How to develop your critical thinking skills

Engaging With Your Peers

Discussion and debate are great ways to hone your critical thinking skills. Form or join a study group (or a series of study groups) and choose key topics from your course to discuss. If you are taking a course that gives you the option of attending CÉIM or PAL (peer-assisted learning) sessions, go to these. 

Get involved in class discussions in tutorials. These are your main opportunity to really flesh out what has been covered in lectures, so make use of them: ask questions, analyse evidence, and question the conclusions of others.

Join a debating society – or any student society – and let the passionate discussions commence!

Swap coursework (assignments, projects, and so on) with a classmate and critically evaluate each other’s arguments, use of evidence, and conclusions. What are the strong points? What needs development? What is missing? What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Just be careful not to copy each other’s work and remember that, if in doubt, check in with a lecturer or tutor.

Engaging With Your Learning

Engage critically with course content, particularly with your assigned reading (see our top tips for academic reading in Reading and Note-Making for more). This open educational textbook created by the Library's Academic Skills Team includes a short chapter on critical thinking that you may find useful. 

When completing assignments, ask yourself if you have gone beyond demonstrating a basic understanding of the topic. Have you analysed the evidence? Have you evaluated the arguments? Have you synthesised all of the available information and can you draw any conclusions based on what you have done?

Respectful Disagreement

Accept that criticism and disagreement are not the same as conflict. It’s OK to hold different views to a classmate, friend, or lecturer. Learn how to disagree and to offer and accept criticism without it ever being personal. Sometimes students feel that if they disagree with another person, this might be considered rude or impolite. But one of the main functions of a university is to foster a spirit of inquiry and questioning. Much new knowledge and thinking stems from respectful disagreement with others. Just make sure that you base your arguments on solid evidence.