Week 9: Capstone Discussion Question
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Critical thinking has altered my reading and writing to be more
skeptical of the information. I now look much more closely at
word choices, especially nuances in word choice. Even more so I
have now become aware of many more logical fallacies, and rhetorical
devices, to be on the watch for as I evaluate information. Much
more information is discarded now, and even more is only provisionally
accepted.
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While there is always the expected bias in the traditional media
outlets, I was surprised at the subtle word choices made by so many
professional publications. A recent example of this was the use
of "a leading ..." rather than "the leading ..." In the past I
just read that as "the leading" and thus assumed they were the biggest,
rather than one of the largest. I've also caught a number a
fallacies in reasoning that I would have otherwise just passed over,
most of them appeared to be an error on the author's part; but still a
problem.
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Going forward, I will continue to use critical thinking in my
writing. This will ensure that my arguments are well though out,
as well as valid and strong. It will also serve to make sure that
my own resources are good resources, and acceptable for the
paper. Finally, it will serve to make sure that I have
sufficiently address the opposing view.
I will also continue to evaluate things that I hear and read.
While it has taken some practice to see the error and rhetorical
devices, they have already repeatedly show up. Even in heavily
slanted outlets, such as the traditional media and talk radio, it will
serve to try and evaluate the other side of the story or issue.
© Erik Smith 2005
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