Writing Resources

Elements of Thought presented as a "wheel" model. [Scroll to the Wheel at the bottom of the page.] This is a superb resource for developing ideas and organizing an argument, paper, or presentation. See More below.

Excellent five-minute video that describes some of the main principles of critical thinking.

The Foundation for Critical Thinking provides structure and definitions for learning to think about your own thinking, a process known as metacognition. This site is recommended in our FNU Introduction to Scholarly Writing Course. It describes concepts involved in critical thinking.

Elements of Thought presented as a "wheel" model. Superb resource for developing ideas and organizing an argument, paper, or presentation. See More below.

EXCELLENT VIDEO from Walden University (one hour): Demonstrating critical thinking through writing is one of the tasks of a scholar. This webinar explores some strategies on how to incorporate critical thinking in your writing, highlighting how to use sources to support your own ideas and focusing on creating a thesis statement. NOTE: To view this webinar you must download the free Adobe Connect app. Additional resources, slides, and handouts are available. This instructional content was created by the Walden University Writing Center and is reused under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Critical reading is a vital part of the writing process. In fact, reading and writing processes are alike. In both, you make meaning by actively engaging a text. As a reader, you are not a passive participant, but an active constructor of meaning. Exhibiting an inquisitive, "critical" attitude towards what you read will make anything you read richer and more useful to you in your classes and your life. This guide is designed to help you to understand and engage this active reading process more effectively so that you can become a better critical reader. There is a link on this site in the right navigation bar to download a printable version, with this URL: https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/pdfs/guide31.pdf

This describes how to express a point of view on a subject (a claim or thesis main idea) and support your argument with evidence. This is an essential skill for academic writers.

A comprehensive list of handouts and videos on an assortment of topics related to writing and critical thinking. As an example, select "Argument" in the Writing the Paper column. You will see how to construct a thesis statement to present a main idea or claim (your thesis) and back it up with evidence for statements that support your claim.