What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking.... The first thoughts that come to my mind regarding critical thinking can include argumentation, issues, evaluating information, judgment, questioning, beliefs, theories, proofs, compare & contrast, and to think outside of the box. Critical thinking is an intellectual way to assess what material you are going over, whether it is reading and trying to find out close reading passages within the text. Some of the thoughts that are deeply within the text have to involve critical thinking to find out what it means or what the author is trying to get across. Clearly, anybody can read a book, however it takes a lot more time to come up with your own thoughts on what the reading says. To me, that is what critical thinking is and you are able to see other people's critical thinking and you can compare it to yours. It is a good way to discuss course issues because you get the other persons insight and you get to pick at their brain to a certain extent.
When it comes to reading critically, my habits can include research in the text. That is where I start off when I read. I typically read books so that I can get a grasps of what the reading is about. After I complete that task, I dissect the parts into the main categories of the book. I try to find or see if there is a deeper meaning within the text. It is easy to read the information that the author gives you, but, it takes critical reading to find out more information regarding why the author did this or did that. When reading critically, you become very observant of what the author writes or the way he or she writes. You can see a general pattern throughout the course of the novel. You will be able to see their tendencies or if they use analogies within their writings. Reading critically is far different from skimming the readings, skimming can include finding or trying to comprehend the general theme in the book. Opposite of that is critical reading because you try to figure out the outline, summarize, question and analyze the works of those authors. Furthermore, when reading critically you can write down, highlight the important information that will help you to analyze the novel or going to a deeper meaning of the story or the fact. I always apply it every time, it has become a habit within my reading and thinking critically to all areas in my work, education, and entertainment. Whether its work or education, you always have to critically understand the full concept of the basic step. As for entertainment, in movies you have to think critically to analyze the meaning and message that the director tries to deliver to the audience. As you watch the movie, you want to guess what the conclusion will be or you know what will happen because your mind is allowing you to think creatively and it allows your imagination to run with the script. I also apply these concepts to analyze sports such as: basketball, soccer, etc.. even screening the athletes on TV, they are also other components of my everyday critical thinking because I want to see how they became so good, whether it involves practice or just sheer skill. It allows me to see what they are doing and I can incorporate that stuff within my daily life. On the topic of daily life, school is my main priority and that is why I have to think critically throughout the rest of my life for the betterment of myself. I hope this class can help me improve my analytical skills and a better understanding of human life.