The 8 basic rules of critical thinking

•  Ask questions, ask why! be willing to wonder. To think critically you must be willing to think creatively.
•  Define the problem. Identify the issues involved in clear & concrete terms 
•  Examine the evidence. Consider the nature of the evidence 
•  Analyze biases and assumptions—your own and those of others. 
•  Avoid emotional reasoning ("If I feel this way, it must be right")
•  avoid thinking in false  dichotomies
•  move away from rash conclusions , mystification and reluctance to questions (received wisdom,authority,tradition)
•  move to intellectual discipline ,clear expression of ideas, and of acceptance of personal responsibility for own thinking