Critical Thinking and Language Essays

My Aunt Rose is a good witch. She came to visit us each year around Halloween. We knew she was a witch because she could change into different things. When she knocked at our door, she was a cat, scratching the door with her long nails and ômeowing,ö louder and louder until we let her inside. By opening the door, we turned her into a witch again. She stood there in a long black dress, with a high pointed black hat, with long black hair, and a large orange leather purse. Her purse was a ôpumpkin.ö The large purse was curved and bright orange with two pockets with black trimming on the front that were its eyes.

Of course my aunt Rose was not a witch in real life, but with her black hair, black outfit, and pumpkin purse, all us kids just knew she was like SabrinaÆs witch aunts on Sabrina The Teenage Witch. She would never reveal to us she was a witch, since we lacked her magical powers. We knew she was a witch because of the way she always studied her reflection in the mirror. We knew she was fascinated because witches have no reflection in a mirror. She stood gazing into the mirror for long periods of time, seemingly perplexed, as if she was pondering a dilemma before the Oracle of Delphi.

Aunt Rose was a good witch. We knew she was good because she always had something for us in her pumpkin. Her pumpkin purse was PandoraÆs box to us. We never knew what might emerge from the pumpkin for us. One time, Aunt Rose s

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other aspects of communication and thinking that are used to express ideas. In this way, language also either empowers or limits our thought expression. This essay will explore the role of language and language diversity in the critical thinking process and the way language empowers or limits thought expression. Body The role of language and language diversity in the critical thinking process is paramount. As Kirby (et al. 2002) argues, ôLanguage is the æsoftwareÆ that allows our brain to think the way it doesö (81). However, many factors influence language and, therefore, our thinking. The different ideas we hold come to us from four main sources, according to Elder and Paul (2002): 1) Our personal experience, 2) Our socialization, 3) Academic subjects we study; and, 4) Our native language, (34). While our language is the vehicle through which we communicate ideas, think, and interpret, our language is subject to many influences that make us vulnerable to uncritical thinking. For example, our socialization, national identity, and cultural ideology can make us prone to self-deception. We often use our language subjectively while thinking we are being objective observers. For example, ôArabsö are terrorists while ôAmerican
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1506
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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