Critical Thinking Syllabus

Contact Details
Lecturer
Th Diu Ngc

Email & Cell phone

dtdngoc@hcmiu.edu.vn
Mobile: 0904 361 717
Office: English Department (Room 510)

Number of credits: 3
Prerequisite: None
Course Description:
Critical Thinking studies a process which is indispensable to all educated persons--the process by
which we develop and support our beliefs and evaluate the strength of arguments made by others
in real-life situations. It includes practice in inductive and deductive reasoning, presentation of
arguments in oral and written form, and analysis of the use of language to influence thought. The
course also applies the reasoning process to other fields such as business, science, law, social
science, ethics, and the arts.
Course objectives/ Learning outcomes:
Successful completion of this course will enable you to

identify, evaluate, and construct inductive and deductive arguments in spoken and written

forms;
recognize common fallacies in everyday reasoning;

distinguish the kinds and purposes of definitions;

distinguish the functions of language and its capacity to express and influence meaning;

and
recognize and assess arguments in various forums of reasoning.

The goals of the course are to help you

develop the habits of assessing and defending the reasonableness of your beliefs and

values and those of others;

appreciate the importance of looking at an issue from a variety of points of view and of

recognizing the complexity that surrounds most controversial issues; and

appreciate the value of critical thinking in both public and private decision-making.

After you have finished this course, you should be more:

self-aware, recognizing your own biases and influences;

inquisitive and curious, wanting to learn more about issues before passing judgment;

objective, basing your judgments on evidence and avoiding twisting evidence to fit your
opinion;

Critical Thinking

open-minded, having the ability to say, "I don't know" or "I was wrong";

sensitive to language, avoiding slanted language, recognizing ambiguous, vague,

emotionally laden language, defining key terms;

imaginative, approaching topics and problems from various angles;

fair and intellectually honest, avoiding misrepresenting the ideas of others or

misinterpreting data and research to fit your own purposes.

Teaching Methods:
Lectures; Power point presentations; classroom discussions; and case studies.

Course Assessment:
Class participation, discussions, quizzes and presentations:
Mid-term Exam (Essay &MCQs) - open-book exam:
Final (writing exam: 20% + Report + Presentation: 30%) :

20%
30%
50%

Textbook
[1] Critical Thinking: A Student's Introduction, 3rd ed. (Bassham, Irwin,
Nardone, and Wallace).
Reference:
[2] Critical Thinking, 9 th ed. (B. N. More, R. Parker)
Web: http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0072879599/student_view0/chapter1/multiple_choice_quiz.html

Critical Thinking

CRITICAL THINKING
Introduction - Chapter 1

COURSE OUTLINE
Logical fallacies - Chapter 5, 6

- What is critical thinking?

- Fallacies of relevance

- Critical thinking standards

- Fallacies of insufficient evidence

- Benefits of critical thinking

- Barriers to critical thinking
- Characteristics of a critical thinker
Recognizing arguments - Chapter 2

Analyzing arguments - Chapter 7

- What is an argument?

- Diagramming short arguments

- Identifying premises and conclusions

- Summarizing longer arguments

- What is not an argument?

Deduction and Induction arguments Chapter 3
- How can we tell whether an argument is deductive or
inductive?
- Common patterns of deductive reasoning
- Common patterns of inductive reasoning
- Deductive validity

Evaluating arguments and truth claims

- Chapter 8
- When is an argument a good one?
- When is it reasonable to accept a premise?
- Refuting arguments
- Sample critical essays

- Inductive strength
Testifying the validity of deductive arguments

Inductive reasoning - Chapter 11

Categorical logic - Chapter 9

- Introduction to induction

Propositional logic - Chapter 10

- Inductive generalization

- Conjunction

- Statistical arguments

- Conjunction and validity

- Induction and analogy

- Negation

- Induction and causal arguments

- Disjunction
- Conditional statements
Language - Chapter 4

Finding, Evaluating, and Using sources

- Chapter 12
- Finding sources, evaluating sources,
- Taking notes, using sources

Midterm Exam (30%): Chapters 1,2,3,9,10

- Multiple choice questions: 30% - 50%
- Writing: 50% - 70% (testing validity + one essay)

Final Exam (50%): Chapters 5,6,7,8,11,12

1. Final written test (20%):
- Multiple choice questions: 50% - 70%
- Writing: 30% - 50% (evaluation)

Critical Thinking

2. Final (written and oral) project: 30%

Critical Thinking