one of these things:

  1. Not answer the question
  2. Ramble
  3. Run out of time

These are the nasty consequences we were talking about. They're a friend to no writer. Coincidentally (okay, not coincidentally at all), they are the direct results of "winging it," or too much thinking while writing. To prevent these tragedies, do most of the thinking before the writing.

Shmoop Truth: The more planning you do ahead of time, the easier your writing time will be. Planning, as it turns out, is exactly what we're about to have a heart-to-heart about.

When it comes to running out of time, well, we feel you. Great writing doesn't often come in a hurry, but good writing can. Whip out those time-management skills you have so many of now and create a mini-schedule for your essay writing.

Figure out how many total minutes you have, and then assign increments for creating your outline, drafting, revising, and editing. If allowed, use a silent timer to help. Yes, time for revision and editing is necessary, but save the most precious time for creating your outline, since it's going to guide your entire essay.

Planning

Outlines are our favorite planning tool. We love outlines so much, we made a video about them. Please partake of our excellent outlining video below.

No one needs to plan every detail down to the last semicolon. That's extreme. What isn't extreme is triple-verifying what question the prompt is asking. Take care of this first. This is a big one. It's huge. Neglect this at your peril. Our solution? Write the prompt's question at the top of the outline.

To avoid rambling, follow these handy steps:

  1. Think about how you want to answer the question.
  2. Decide the answer to the prompt.
  3. Write the answer below the prompt question.
  4. Decide what supporting evidence to use.
  5. Organize ideas into paragraphs on the outline. For in-class essays, we like the five-paragraph approach (intro, paragraph 1, 2, 3, conclusion).

Think of this outline as the helpful inflatable bumpers used in bumper bowling. They may seem silly, but boy, do they keep that essay bowling ball on the right track.

Drafting/Writing

If this essay had no time limit, we would recommend writing down whatever sentences come to mind in the roughest of rough drafts, just to get it down on paper. No idea is too silly! No sentence construction too strange! Then, you could write three or four more drafts until that essay was a perfect, polished pearl.

Unfortunately, there isn't time for four drafts because this is an in-class essay. Realistically, this "rough" draft should be somewhere between a rough draft and a final draft. It should be a smooth-ish draft. (Yes, we made that word up.) Avoid randomly writing down words stream-of-consciousness style, but don't feel obligated to compose every sentence in its entirety before writing it down either. We need a nice middle ground here.

Follow this handy procedural text to dominate "smooth-ish" drafting:

  1. Follow the outline. Let it be your guide.
  2. Pause before starting a new paragraph to consider what points it should cover.
  3. Write slowly enough to produce a sentence that is grammatically correct.
  4. Support every claim with evidence. Every one. If you write a five-paragraph essay, you should have three body paragraphs, each with a main point supported by evidence.
  5. Follow the outline. Seriously. (It's important.)

By the time the concluding paragraph comes around, there should be a solid, do-able essay ready. We want a polished, lovely essay though, so break out that shoe polish: it's time for revising.

Revising

Next comes round 3: Revision. A rough draft usually has bumpy spots that need to be smoothed out, and that's fine because that's how essays are born. It's a process. Sometimes it's a bumpy one, but run through this mental checklist and that essay will be smooth like a baby's behind.

  • Purpose. Does the essay directly answer the question from the prompt? Well, does it? We sure hope so.
  • Audience. Think about the reader. Diction and tone should be respectful and academic, and should include absolutely zero slang. That doesn't mean you can't crack a joke or two, though. Teachers have a sense of humor too. (We've heard.)
  • Style and Organization. Reread the draft to make sure the ideas connect in a sensible order and that the words flow. Be interesting, but not frightening or confusing.
  • Word choice. Circle words that, if changed, could add a little something snazzy. Then, look them up in the thesaurus to find better words as replacements. Everyone likes a little verbal sparkle.
  • Figurative Language. Get funky with words. Essays without figurative language are like oat bran. It's good for you, but it sure doesn't taste good.
  • Sentence Variety. Some sentences may be too long or run-on into the essay abyss, so shake things up. Sentence variety makes reading way more enjoyable.
  • Subtlety of Meaning. Consider how "fancy" the essay sounds. Is it plain and straight to the point, or does it have clever insights? Be clear about ideas, but feel free to use a little nuance in the detail.

Revising often gets left out in order to save time, but don't let this step pass you by! Especially when writing in a timed scenario, it's easy for thoughts to jump around. Sometimes a sentence starts with one thought and ends with another, or doesn't end at all. That's never good. As we always say in pretend-Latin, Carpe revisionem!

If your essay is written with a good old pen/pencil (instead of a computer), you'll have to be savvy about how you revise. Make sure you've left enough room to cross our words and rewrite (possibly on a line above?). If you need to cross out a paragraph and rewrite it, just make sure your teacher knows where that new paragraph goes (try an arrow).

Editing

After you revise, your essay's core content and style should be in place, but you haven't yet reviewed for grammar, mechanics, and spelling. A single grammatical mistake won't sink the essay, so there's no need to go into panic spirals over restrictive clauses. However, a few pauses for consideration never hurt anyone, except in cases involving being chased by a bear, in which case speed is of the essence. Review that sucker for nitty-gritty mistakes.

We'll also let you in on a little secret, Shmooper. When in doubt about a grammar issue, do what the major style guides like The Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook recommend: "avoid the construction." Yep, you read that right. If you aren't quite sure how to punctuate or otherwise grammar-fy a sentence, rearrange it into one you do know how to grammar-fy. Even professionals do this, and we promise it's not cheating. Hope you used a pencil!

Publishing/Handing in

Once all comma splices are un-spliced and all nouns agree with their verbs, it's final draft time. Use this marked-up but now-excellent draft to write a clean, fresh copy…if you have time, at least. Not only does this allow for catching a stray mistake or two, but teachers appreciate less smudgy, easier-to-read versions. If you're on a computer, well, you're golden.


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 2.09a: Failing to Plan? Never.

Let's suppose that a hypothetical teacher assigns you a hypothetical persuasive essay with this prompt:


Some students feel that time-limited essays, like in-class essays, should not be allowed. These students feel that they should be allowed to take the work home in order to spend as much time as needed on it. Others feel that there are important skills tested by limiting how much time a student can spend on an essay in a controlled environment, like a classroom. In a persuasive essay, take a position on this issue and carefully defend it with evidence.


Now, doesn't that sound fun? We think so.

In this activity, your job is to create a hypothetical outline for this hypothetical in-class essay. Model your outline on the one in the video or the one on page 2 of this handout and create a similar one in Word, or use any alternative method you prefer. Be sure to follow the five steps we listed in the reading:

  1. Do the thinking.
  2. Decide the answer to the prompt.
  3. Write the answer below the prompt question.
  4. Decide what supporting evidence to use.
  5. Organize ideas into paragraphs on the outline.

When you're finished, upload your outline here.


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 2.09b: Actually Writing the Thing

Can't get enough essay-writing wisdom? We knew you couldn't. Big surprise: the hypothetical essay wasn't hypothetical. Now, you're going to check out Shmoop's Essay Lab and get the goods on in-class persuasive essay writing.

Essay Lab is pretty nifty because it helps write any kind of essay and helps you along the process. It's like having a best friend who knows your every thought before you think it.

For this activity, follow the instructions on each tab of the screen starting at the Introduction tab (you've already done the planning) to actually write this thing. You'll be an essay star in no time.

It sounds like a lot, but if you've got one class period's worth of time after choosing your topic, you've got enough time for an in-class essay. We're not expecting a polished gem, but give it a good shot. Spend no more than one hour writing your essay.

Upload the final product below!