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Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User-Friendly Manual, 7th edition

Published by Pearson (July 4, 2019) © 2020

  • Sherry Diestler Contra Costa College

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For courses in Critical Thinking.

Teach students how to think critically about the things that matter

Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User-Friendly Manual trains students to become critical thinkers, thoughtful decision makers and confident advocates for their beliefs. Author Sherry Diestler guides readers to develop the skills to successfully evaluate the many claims facing them as citizens, learners and consumers. In doing so, she helps students become effective advocates for their beliefs.

The 7th Edition offers coverage of resonant contemporary topics such as how social media affects decision making and how marketers influence consumers.

Hallmark features of this title

  • The inclusion of examples of each key concept allows students to see that the skills they use to understand arguments in daily life can be used to analyze political and commercial rhetoric.
  • Exercises and assignments throughout the text emphasize multicultural perspectives.
  • The text helps students to become well-rounded critical thinkers by emphasizing how to understand conflicting value systems, how to make decisions ethically, and how to analyze the impact of media on arguments.
  • Critical thinking, writing and speaking exercises give students opportunities to apply what they're learning.
  • Graphics, animations and cartoons illustrate important concepts.
  • Suggestions of films that illustrate critical-thinking concepts appear at the end of each chapter.

New and updated features of this title

  • NEW: Fresh articles and excerpts cover current topics and issues, and express a variety of social and political viewpoints and ethical concerns.
  • UPDATED: An increased emphasis on practical application of critical thinking skills helps students understand exactly how they can apply course concepts to their personal, social and political concerns.
  • UPDATED: Coverage of the relationship between social media and critical thinking highlights current research on how social media affects decision making and relationships.
  • UPDATED: Discussions of how advertisers and marketers influence consumers include contemporary techniques such as eye tracking, the use of sounds and scents, product placement and neuro-marketing.
  • UPDATED: Learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter section guide students through the text. Expanded chapter summaries, including all relevant concepts and learning objectives, help students better review what they've read.
  • UPDATED: Tools for determining reliable sources of information help students learn how to think critically about media and other sources. These include a checklist for differentiating “fake news” from “real news.”

1. Foundations of Arguments
2. Values and Ethics
3. Reality Assumptions
4. Inductive Arguments
5. Inductive Generalizations
6. Reasoning Errors
7. The Power of Language
8. Suggestion in Media
9. Fair-Mindedness
10. Persuasive Speaking

About our authors

Sherry Diestler serves as chair of the Communication Studies department at Contra Costa College, where she teaches Critical Thinking, Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication and Speaking in the Community. She founded the college’s competitive Speech and Debate Team and also created the college’s Communication Lab to help students across the curriculum prepare and present speeches for their classes. Her department won a POWER award for Outstanding Program Outcomes Assessment (Student Learning Outcomes) from the Research Planning Group of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.

Sherry received bachelor’s degrees in English and Speech at Pennsylvania State University and earned membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Her master’s degree in Communication Arts and Sciences/Media Studies is from Queens College of the City University of New York, where she was fortunate to be trained under Joseph DeVito and Gary Gumpert. She has worked as a communications consultant for the Office of Personnel Management, Western Region, as well as for a number of private corporations. In addition to the 6 prior editions of Becoming a Critical Thinker, she has edited 3 editions of her department custom text with Fountainhead Press entitled Public Speaking for College, Competition, and Career. Her online interpersonal communication text, The Interpersonal Project: Tools for Building, Maintaining, and Repairing Relationships, is being used across her department. She serves as chair of the Professional Development Committee and on the Board of Gateway to College and is a member of the National Communication Centers Association and the National Communication Association.

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