Appearance, Look and Feel
I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, buuut that’s exactly what I’m about to do, after all first impressions count for everything. From first glance at Critical Thinking, you’re instantly drawn in by its pop of yellow and its bold font. It is simple, eye catching and directly to the point, giving a good preface for what’s to come. The book being paperback, although it is quite large means that is still significantly lighter than many of the books I’ve checked out of the library before. Practical, nobody likes lugging around heavy books. The look and feel of this book embodies its whole philosophy, Straightforward, Practical and Easy to Manage.
Layout
(Simple But Effective)
From opening up the contents of the book you can tell this book has ben well crafted and thought through. As student we love things that are going to save us time so a detailed contents is essential for any book, especially one in which you may only need to hone in on a particular skill. This book’s chapters have subheadings that have subheadings. Oh yes #Win it may sound so simple however we do actually appreciate these features.
Moving past the contents to the actual formatting of the pages, this book is the literal holy grail of books. Whenever I walk into the library to check out a book I will never just pick out the first book of its type from the shelf. I will always flick through the pages to see if any previous students have made any notes in it or highlighted/circled etc. any key information to make my life easier (very important when you have a lot of books to read).
(The notes! It comes with notes!)
THIS BOOK DOES THAT FOR YOU! There are literal side notes highlights and keywords in bold (WITH DEFINITIONS) so you already know what to look for when you start making notes.
Not only that, the book was designed for you to make notes in, within the book there sections for you to write your reflections or notes in, allowing you to actually review what you’ve just read and see how much you’ve understood.
(Space to Reflect)
The inclusion of mini tests again, allow you to engage with what you’ve just read, the active use of recently learned knowledge allows it to become a more permanent memory, making studying more effective.
This book definitely does an exceptional job of feeding students information in different formats in order to keep them engaged. I particularly like the inspirational quotes printed onto colourful illustrations that are peppered throughout the book, they do help brighten your day when you’ve been trapped in the library for hours.
Content
Now I haven’t read this book cover to cover, however this book does not require you to, if there’s a particular skill you want to hone in on or develop, this book can help you do that (within the scope of critical thinking). Within the first couple pages the book provides a list of 5 things you will learn in the chapter, they also just happen to be 5 essential things every university student should learn if they’re looking to get a 1st (see below).
(Essential Skills)
This is just 5 of many useful tips that this book contains and carefully guides you on your way to success. And if that wasn’t enough! This book is also paired with online resources, such as videos and quizzes for you to continue to test your knowledge at home or on the go.
Final thoughts
Judging by its layout formatting, use of style and variety of recourses, Critical Thinking is literally everything that I want from a textbook. If every textbook for geography was like this I might actually consider buying one for once.
If you’re interested in knowing more about this book be sure to keep an eye out on our social media channels, where we will be sharing with you the details of our exciting event with Tom Chatfield, the author of this very book.
Happy reading!
Andre