How Does Someone Critically Evaluate Something?

By Staff Writer | Last Updated August 4, 2015

Critically evaluating something requires that the person be able to exercise their sense of reason, employing multiple skills for arguing and demonstrating various points. Critical thinking is often synonymous to active learning.

Active learning contrasts with passive learning in that it requires the person to exercise their sense of skepticism and doubt, rather than taking in a theory or idea with unquestionable acceptance. This means that through the critical evaluation, the person is testing the various facets of the topic or idea to see that it makes sense as a whole. Althrough this strategy of analyzing the subject at hand, the person may come across discrepancies or problems that they will then solve or propose solutions to.

The ultimate aim of critical thinking is to create arguments that have clear structure and reasoning. This is always the goal of those that use critical thinking. The process of evaluation should always be aimed at this goal and should reach this aim through a certain way of thinking.This style of evaluation values discourse. It is not about pointing out someone or something’s flaws. It is about systematically using logic to evaluate the topic within an organized line of reasoning that aims to persuade readers towards a particular interpretation or way of thinking.