By : Dyah M. S.Pd., M.

Pd

Critical Thinker’s
Characteristics

Compiled from : http://ww2.nscc.edu/ (Nashville State Community College.)

And www.insightassessment.com
 Critical Thinker
❄Critical reading will only occur when the reader
posses ability to think, critically.

❄ Critical thinker will read a text, _even if it seems

too simple_ deeply, analyze the text towards
several matter relates to the content of the text.

❄ Critical thinker= sensitive and fair.

 Characteristics
1. critical thinkers are deliberate. They don't just
react from the gut or go with their first instinct--
they first think carefully.

- When they think, they are thoughtful, considering

various aspects in many sides of the matter. They
also think not in a hurried way.
2.critical thinkers
recognize complexities
and work within them.

- When they read a

passage (politics, for
instance) they will easily
identify that there are
various political interests
behind the purpose of that
passage. Then they will
respond it wisely.
3. critical thinkers are curious and desired to seek
the truth

- When they hear about an assumption or opinion,

they will not straightly judge it, yet they will be
curious on the precision of that assumption, then
they will seek the truth and facts from other sources
4. Critical thinkers communicate clearly and
logically, they are also fair-minded in seeing a
problem.

- A writing (text) is also one of the communication

means. For a critical thinker, their attitude towards
the text is clear, not ambiguous. If they know it’s
right, they’ll agree to it. If they know it’s not right,
they’ll disagree to it. Their reason to agree or
disagree is obviously make sense and logic, not
based on the feeling, only.
5. Critical thinker has the objectivity.

- Great critical thinkers have the ability to remain

objective. They understand the goal, stay focused
and don’t let their emotions (or others’) cloud their
judgment.
6. Critical thinker has open-mindedness regarding
divergent world views.

- People look at a certain matter in their own way

and point of view, a critical thinker should consider
it as a whole, part of common phenomena. So they
aren’t limit their way of thinking only in one side.
7. Critical thinker is honest in facing one’s own
biases, prejudices, stereotypes, or egocentric
tendencies.

- Having a cross opinion with someone which has

a too deep propensity (kecenderungan) on a
thought, or is a militant fans of their bias, a
critical thinker tend to be honest and straight to
the point.
- It is sometime can be a bit dangerous as people
may not accept honesty easily.
10 minutes task!
Below, is a situation which may happen in everyday
life. Write a paragraph, telling what critical thinker
may do, if he/she is involved in that situation!
A young couple, have a 6 month old baby boy. Since
yesterday, he suffered from cough. On the next morning,
when the husband went to work, the wife wanted to give
the baby boy a cough syrup. Unfortunately, she mistook
the cough syrup bottle. It is cough syrup for adult
belongs to the husband. The grandmother was really
angry knowing this. She blame the husband for
carelessly put his cough syrup near cough syrup for
children. The husband was really sad, but did not want
to take the blame, because it was not his fault.