Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Is, also, the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

Why Critical Thinking?

The Problem:

Everyone thinks, but much of our thinking, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. However, the quality of our life depends precisely on the quality of our thought.

Definition:

Critical thinking is that mode of thinking in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.

The Result:

A well cultivated critical thinker:

·   -   Raises questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely.

   - Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively.

·  -  Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards.

·   -  Thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences.

·   -    Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Critical thinking is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking, instead of that, is someone able to deduce outcomes from what he knows, and he knows how to make use of knowledge to solve problems, and to seek relevant sources of information to inform himself.

Article Example

Protecting Lions: A new lifestyle

Lions are carnivorous mammals that come from the family Felidae, and even if a Lion is a natural enemy of the human race, from our perspective, they have always been beautiful and majestic but, unfortunately, the community of these exposed animals has dramatically diminished in the past few decades. For “The Maasai” culture, from Kenya, Lions are now vulnerable mammals that have to be protected.

For thousands of years, this tribe used to kill this animals by protecting their own food and resources, and if a young warrior wanted to be recognized he had to kill a Lion as a part of a ritual making evident his capacity to protect the community. Nevertheless, things have changed, and the Maasai are part of a new East African system to defend and protect lions, known as the Lion Guardians.

This Lion Guardians, have to follow a process where they must learn how to deal with situations such as: conflicts between humans and lions, how to manage data, how to speak in public, etc., to avoid the areas where there are lions, they usually check over the lions and other carnivores and informing that to the cattle herders. They also aid by improving the livestock enclosed space and educating people about wildlife.

Concluding, in order to guard the environment and its species, the mankind have to acquire a position just like the guardians, which are teaching us that even if they have a lot of traditions they decided to protect their lives by protecting lion's life too. 

Karen Calderon. 

REPORT (Video)

This video will help you to better understand how to write a Report.

English Lesson: Learn Report Writing

WHAT IS A REPORT?

A report is a systematic, well organised document which defines and analyses a subject or problem, and which may include:

• the record of a sequence of events
• interpretation of the significance of these events or facts
• evaluation of the facts or results of research presented
• discussion of the outcomes of a decision or course of action
• conclusions
• recommendations

Reports must always be:

• accurate
• concise
• clear
• well structured

Reports use research to make recommendations for action. There are many different types of reports including business reports, scientific lab reports and case study reports. The common feature of all reports is that they are structured into sections. On the other hand, reports can be confused with essays, but in the next chart you will find the differences between them.

How to write a report

1) Title page
This page should include:

• the report title, which states the report’s purpose 
• your name and the name of the person receiving the report (place in the bottom right-hand corner) 
• the submission date. 

2) Executive summary

An executive summary is a paragraph that provides the reader with a quick overview of the entire report, including its purpose, context, methods, major findings, conclusions and recommendations. It is often easier to write the executive summary once the report has been completed.

This is placed on a separate page between the title page and the table of contents. This may often be the only part of the report that is actually read.

3) Table of contents
The table of contents lists the main sections (headings) of the report, and the page on which each begins. If your report includes tables, diagrams or illustrations, these are listed separately on the page after the table of contents.

4) Introduction
The introduction should: 

• discuss the importance or significance of the research or problem to be reported 
• define the purpose of the report 
• outline the issues to be discussed (scope) 
• inform the reader of any limitations to the report, or any assumptions made. 

5) Discussion or body
This contains the main substance of the report, organised into sections with headings and subheadings rather than paragraphs. The body of a report can include the following:
A description of the issue or situation which is being reported on. This may include a literature review of the research on that issue. 

The method of data collection, if applicable — this should include what you did and why, such as a survey or interview, and the size and selection criteria of the study sample
A discussion and analysis of the data collected — this should comment on the reliability and accuracy of the data and relate the findings to your report’s purpose and current literature.

6) Conclusion
This summarises the key findings from the discussion section and may be numbered here for clarity. Relate your conclusion to the objectives of the report and arrange your points logically so that major conclusions are presented first. Some reports may require a discussion of recommendations, rather than a conclusion.

7) Recommendations
These are subjective opinions about what action you think could be followed. They must be realistic, achievable and clearly relate to the conclusion of the report.

8) Reference list
This must contain all the material cited in the report. It must be accurate and consistent with a standard referencing style. Refer to www.citewrite.qut.edu.au

9) Appendices
These contain extra supporting information that is put at the end of the report so as not to distract the reader from the main issues. They contain detailed information, such as questionnaires, tables, graphs and diagrams. Appendices should be clearly set out and numbered in the order they are mentioned in the text.

Example of a short report

http://www.wikihow.com/images/sampledocs/3/Science-Report.pdf

Find more at:

http://library.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writingguides/1.02%20Reports.htm

http://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/report.jsp 

Is it important to adopt your own style when writing?

There are many different and distinct writing styles that are adopted by authors depending on their audience and also on the medium in which they are publishing. Understanding the styles of writing used in various documents can help you to redact your own productions. 

For this reason, here there are more examples of Academic Writing which could help you.

• PROPOSAL

Sr. Edgar Jesus Diaz Contreras, 

Governor of Norte de Santander

As you know, malnutrition is a serious condition that occurs when a person’s diet does not contain the right amount of nutrients. Also, it is known as a common health problem which leads to the appearance of several diseases. Chronic malnutrition has not only to do with the lack of food, but also with the production, availability, transportation of food, water and economic resources. According to the numbers from the National Institute of Health, in Colombia a child of less than five years old dies every 33 hours because of malnutrition, which represents five deaths per week. 

In the department of Norte de Santander, this situation is affecting some municipalities which do not have the economical sources to solve it. On these specific places, nutritional deficiencies are the leading cause of medical care in early childhood and the percentage of children suffering from malnutrition has increased from 52.7% to 55.3%, in the last two years. That is the reason why, I allow myself to write you a suggestion for trying to solve this health problem or at least reduce it. 

From my own view, the best measure to reduce the percentage of children suffering from malnutrition is to implement home garden projects in order to produce food of good quality, because if these projects are successful, the food that children would consume will be organic and with enough vitamins and minerals which are needed for the proper functioning of the human body. 

The first step to execute the production of organic food at home is to give to each family a qualified training of appropriate production practices and the use of raw materials or seeds. Subsequently, it is necessary to make supervisions of the progress of home gardens and the results obtained. Finally, I think that in order to implement these projects, it is necessary to seek sponsorship from large food chains, so that children in the most remote areas of the department receive a decent and adequate food. 

To conclude, it is necessary to say that the implementation of these kinds of projects need to be studied but if you look in deep, this one could be a really useful solution that will improve the bad conditions in which children are growing up on these days. 

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Best regards. 

Katherin Flórez

• COMPETITION ENTRY

• ARTICLE

Is it possible to change our traditions to protect biodiversity?

All cultures and costumes perceive little changes across the time; this is the case of one specific tribe in Kenya, called “The Maasai”. This community was used to hunt lions some years ago, because they were considered as wild and dangerous creatures. It was even part of a ritual for young warriors to kill a lion. However, as today we talk about the protection of animals which consists in promoting responsible human interaction with animals for their safeguard and welfare, the Maasai people aim to protect the lions and learn how to coexist with them. 

In the past, the warriors of this tribe had to kill the lions to protect other kinds of animals. It was also consider as a way to prove their courage and to earn a special role in the community, killing a lion expressed the sense of belonging and commitment to the cultural traditions. However, even if lions are carnivorous mammals which could lead to the extinction of some species, the population of these animals has dramatically decreased in the past few decades. 

According to some studies, there were almost half a million lions in Africa 60 years ago and there are fewer than 30,000 at the moment. As a result, the Maasai warriors have turned from killing to protecting lions. They have become lion guardians and their role is to preserve these creatures and help communities in the interaction with them. On the other hand, lions are an important part of the biodiversity that draws a large amount of tourists every year. As we know, tourism is essential to the local economy of every country and protecting the environment seems fascinating to the population in general. 

In brief, the Maasai changed their traditions in order to protect these stunning creatures because they are considered as symbol of strength, beauty, and power in the society. On the other hand, it is known the importance of saving and protecting all species of animals because it promotes variability, which is one of the principles of natural selection. Finally, the main objective of these kinds of practices is to preserve and protect lions so that the future generations can enjoy it. 

Katherin Flórez

ARTICLE EXAMPLE

·         Mary Sol Ovalle Cijanes

95092313370

Prevention and protection policies against lions’ haunters

Lions have been considered one of the most dangerous, beautiful and strength creatures around the world. However these animals are fast becoming endangered species due to the fact that human beings perceive the practice of haunting lions as a lucrative industry in which pain is the main factor. Although, human conscience has increased to support prevention policies against this situation, this practice is still considered legal in some areas of our planet.

It is evident that lions contribute to biodiversity of a specific area in a continent, but to some tribes big cats are undeniable enemies of nature and they need to be killed to preserve families, traditions and culture.  In recent years the Maasai, a tribe affected by this situation, adopted a new perspective to protect lions called: Lion Guardians in which they defend lions’ lives against haunters. These guardians explain the importance of preserving lions in order to contribute to increase culture and tourism. But, what about effective policies to decrease and prevent the number of lions killed?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the African lion as vulnerable. Taking into account this information, communities for preservation of animal natural environment have been implemented some strategies to raise awareness in which all societies around the world take part of this problematic supporting this cause. Do we need to destroy animals to experiment happiness and joyful? This question may incorporate a large range of answers that some governments are not able to answer due to the fact that they allow the development of these inhuman practices.

Briefly, haunting lions have gaining recognition through human behaviors perceiving this practice as a natural tradition in human perceptions. However, this tradition is changing. Since the implementation of some prevention policies, African tribes have adopted an ideal position being the guardians of these dangerous and beautiful creatures in order to preserve culture, lives and traditions following the natural order. 

THIS VIDEO IS GOING TO HELP YOU TO WRITE AN ARTICLE