If I asked you, 'what did you think of the book you just read?' and you said, 'I liked it.', that is not critical thinking. If you had answered, 'I liked the main character because she was very brave to help the wounded enemy soldier even though....' this is critical thinking. Critucal thinking can be liking or not liking a book, but the key is providing reasons and logic for your argument.

Critical thinking is where you do some kind of objective (not subjective) analysis to explain or support your conclusion. In other words, you are saying WHY you believe your conclusion is correct.

For my younger students, I paraphrase this as skeptical thinking. Does the author have a reason to lie or to exaggerate? Does the main point seem reasonable? Does the author support the main point? Do I have other experiences or knowledge that support or contradict the author's main point? Would reasonable people have a range of opinions? Do I agree or disagree? Why?