essay on creative thinking in communication

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Essay on Communication in 100, 200 and 300 Words: The Essence of Survival

• Updated on  
• Oct 20, 2023

Do you know how important it is to communicate with others? Communication is the primary means through which individuals share information, ideas and thoughts. Communication fosters strong relationships. In this essence, writing an essay on communication becomes important where you highlight the importance of communication, how it affects our everyday lives and what skills are required to become a communication professional . Let’s explore all these questions with some essays on communication.

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on Communication in 100 Words
• 2 Essay on Communication in 200 Words
• 3 Essay on Communication in 300 Words

Also Read: Essay on Freedom Fighters

Essay on Communication in 100 Words

Communication is the cornerstone of human interaction and is crucial to sharing ideas, thoughts and information. By communicating, people foster relationships, which is vital for personal and professional growth. Effective communication facilitates understanding, resolves conflicts, and promotes collaboration. Whether verbal or nonverbal, it forms the basis of successful teamwork, decision-making, and social integration.

Clear communication is key to a harmonious society, nurturing empathy, and building trust. It encourages brainstorming, creative thinking, and the development of new solutions to complex problems. Its impact is profound, shaping the way we interact, learn, and evolve, making it an indispensable tool for human connection and progress. 

Essay on Communication in 200 Words

What makes communication important is that it serves as the bedrock for exchanging ideas, information, and emotions. It is the essence of human interaction, enabling us to convey our thoughts, beliefs, and intentions to others. Effective communication is essential in every aspect of life, whether in personal relationships, professional environments, or social interactions.

Effective communication can form the basis of trust and mutual understanding and understanding. In personal relationships, communication fosters understanding and empathy, allowing individuals to express their feelings and needs, while also listening to and acknowledging others. 

In the professional realm. Communication allows the smooth functioning of organizations. With communication, individuals can disseminate information, set clear expectations and encourage collaboration among team members. Moreover, effective communication in the workplace enhances productivity and promotes a positive work culture.

The uses and benefits of communication are not limited to just personal and professional realms. In social environments also, communication allows diverse groups to understand each other’s cultures, beliefs, and values, promoting inclusivity and harmony in society.

You can call communication a fundamental pillar of human existence, as it helps in shaping our relationships, work environments, and societal interactions. Its effective practice is essential for nurturing empathy, building trust, and fostering a more connected and understanding world.

Also Read: Essay on the Importance of English Language

Essay on Communication in 300 Words

How crucial communication is can be explained by the fact that it allows the smooth transfer of ideas, thoughts, feelings and information. Communication is the lifeblood of human interaction, playing a crucial role in the exchange of ideas, information, and emotions. It serves as the cornerstone of relationships, both personal and professional, and is integral to the functioning of society as a whole. 

In personal relationships, it is essential to have effective communication for clear understanding and empathy. It allows individuals to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs, while also providing a platform for active listening and mutual support. Strong communication fosters trust and intimacy, enabling individuals to build meaningful and lasting connections with others.

Without communication, you might struggle for organizational success in the professional world. Clear and effective communication within a team or workplace ensures that tasks are understood, roles are defined, and goals are aligned. It enables efficient collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making, contributing to a positive and productive work environment. Moreover, effective communication between employers and employees promotes a sense of transparency and fosters a healthy work culture.

In a broader sense, communication is vital for social integration and cultural understanding. It bridges the gaps between diverse groups, facilitating the exchange of values, beliefs, and perspectives. Effective communication fosters inclusivity and respect for cultural differences, contributing to a more harmonious and cohesive community.

However, communication is not just about sharing information and ideas. It also encompasses nonverbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, all of which play a significant role in conveying meaning and emotions. It is the glue that binds individuals and communities together, fostering understanding, empathy, and collaboration. Practicing clear and empathetic communication is vital for creating a more connected, inclusive, and harmonious world.

Related Articles:

Communication is the process of exchanging ideas, information, thoughts and feelings between individuals or groups through the use of verbal and nonverbal methods.

To write an essay on communication, you need to describe what communication is, what the importance of communication in our lives and how it can help us know different aspects of life.

To become an effective communicator, you must become an active listener and understand what others have to say. You must learn to express your thoughts clearly and concisely. You also need to ensure your body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice perfectly align with your ideas.

For more information on such interesting topics, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Question Your Questions: How to Spark Creativity in Your Communication

In this episode, we discuss how curiosity and storytelling can lead to more innovative online and in-person communication.

September 25, 2020

“Sparking communication starts with asking why or what or how.”

On this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Tina Seelig , the Professor of the Practice at Stanford’s department of management science and engineering and the executive director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, chats with host and lecturer Matt Abrahams about the importance of asking questions about everything we do.

“Having a mindset of curiosity opens the door to great communication,” Seelig says. “The more questions you ask, the more you learn, the more engaged you will be with others.”

Think Fast, Talk Smart is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of Business. Each episode provides concrete, easy-to-implement tools and techniques to help you hone and enhance your communication skills.

Full Transcript

Matt Abrahams : There you are staring at the blank screen. What do I say? How do I say it? Where do I start? If you’re like many of us, having to communicate in high-stakes situations can really zap your creative juices. Finding inspiration and catalyzing your creativity can really help.

Hi. My name is Matt Abrahams. And I teach strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Welcome to “Think Fast, Talk Smart,” the podcast. Today, I am thrilled to be joined by Tina Seelig, who is a professor of the practice in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University.

She is also a faculty director at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. Tina teaches courses on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

She is the author of many books including Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World and inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. Tina is a passionate, student-centered teacher who is just a dynamo to learn from. Welcome, Tina.

Tina Seelig : It’s a pleasure to be here.

Matt Abrahams : Great. Thank you. Shall we jump right in?

Tina Seelig : You bet.

Matt Abrahams : So how can people develop a more creative, innovative approach to their communication?

Tina Seelig : This is really, really important. I know that you think about this a lot. And what I’m going to tell you probably is something that you think about all the time. But my world opened up dramatically when I realized the power of storytelling.

I saw people who were great communicators. But what I didn’t realize is how they were using storytelling to really effectively get their message across.

So at this point, I teach storytelling tools and techniques and the power of storytelling in almost every one of my classes because, no matter how exciting your idea is, if you can’t tell a story that truly engages other people and make people feel excited about the idea, the whole thing is going to fall flat.

Matt Abrahams : So what are one or two of the things you teach in that storytelling that really could help everybody listening in?

Tina Seelig : Great. So I’m a huge fan of the story spine. Are you familiar with that – [crosstalk]

Matt Abrahams : I am. But why don’t you share with others?

Tina Seelig : Yeah. So the story spine is super simple. It starts out like this: once upon a time and every day. And of course, that sounds familiar. But it essentially sets the stage for where you are now. You know, once upon a time. And describe the problem and the consequences of that problem.

And then, after that is until one day. And that is your intervention. That’s what you’re going to do that’s going to change the plot. And after that, it’s because of that and because of that and because of that and because of that.

You can have as many because of thats – that’s essentially the consequences of your intervention. And it ends with an ever since then. Okay. So it then paints a picture of the world after your intervention has essentially been adopted by the world.

So it goes once upon a time and every day, until one day and because of that and because of that and because of that until finally and ever since then. Now, it sounds really, really simple. But it’s actually quite difficult to do.

So I give my students – I’ll give them an opening prompt like, “There once was a girl who dreamed of flying.” Or it could be some problem like, you know, “There are 500 million people in the world who suffer from some ailment.”

And I set the stage for a problem and then have them tell a story. It’s really amazing to see them start mastering these skills that allow them to then communicate the ideas they come up with in class to really share those ideas that are really compelling [like].

Matt Abrahams : I really like leveraging the story spine in that way. I use the story spine as an example of the power of structure in communication in general. And what’s so cool about the story spine is that it really invites that creativity from the get-go.

And it requires you to really stay focused on your audience and their needs. To my mind, one of the most important things of any storytelling is making sure that you engage the audience and make it relevant to them. And that approach that you take puts that at the forefront. So that’s really powerful.

Tina Seelig : Yeah. I also – one of the other things I think is extremely important is to think about the hook at the beginning of the story. And there’s so many ways to have a great hook. It could be a really surprising fact. It could be something funny.

It could be a question. In fact, I usually like to start with a question, a provocative question because it very clearly engages the audience in thinking about, wow, how would I answer that question? That’s a really provocative question.

Matt Abrahams : So Tina, I am literally picking up my soapbox. I am putting down and now standing on top of it because you just touched something that is so important to me. I am on a personal mission to have people stop starting their presentations and meetings with, “Hi. My name is –”

Matt Abrahams : “– and today, I’m going to tell you about –” that is so banal, so boring. And what you just mentioned about how to start in a provocative, engaging way can dramatically change an interaction, a communication.

And it certain helps in storytelling. So thank you for giving me an opportunity to share that we have to change the way we start because it just – it puts people in a position of passiveness and disengagement if we don’t do it right.

Tina Seelig : I completely agree. In fact, here’s a fun thing that you might want to try in your classes as well. Just a couple years ago, we started a new program. And the students would go around the room and introduce themselves.

And they do this like, “I’m Joe Schmoe. And I study this. And my research is that.” And everybody is, you know, snoring. So we switched around. One of the students started using a different framework. And it caught on.

And this is the framework. She started out saying, “Imagine a world where –” and then she would talk about, you know, “Imagine a world where we traveled to space as frequently as we get on an airplane.”

And then, she’d say, “And my name is so-and-so. And this is what I’m excited about. And this is what I’m studying that’s going to help me get there.”

So we now do that in all the introductions. The students all have to start out with what they’re passionate about. Imagine a world where – and then, they have to start with that before they tell anyone who they are or what they’re studying.

Matt Abrahams : I love that. I love that. And it dovetails nicely with what I teach, which is start like you’re an action movie. All action movies start with action. And then, you learn the title of the movie and the credits. And what you’re doing in those introductions is the same thing.

Start by getting people passionate and engaged. And then, you can introduce yourself. I love it. I love it. So my next question has to do with what we spoke about in the introduction to this podcast about feeling stuck about how and where to start when we create a high-stakes communication. What advice and guidance do you have for sparking our creativity and getting us started in on our communication?

Tina Seelig : Yeah. That’s a really good question. As with most problems, the best place to start is with really understanding the needs. And this starts with asking questions.

Matt Abrahams : Hmm.

Tina Seelig : So sparking communication starts with asking why or what or how. So having a mindset of curiosity opens the door to great communication. And the most questions you ask, the more you learn, the more engaged you will be with others.

Matt Abrahams : Yeah. I think a lot of us go into these things saying I have to say all this, or this is my time limit. And I feel a lot of pressure. And I really like this idea of asking questions. Do you have other advice on question asking?

Tina Seelig : My goodness. I spend a lot of time in my classes teaching students how to ask questions. The question you ask is the frame into which an answer will fall. And this might sound like, what are you talking about?

But I can give you some really interesting examples that hopefully will just like blow your mind and make you realize how powerful this is. [Would you like an example]?

Matt Abrahams : I would love for you to do that. I’d love to hear some examples because that statement about the frame sounds very Zen-like. So I’d love to hear what it means.

Tina Seelig : It is actually. It’s so core to everything we do. I can give you several examples in fact. Let’s start with a simple example. Okay. I could ask you to build a bridge. And you can go off and build that bridge. Or you could come back and say, “Well, Tina, why do you need a bridge?”

And I’d say, “Well, I need a bridge to get the other side of a river.” And you go, “Wow. Well, there are lots of ways to get to the other side of the river.” I mean, Matt, how many other ways are there to get to the other side of the river. What could you do?

Matt Abrahams : I could think of three or four different ways right away: get a boat, swim across, things like that.

Tina Seelig : Right. Exactly, a tunnel, a hot-air balloon, you know, all sorts of ways to get across. So if I ask the question, do you want to – how to get across the river, it’s a really different solution set than how do you build a bridge?

But my favorite example is one I use in my classes where I have the students come up with all the things they hate about their suitcase.

Of course, we’re not using as many suitcases right now because we’re not traveling as much. But you know, what are all the things? And they quickly make a list of: it’s too heavy; the clothes get wrinkled; the wheels get locked; the handle doesn’t work; all sorts of things, you know; it’s not the right size.

And so I go, “Okay. Great. Go design now a brand-new suitcase.” And they come back with all these new fancy suitcases with all of these new features. And they think they’ve done a good job until I say, “Did we ask the right question?”

Because the real question is, why – just like why do you need a bridge, you know, why do you need to go across a river – the question is, why do you need a suitcase?

So the initial answer – people think I’m just being flippant. And they go, “Well, you know, to carry my stuff.” But that’s actually not why you use a suitcase. Nobody likes to carry a suitcase. We use a suitcase despite the fact that we hate packing it.

We hate dragging it around. We hate it getting lost. We hate storing it. And yet, we use it. And we assume that we need a suitcase. But the real reason – when you start going down that rabbit hole, you start realizing the real reason you use a suitcase is to have the things you need at your destination.

Matt Abrahams : Mm-hmm. Sure.

Tina Seelig : So how might you solve that problem? And they look at me and go, “Well, that’s kind of interesting. How might I solve that problem?” And I urge them to think not just today. But what could you do in five years or 10 years or 50 years to solve this problem?

So you could say, “Well, what if I had 3D printed clothes?” So essentially, my closet, you know, had a virtual closet in the cloud, okay, so that, when I get to my destination, I go, gosh. I really wish I had a jacket. I’m going to print out my down jacket.

Or gosh, I really wish I had hiking boots. And I’d print them out. And at the end of your trip, you kind of melt them back down. They go back up in the cloud. Or maybe there’s Airbnb for clothes. Right. You go somewhere, and you rent all your clothes. And then, you give them back.

Or maybe your suitcase – maybe you have one suitcase that travels around the world independent of you. And you just go online and say, “Suitcase, go to Paris. Suitcase, go to Rome.” So – and it follows you.

So the fact is that you need to question the questions you ask. And this is one of the most powerful things you can do to unlock really, really innovative solutions.

Matt Abrahams : Well, first, I’d love to live in that reality because I hate schlepping suitcases. But second, the idea that we have to question our questions to spark creativity can help in not just creating communication but I think in lots of facets of our life. Thank you for sharing that.

As you’ve just demonstrated, you’re a master teacher. And I know you have embraced virtual teaching, as many of us are having to do. Can you share best practices you’ve developed that can help all of us as we communicate more and more remotely?

Tina Seelig : You bet. I think about this a lot. It is a really different learning environment. And a virtual classroom is quite different than an in-person class. I am trying to figure out, how do I make that experience as powerful as possible for the students?

And one of the first things you have to think about is setting the stage. Right. And when you go into a classroom – it’s one of the reasons I teach in the D school is the space is so great. And I can set the stage for a class.

But since I can’t do that online, how can I set the stage? So I do it in a number of different ways. One is I always start my classes off playing music. And I play some upbeat music so that everyone starts out actually sort of like dancing.

You know, everyone is bopping around before we start the class. It sets the stage. It allows us to know we’re now moving into the classroom. And then, we turn off the music. We start. The other thing is I often have the students – we all decide where we’re going to go.

We’re like, okay. This week, we’re going to meet in Antarctica. Everybody changes their backdrop to a picture from Antarctica. Or we’re going to go to New Zealand. So there’s just a fun way of getting everyone in the space.

And you sort of set the stage, the fact that you’re together. You’ve all listened to the same music. You have the same background. And we’re now ready to dive in.

Also, I think it’s really important to change up activities really quickly, like every 10 to 15 minutes. I almost feel it’s almost like Sesame Street, you know. Every 10 to 15 minutes, you need to change, you know, watching a video to doing an activity to breaking into small groups.

You know, folks get bored looking at a screen if things are static. So you need to plan a lot in advance. I view myself as more of a producer when I’m planning an online class. There’s a tremendous amount of thought that goes into essentially scripting the whole experience.

Matt Abrahams : So the point about setting atmosphere upfront I think can make a really big difference. You’re doing it with music and common backgrounds. But just taking time to think about how do we set the tone for what we want this communication experience to be like is really important.

And your colleague, Bob Sutton, and I talked very similarly about switching things up every 10 to 15 minutes. And that’s really important. And that notion you mentioned actually was just something I highlighted recently when I was asked about teaching and presenting virtually and that notion of being a producer.

So we often think, hey, I just have to focus on my meeting contribution or the agenda or my presentation. But when you’re presenting virtually, you have to have this other task to focus on, which is the production aspect, the timing of it.

When do I do things? Do I have things lined up? So it can be an added burden. But if done well, it can really change the engagement. And the whole interaction can be much more powerful and memorable.

Tina Seelig : Exactly. One of the other things I do is I always have a check-in with the students. And it’s interesting. I used to do it in my classrooms where we’d stand in a big circle. And everybody would say a sentence about what’s going on in their life.

And I’m like, [now] I’m going to go to Yosemite this weekend. Or I’ve got a big exam after this. Or I just have a job interview, whatever it is. But guess what? I can do this now on a Zoom whiteboard. And it happens really efficiently.

Everyone can kind of populate it. I can ask a different question like, “What are you looking forward to? Or what’s your best quarantine treat?” or, you know, anything you want. And people will quickly populate it. And you get this wonderful snapshot of where everyone in the class is at the moment.

Matt Abrahams : Again, it’s bringing people into the room, setting the tone and the mode and –

Tina Seelig : Exactly.

Matt Abrahams : You and I were talking about – just before we started recording this podcast – this notion that people are so focused on the deficiencies and the things we’re missing in the virtual environment when, in fact, there are some things that can actually help.

And that notion of using a tool like a whiteboard that’s collaborative is something that would be really hard to do in person, yet virtually we can do it. So taking time to embrace what this environment can allow us to do I think is also very important.

Tina Seelig : I couldn’t agree more. There are some things that actually work much better online than they do in person. Of course, there’s some things that have been sacrificed but to look at the things that work well as opposed to things that don’t.

Matt Abrahams : Mm-hmm. Absolutely. You know, you have had amazing opportunities to interview and work with lots of entrepreneurs. Do you have any key insights or takeaways that you’ve gleaned over the years that you could share with us that we could benefit from?

Tina Seelig : Sure. There are so many. One that comes to mind is that failure is a normal part of the entrepreneurial journey and that, if you’re doing something that’s really innovative, really hard, that no one’s done before, there are bound to be false starts and missteps.

So you need to be prepared for setbacks. And you need to think failure as an opportunity to redirect your energy and attention. And that’s really important is having a mindset of resilience and bouncing back.

Another one is then and all you have is your reputation. If others don’t trust you, if they don’t find you to be authentic, then it’s going to be really difficult to bring your ideas to life. You need to make sure that you spend time thinking about your values, and make sure that you uphold them so that you can build a community that really is supportive and trusting and works really well together.

And my favorite lesson is that there is a huge benefit in seeing problems as opportunities. And with that mindset, the world is opportunity rich. It’s full of possibility. Essentially, entrepreneurs are ultimately optimists who are able to see and seize opportunities that others don’t immediately see.

In fact, if you come to our office at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, you’ll see painted on the walls in very big letters – on one wall, it says, “Every problem is an opportunity. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity.”

And on another wall, it says, “Entrepreneurs do much more than imaginable with much less than seems possible.” And these are the mindsets I think that are extremely important and that very successful entrepreneurs have – embody them.

Matt Abrahams : Wow. Those are really powerful lessons. And they echo very nicely some of the topics that we’ve covered on the podcast in terms of failure and reputation and reframing things not as problems but opportunities.

And all of us can benefit from reflecting on that and using those as a way to guide us as we are entrepreneurial in whatever our endeavors are. So thank you for sharing those. Before we end, I’d like to ask you the same three questions that I ask everyone who joins me. Are you up for that?

Tina Seelig : Sure.

Matt Abrahams : Excellent. All right. Well, question number one, if you were to capture the best communication advice you’ve ever received as a five-to-seven-word presentation slide title, what would that be?

Tina Seelig : Wow. That’s so interesting. I’m going to hearken back to what we talked about before. And I would say know your first and last words. When you are giving a talk, you should know where you’re starting and nail it and have that opening line or the opening story completely set. And you should know the last words.

Everyone knows in the middle it can sort of – it can move a little more organically. But being able to like nail the first and last words, you end up really engaging people in a way that they know where you are. They know where you’re going. And they’re with you until the end.

Matt Abrahams : That is such profound and useful advice. A lot of people get nervous. So they really focus on what they want to say first. But many people just figure, when I get to the end, I’ll just know how to wrap it up. And I’ll tell you, in all my work that I do, the most frequent ending I hear is, “Uh, I guess we’re out of time. Thanks.”

Tina Seelig : Exactly. Exactly. Ridiculous. Or they just sort of trail off at the end and turn around and walk off the stage. Wow.

Matt Abrahams : Right. So that advice – very sagely. Not only should you know the first words but also those last words. Great. Let me ask you question number two. And I’ll be very curious to hear your answer to this. Who is a communicator that you admire, and why?

Tina Seelig : We have had so many amazing speakers. I think the most compelling speaker I have heard on our stage is Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy. He is the only speaker in the series that has ever received a standing ovation.

Matt Abrahams : Wow.

Tina Seelig : His storytelling ability is incredible. He’s super funny. He’s really humble. And he used such motivating examples that everyone was sitting on the edge of their seat. I have to say I just aspire to being such a masterful storyteller and communicator as he is.

Matt Abrahams : Very cool. I have seen him speak. And I completely agree. And I have to fess up to something. He actually exercises at the same gym that I belong to. And I have wanted to go up to him, but I am way too intimidated. So – [laughs]

Tina Seelig : Well, he’s [so] humble. You should just go say hello.

Matt Abrahams : I w – but I’m often really sweaty. Anyway – but –

Tina Seelig : [laughs]

Matt Abrahams : No. He’s a great speaker and a great guy.

Tina Seelig : You can tell him I told you to do it.

Matt Abrahams : Okay. I’ll say Tina told me. And I’ve learned in my life, Tina, that, if I follow your advice, good things happen. So thank you. All right. Question number three – what are the first three ingredients that go into a successful communication recipe?

Tina Seelig : Well, you know what’s interesting. I do a lot of public speaking. And I did a little exercise a couple of years ago, a project called 60 weeks to 60. And in the 60 weeks up until my 60th birthday, I gave myself different challenges.

And one of them was that I went to a professional speaking coach. And she was amazing. She watched videos of my talking. And some of the most important things I learned from her were to stand tall. You know, just hold the space.

Sometimes – I mean, there’s a tendency to want to rush through what you’re saying and to kind of be – feel like somehow you’re taking up people’s time. But they’re there to hear you. So you want to stand tall, slow down and tell the story.

Matt Abrahams : Those three bits of advice are fantastic, helpful and direct. And many people, if they were to take time to watch their videos and have others give them feedback, would note exactly what you learned, that these are things that we often don’t do. And yet, they make a big difference. Stand tall. Slow down. Tell a story. Great advice.

And Tina, the whole conversation was fantastic. Thank you. As I knew would be the case, your insights and ideas about creativity and communication were spot on, very helpful. And everyone listening can benefit from taking the bits of advice you shared into practice and in really thinking about how they themselves can be both creative and innovative. Thank you so much.

Tina Seelig : Thank you. It’s been a please.

Matt Abrahams : Thank you for listening to “Think Fast, Talk Smart,” the podcast, a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business. To learn more, go to GSB.Stanford.edu. Please download other episodes wherever you find your podcasts.

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Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration: Assessment, Certification, and Promotion of 21st Century Skills for the Future of Work and Education

Branden thornhill-miller.

1 Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK

2 International Institute for Competency Development, 75001 Paris, France

Anaëlle Camarda

3 LaPEA, Université Paris Cité and Univ Gustave Eiffel, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France

4 Institut Supérieur Maria Montessori, 94130 Nogent-Sur-Marne, France

Maxence Mercier

Jean-marie burkhardt.

5 LaPEA, Univ Gustave Eiffel and Université Paris Cité, CEDEX, 78008 Versailles, France

Tiffany Morisseau

6 Strane Innovation, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

Samira Bourgeois-Bougrine

Florent vinchon, stephanie el hayek.

7 AFNOR International, 93210 Saint-Denis, France

Myriam Augereau-Landais

Florence mourey, cyrille feybesse.

8 Centre Hospitalier Guillaume Regnier, Université de Rennes 1, 35200 Rennes, France

Daniel Sundquist

Todd lubart, associated data.

Not Applicable.

This article addresses educational challenges posed by the future of work, examining “21st century skills”, their conception, assessment, and valorization. It focuses in particular on key soft skill competencies known as the “4Cs”: creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. In a section on each C, we provide an overview of assessment at the level of individual performance, before focusing on the less common assessment of systemic support for the development of the 4Cs that can be measured at the institutional level (i.e., in schools, universities, professional training programs, etc.). We then present the process of official assessment and certification known as “labelization”, suggesting it as a solution both for establishing a publicly trusted assessment of the 4Cs and for promoting their cultural valorization. Next, two variations of the “International Institute for Competency Development’s 21st Century Skills Framework” are presented. The first of these comprehensive systems allows for the assessment and labelization of the extent to which development of the 4Cs is supported by a formal educational program or institution. The second assesses informal educational or training experiences, such as playing a game. We discuss the overlap between the 4Cs and the challenges of teaching and institutionalizing them, both of which may be assisted by adopting a dynamic interactionist model of the 4Cs—playfully entitled “Crea-Critical-Collab-ication”—for pedagogical and policy-promotion purposes. We conclude by briefly discussing opportunities presented by future research and new technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

1. Introduction

There are many ways of describing the massive educational challenges faced in the 21st century. With the appearance of computers and digital technologies, new means of interacting between people, and a growing competitiveness on the international level, organizations are now requiring new skills from their employees, leaving educational systems struggling to provide appropriate ongoing training. Indeed, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 “Future of Jobs Report”, studying 15 industries in 26 advanced and emerging countries, up to 50% of employees will need some degree of “reskilling” by 2025 ( World Economic Forum 2020 ). Although many national and international educational efforts and institutions now explicitly put the cultivation of new kinds of skills on their educational agendas, practical means of assessing such skills remains underdeveloped, thus hampering the valorization of these skills and the development of guidance for relevant pedagogy ( Care et al. 2018 ; Vincent-Lancrin et al. 2019 ; for overviews and discussion of higher education in global developmental context, see Blessinger and Anchan 2015 ; Salmi 2017 ).

This article addresses some of these challenges and related issues for the future of education and work, by focusing on so-called “21st Century Skills” and key “soft skills” known as the “4Cs” (creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration), more particularly. It begins with a brief discussion of these skills, outlining their conceptual locations and potential roles in the modern educational context. A section on each “C” then follows, defining the C, summarizing research and methods for its scientific assessment at the individual level, and then outlining some means and avenues at the systemic level for fostering its development (e.g., important aspects of curriculum, institutional structure, or of the general environment, as well as pedagogical methods) that might be leveraged by an institution or program in order to promote the development of that C among its students/trainees. In the next section, the certification-like process of “labelization” is outlined and proposed as one of the best available solutions both for valorizing the 4Cs and moving them towards the center of the modern educational enterprise, as well as for benchmarking and monitoring institutions’ progress in fostering their development. The International Institute for Competency Development’s 4Cs Framework is then outlined as an example of such a comprehensive system for assessing and labelizing the extent to which educational institutions and programs support the development of the 4Cs. We further demonstrate the possibility of labelizing and promoting support for the development of the 4Cs by activities or within less formal educational settings, presenting a second framework for assessment of the 4Cs in games and similar training activities. Our discussion section begins with the challenges to implementing educational change in the direction of 21st century skills, focusing on the complex and overlapping nature of the 4Cs. Here, we propose that promoting a “Dynamic Interactionist Model of the 4Cs” not only justifies grouping them together, but it might also assist more directly with some of the challenges of pedagogy, assessment, policy promotion, and ultimately, institutionalization, faced by the 4Cs and related efforts to modernize education. We conclude by suggesting some important future work for the 4Cs individually and also as an interrelated collective of vital skills for the future of education and work.

“21st Century Skills”, “Soft Skills”, and the “4Cs”

For 40 years, so-called “21st century skills” have been promoted as those necessary for success in a modern work environment that the US Army War College ( Barber 1992 ) has accurately described as increasingly “VUCA”—“volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous”. Various lists of skills and competencies have been formulated on their own or as part of comprehensive overarching educational frameworks. Although a detailed overview of this background material is outside the scope of this article (see Lamri et al. 2022 ; Lucas 2022 for summaries), one of the first prominent examples of this trend was the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), whose comprehensive “Framework for 21st Century Learning” is presented in Figure 1 ( Battelle for Kids 2022 ). This framework for future-oriented education originated the idea of the “4Cs”, placing them at its center and apex as “Learning and Innovation Skills” that are in need of much broader institutional support at the foundational level in the form of new standards and assessments, curriculum and instructional development, ongoing professional development, and appropriately improved learning environments ( Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2008 ). These points are also consistent with the approach and assessment frameworks presented later in this article.

The P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning. (© 2019, Battelle for Kids. All Rights Reserved. https://www.battelleforkids.org/ ; accessed on 17 January 2023).

Other important organizations such as the World Economic Forum ( 2015 ) have produced similar overarching models of “21st century skills’’ with the 4Cs at their center, but the term “21st century skills’’ has been rightly criticized for a several reasons: the skills referred to are not actually all unique to, or uniquely important to, the 21st century, and it is a term that is often used more as an advertising or promotional label for systems that sometimes conflate and confuse different kinds of skills with other concepts that users lump together ( Lucas 2019 ). Indeed, though there is no absolute consensus on the definition of a “skill”, they are often described as being multidimensional and involve the ability to solve problems in context and to perform tasks using appropriate resources at the right time and in the right combination ( Lamri and Lubart 2021 ). At its simplest, a skill is a “learned capacity to do something useful” ( Lucas and Claxton 2009 ), or an ability to perform a given task at a specified performance level, which develops through practice, experience. and training ( Lamri et al. 2022 ).

The idea of what skills “are’’, however, has also evolved to some extent over time in parallel to the nature of the abilities required to make valued contributions to society. The digital and information age, in particular, has seen the replacement by machines of much traditional work sometimes referred to as “hard skills’’—skills such as numerical calculation or driving, budget-formulating, or copyediting abilities, which entail mastery of fixed sets of knowledge and know-how of standard procedures, and which are often learned on the job. Such skills are more routine, machine-related, or technically oriented and not as likely to be centered on human interaction. In contrast, the work that has been increasingly valued in the 21st century involves the more complex, human interactive, and/or non-routine skills that Whitmore ( 1972 ) first referred to as “soft skills”.

Unfortunately, researchers, educators, and consultants have defined, redefined, regrouped, and expanded soft skills—sometimes labeling them “transversal competencies”, “generic competencies”, or even “life skills” in addition to “21st century skills”—in so many different ways within and across different domains of research and education (as well as languages and national educational systems) that much progress towards these goals has literally been “lost in translation” ( Cinque 2016 ).

Indeed, there is also a long-standing ambiguity and confusion between the terms “competency” (also competence) and “skill” due to their use across different domains (e.g., learning research, education, vocational training, personnel selection) as well as different epistemological backgrounds and cultural specificities ( Drisko 2014 ; Winterton et al. 2006 ; van Klink and Boon 2003 ). The term “competency” is, however, often used as a broader concept that encompasses skills, abilities, and attitudes, whereas, in a narrower sense, the term “skill” has been defined as “goal-directed, well-organized behavior that is acquired through practice and performed with economy of effort” ( Proctor and Dutta 1995, p. 18 ). For example, whereas the command of a spoken language or the ability to write are skills (hard skills, to be precise), the ability to communicate effectively is a competence that may draw on an individual’s knowledge of language, writing skills, practical IT skills, and emotional intelligence, as well as attitudes towards those with whom one is communicating ( Rychen and Hersch 2003 ). Providing high-quality customer service is a competency that relies on listening skills, social perception skills, and contextual knowledge of products. Beyond these potential distinctions, the term “competency” is predominant in Europe, whereas “skill” is more commonly used in the US. Yet it also frequently occurs that both are used as rough synonyms. For example, Voogt and Roblin ( 2012, p. 299 ) examine the “21st century competences and the recommended strategies for the implementation of these skills”, and Graesser et al. ( 2022, p. 568 ) state that twenty-first-century skills “include self-regulated learning, collaborative problem solving, communication (…) and other competencies”. In conclusion, the term “competencies” is often used interchangeably with “skills” (and can have a particularly large overlap with “soft skills”), but it is also often considered in a broader sense as a set of skills, knowledge, and attitudes that, together, meet a complex demand ( Ananiadoui and Claro 2009 ). From this perspective, one could argue that the 4Cs, as complex, “higher-order” soft skills, might best be labeled competencies. For ease and convenience, however, in this text, we consider the two terms interchangeable but favor the term “skills”, only using “competency” in some instances to avoid cumbersome repetition.

Even having defined soft skills as a potentially more narrow and manageable focus, we are still aware of no large-scale study that has employed a comprehensive enough range of actual psychometric measures of soft skills in a manner that might help produce a definitive empirical taxonomy. Some more recent taxonomic efforts have, however, attempted to provide additional empirical grounding for the accurate identification of key soft skills (see e.g., Joie-La Marle et al. 2022 ). Further, recent research by JobTeaser (see Lamri et al. 2022 ) surveying a large, diverse sample of young workers about a comprehensive, systematic list of soft skills as actually used in their professional roles represents a good step towards some clarification and mapping of this domain on an empirical basis. Despite the fact that both these studies necessarily involved assumptions and interpretive grouping of variables, the presence and importance of the 4Cs as higher-order skills is evident in both sets of empirical results.

Various comprehensive “21st century skills” systems proposed in the past without much empirical verification also seem to have been found too complex and cumbersome for implementation. The 4Cs, on the other hand, seem to provide a relatively simple, persuasive, targetable core that has been found to constitute a pedagogically and policy-friendly model by major organizations, and that also now seems to be gaining some additional empirical validity. Gathering support from researchers and industry alike, we suggest that the 4Cs can be seen as highest-level transversal skills—or “meta-competencies”—that allow individuals to remain competent and to develop their potential in a rapidly changing professional world. Thus, in the end, they may also be one of the most useful ways of summarizing and addressing the critical challenges faced by the future of work and education ( National Education Association 2011 ).

Taking them as our focus, we note, however, that the teaching and development of the 4Cs will require a complex intervention and mobilization of educational and socio-economic resources—both a major shift in pedagogical techniques and even more fundamental changes in institutional structures ( Ananiadoui and Claro 2009 ). One very important issue for understanding the 4Cs and their educational implementation related to this, which can simultaneously facilitate their teaching but be a challenge for their assessment, is the multidimensionality, interrelatedness, and transdisciplinary relevance of the 4Cs. Thus, we address the relationships between the Cs in the different C sections and later in our Discussion, we present a “Dynamic Interactionist Model of the 4Cs’’ that we hope will assist in their understanding, in the further development of pedagogical processes related to them, and in their public promotion and related policy. Ultimately, it is partly due to their complexity and interrelationships, we argue, that it is important and expedient that the 4Cs are taught, assessed, and promoted together.

2. The 4Cs, Assessment, and Support for Development

2.1. creativity.

In psychology, creativity is usually defined as the capacity to produce novel, original work that fits with task constraints and has value in its context (for a recent overview, see Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2019 ). This basic definition, though useful for testing and measurement, is largely incomplete, as it does not contain any information about the individual or groups doing the creating or the nature of physical and social contexts ( Glăveanu 2014 ). Moreover, Corazza ( 2016 ) challenged this standard definition of creativity, arguing that as it focuses solely on the existence of an original and effective outcome, it misses the dynamics of the creative process, which is frequently associated with periods of creative inconclusiveness and limited occasions of creative achievements. To move away from the limitations of the standard definition of creativity, we can consider Bruner’s description of creativity as “figuring out how to use what you already know in order to go beyond what you currently think” (p. 183 in Weick 1993 ). This description echoes the notion of potential, which refers to a latent state that may be put to use if a person has the opportunity.

Creativity is a multifaceted phenomenon that can be approached from many different angles. There are three main frameworks for creativity studies: the 4Ps ( Rhodes 1961 ), the 5As ( Glăveanu 2013 ), and the 7Cs model ( Lubart 2017 ). These frameworks share at least four fundamental and measurable dimensions: the act of creating (process), the outcome of the creative process (product), the characteristics of creative actor(s) enacting the process (person), and the social and physical environment that enable or hinder the creative process (press). Contrary to many traditional beliefs, however, creativity can be trained and taught in a variety of different ways, both through direct, active teaching of creativity concepts and techniques and through more passive and indirect means such as the development of creativity-supporting contexts ( Chiu 2015 ; Thornhill-Miller and Dupont 2016 ). Alongside intelligence, with which it shares some common mechanisms, creativity is now recognized as an indispensable element for the flexibility and adaptation of individuals in challenging situations ( Sternberg 1986 ).

2.1.1. Individual Assessment of Creativity

Drawing upon previous efforts to structure creativity research, Batey ( 2012 ) proposed a taxonomic framework for creativity measurement that takes the form of a three-dimensional matrix: (a) the level at which creativity may be measured (the individual, the team, the organization, and the culture), (b) the facets of creativity that may be assessed (person/trait, process, press, and product), and (c) the measurement approach (objective, self-rating, other ratings). It is beyond the scope of this article to offer a literature review of all these dimensions, but for the purposes of this paper, we address some important aspects of individual-level and institutional-level assessment here.

Assessing creativity at an individual level encompasses two major approaches: (1) creative accomplishment based on production and (2) creative potential. Regarding the first approach focusing on creative accomplishment , there are at least four main assessment techniques (or tools representing variations of assessment techniques): (a) the historiometric approach, which applies quantitative analysis to historically available data (such as the number of prizes won or times cited) in an effort to understand eminent, field-changing creativity ( Simonton 1999 ); (b) the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) ( Amabile 1982 ), which offers a method for combining and validating judges’ subjective evaluations of a set of (potentially) creative productions or ideas; (c) the Creative Achievement Questionnaire ( Carson et al. 2005 ), which asks individuals to supply a self-reported assessment of their publicly recognizable achievement in ten different creative domains; and (d) the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA) ( Jauk et al. 2014 ; Diedrich et al. 2018 ), which includes self-report scales assessing the frequency of engagement in creative activity and also levels of achievement in eight different domains.

The second major approach to individual assessment is based on creative potential, which measures the cognitive abilities and/or personality traits that are important for creative work. The two most popular assessments of creative potential are the Remote Associations Test (RAT) and the Alternative Uses Task (AUT). The RAT, which involves identifying the fourth word that is somehow associated with each of three given words, underscores the role that the ability to convergently associate disparate ideas plays as a key capacity for creativity. In contrast, the AUT, which requires individuals to generate a maximum number of ideas based on a prompt (e.g., different uses for a paperclip), is used to assess divergent thinking capacity. According to multivariate models of creative potential ( Lubart et al. 2013 ), there are cognitive factors (e.g., divergent thinking, mental flexibility, convergent thinking, associative thinking, selective combination), conative factors (openness, tolerance of ambiguity, intuitive thinking, risk taking, motivation to create), and environmental factors that all support creativity. Higher creative potential is predicted by having more of the ingredients for creativity. However, multiple different profiles among a similar set of these important ingredients exist, and their weighting for optimal creative potential varies according to the profession, the domain, and the task under consideration. For example, Lubart and Thornhill-Miller ( 2021 ) and Lubin et al. ( forthcoming ) have taken this creativity profiling approach, exploring the identification and training of the components of creative potential among lawyers and clinical psychologists, respectively. For a current example of this sort of comprehensive, differentiated measurement of creative potential in adults in different domains and professions, see CreativityProfiling.org. For a recent battery of tests that are relevant for children, including domain-relevant divergent-exploratory and convergent-integrative tasks, see Lubart et al. ( 2019 ). Underscoring the growing recognition of the importance of creativity assessment, measures of creative potential for students were introduced internationally for the first time in the PISA 2022 assessment ( OECD 2019a ).

2.1.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Creativity

The structural support that institutions and programs can provide to promote the development of creativity can be described as coming through three main paths: (1) through design of the physical environment in a manner that supports creativity, (2) through teaching about creativity, the creative process, and creativity techniques, and (3) through training opportunities to help students/employees develop personal habits, characteristics, and other ingredients associated with creative achievement and potential.

Given the multi-dimensionality of the notion of creativity, the environment can positively influence and help develop creative capacities. Studies have shown that the physical environment in which individuals work can enhance their positive emotions and mood and thus their creativity. For example, stimulating working environments might have unusual furniture and spaces that have natural light, windows open to nature, plants and flowers, a relaxing atmosphere and colors in the room (e.g., green and blue), or positive sounds (e.g., calm music or silence), as well as inspiring and energizing colors (e.g., yellow, pink, orange). Furthermore, the arrangement of physical space to promote interpersonal exchange rather than isolation, as well as the presence of tools, such as whiteboards, that support and show the value of exchange, are also important (for reviews, see Dul and Ceylan 2011 ; Samani et al. 2014 ).

Although it has been claimed that “creativity is intelligence having fun” ( Scialabba 1984 ; Reiman 1992 ), for most people, opportunities for fun and creativity, especially in their work environment, appear rather limited. In fact, the social and physical environment often hinders creativity. Corazza et al. ( 2021 )’s theoretical framework concerning the “Space-Time Continuum”, related to support for creativity, suggests that traditional education systems are an example of an environment that is “tight” both in the conceptual “space” it affords for creativity and in the available time allowed for creativity to happen—essentially leaving little room for original ideas to emerge. Indeed, though world-wide data suggest that neither money nor mere time spent in class correlate well with educational outcomes, both policies and pedagogy that direct the ways in which time is spent make a significant difference ( Schleicher 2022 ). Research and common sense suggest that teachers, students, and employees need more space and time to invest energy in the creative process and the development of creative potential.

Underscoring the importance of teaching the creative process and creativity techniques is the demonstration, in a number of contexts, that groups of individuals who generate ideas without a specific method are often negatively influenced by their social environment. For example, unless guarded against, the presence of others tends to reduce the number of ideas generated and to induce a fixation on a limited number of ideas conforming to those produced by others ( Camarda et al. 2021 ; Goldenberg and Wiley 2011 ; Kohn and Smith 2011 ; Paulus and Dzindolet 1993 ; Putman and Paulus 2009 ; Rietzschel et al. 2006 ). To overcome these cognitive and social biases, different variants of brainstorming techniques have shown positive effects (for reviews of methods, see Al-Samarraie and Hurmuzan 2018 ; Paulus and Brown 2007 ). These include: using ( Osborn 1953 ) initial brainstorming rules (which aim to reduce spontaneous self-judgment of ideas and fear of this judgment by others); drawing attention to ideas generated by others by writing them down independently (e.g., the technique known as “brainwriting”); and requiring incubation periods between work sessions by forcing members of a problem-solving group to take breaks ( Paulus and Yang 2000 ; Paulus and Kenworthy 2019 ).

It is also possible to use design methods that are structured to guide the creative process and the exploration of ideas, as well as to avoid settling on uncreative solution paths ( Chulvi et al. 2012 ; Edelman et al. 2022 ; Kowaltowski et al. 2010 ; see Cotter et al. 2022 for a valuable survey of best practices for avoiding the suppression of creativity and fostering creative interaction and metacognition in the classroom). Indeed, many helpful design thinking-related programs now exist around the world and have been shown to have a substantial impact on creative outcomes ( Bourgeois-Bougrine 2022 ).

Research and experts suggest the utility of many additional creativity enhancement techniques (see, e.g., Thornhill-Miller and Dupont 2016 ), and the largest and most rapid effects are often attributed to these more method- or technique-oriented approaches ( Scott et al. 2004 ). More long-term institutional and environmental support for the development of creativity, however, should also include targeted training and understanding of personality and emotional traits associated with the “creative person” (e.g., empathy and exploratory habits that can expand knowledge, as well as increase tolerance of ambiguity, openness, and mental flexibility; see Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2021 ). Complementing these approaches and focusing on a more systemic level, recent work conducted by the OECD exemplifies efforts aimed to foster creativity (and critical thinking) by focusing simultaneously on curriculum, educational activities, and teacher support and development at the primary, secondary, and higher education levels (see Vincent-Lancrin et al. 2019 ; Saroyan 2022 ).

2.2. Critical Thinking

Researchers, teachers, employers, and public policymakers around the world have long ranked the development of critical thinking (CT) abilities as one of the highest educational priorities and public needs in modern democratic societies ( Ahern et al. 2019 ; Dumitru et al. 2018 ; Pasquinelli et al. 2021 ). CT is central to better outcomes in daily life and general problem solving ( Hitchcock 2020 ), to intelligence and adaptability ( Halpern and Dunn 2021 ), and to academic achievement ( Ren et al. 2020 ). One needs to be aware of distorted or erroneous information in the media, of the difference between personal opinions and proven facts, and how to handle increasingly large bodies of information required to understand and evaluate information in the modern age.

Although much research has addressed both potentially related constructs, such as intelligence and wisdom, and lists of potential component aspects of human thought, such as inductive or deductive reasoning (for reviews of all of these, see Sternberg and Funke 2019 ), reaching a consensus on a definition has been difficult, because CT relies on the coordination of many different skills ( Bellaera et al. 2021 ; Dumitru et al. 2018 ) and is involved in, and sometimes described from the perspective of, many different domains ( Lewis and Smith 1993 ). Furthermore, as a transversal competency, having the skills to perform aspects of critical thinking in a given domain does not necessarily entail also having the metacognitive ability to know when to engage in which of its aspects, or having the disposition, attitude, or “mindset” that motivates one to actually engage in them—all of which are actually required to be a good critical thinker ( Facione 2011 ).

As pointed out by the American Philosophical Association’s consensus definition, the ideal “critical thinker” is someone who is inquisitive, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded, and keeps well-informed, thus understanding different points of view and perspectives ( Facione 1990b ). These characteristics, one might note, are also characteristic of the “creative individual” ( Facione 1990b ; Lai 2011 ), as is the ability to imagine alternatives, which is often cited as a component of critical thinking ability ( Facione 1990b ; Halpern 1998 ). Conversely, creative production in any domain needs to be balanced by critical appraisal and thought at each step of the creative process ( Bailin 1988 ). Indeed, it can be argued that creativity and critical thinking are inextricably linked and are often two sides of the same coin. Representing different aspects of “good thought” that are linked and develop in parallel, it seems reasonable that they should, in practice, be taught and considered together in teaching and learning ( Paul and Elder 2006 ).

Given its complexity, many definitions of critical thinking have been offered. However, some more recent work has helpfully defined critical thinking as “the capacity of assessing the epistemic quality of available information and—as a consequence of this assessment—of calibrating one’s confidence in order to act upon such information” ( Pasquinelli et al. 2021 ). This definition, unlike others proposed in the field (for a review, see: Bellaera et al. 2021 ; Liu et al. 2014 ), is specific (i.e., it limits the use of poorly defined concepts), as well as consensual and operational (i.e., it has clear and direct implications for the education and assessment of critical thinking skills; Pasquinelli et al. 2021 ; Pasquinelli and Bronner 2021 ). Thus, this approach assumes that individuals possess better or worse cognitive processes and strategies that make it possible to judge the reliability of the information received, by determining, for example, what the arguments provided actually are. Are the arguments convincing? Is the source of information identifiable and reliable? Does the information conflict with other information held by the individual?

It should also be noted that being able to apply critical thinking is necessary to detect and overcome the cognitive biases that can constrain one’s reasoning. Indeed, when solving a problem, it is widely recognized that people tend to automate the application of strategies that are usually relevant in similar and analogous situations that have already been encountered. However, these heuristics (i.e., automatisms) can be a source of errors, in particular, in tricky reasoning situations, as demonstrated in the field of reasoning, arithmetic problems ( Kahneman 2003 ) or even divergent thinking tasks ( Cassotti et al. 2016 ; for a review of biases, see Friedman 2017 ). Though some cognitive biases can even be seen as normal ways of thinking and feeling, sometimes shaping human beliefs and ideologies in ways that make it completely normal—and even definitely human— not to be objective (see Thornhill-Miller and Millican 2015 ), the mobilization of cognitive resources such as those involved in critical reasoning on logical bases usually makes it possible to overcome cognitive biases and adjust one’s reasoning ( West et al. 2008 ).

According to Pasquinelli et al. ( 2021 ), young children already possess cognitive functions underlying critical thinking, such as the ability to determine that information is false. However, until late adolescence, studies have demonstrated an underdevelopment of executive functions involved in resistance to biased reasoning ( Casey et al. 2008 ) as well as some other higher-order skills that underlie the overall critical thinking process ( Bloom 1956 ). According to Facione and the landmark American Philosophical Association’s task force on critical thinking ( Facione 1990b ; Facione 2011 ), these components of critical thinking can be organized into six measurable skills: the ability to (1) interpret information (i.e., meaning and context); (2) analyze information (i.e., make sense of why this information has been provided, identify pro and con arguments, and decide whether we can accept the conclusion of the information); (3) make inferences (i.e., determine the implications of the evidence, its reliability, the undesirable consequences); (4) evaluate the strength of the information (i.e., its credibility, determine the trust in the person who provides it); (5) provide explanations (i.e., summarize the findings, determine how the information can be interpreted, and offer verification of the reasoning); (6) self-regulate (i.e., evaluate the strength of the methods applied, determine the conflict between different conclusions, clarify the conclusions, and verify missing elements).

2.2.1. Individual Assessment of Critical Thinking

The individual assessment of critical thinking skills presents a number of challenges, because it is a multi-task ability and involves specific knowledge in the different areas in which it is applied ( Liu et al. 2014 ; Willingham 2008 ). However, the literature provides several tools with which to measure different facets of cognitive functions and skills involved in the overarching critical thinking process ( Lai 2011 ; Liu et al. 2014 ). Most assessments involve multiple-choice questions requiring reasoning within a particular situation based upon a constrained set of information provided. For example, in one of the most widely used tests, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test ( Facione 1990a ), participants are provided with everyday scenarios and have to answer multiple questions targeting the six higher-order skills described previously. Similarly, the Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal ( Watson 1980 ; Watson and Glaser 2010 ) presents test takers with passages and scenarios measuring their competencies at recognizing assumptions, evaluating arguments, and drawing conclusions. Although the Watson–Glaser is one of the oldest and most frequently used assessments internationally for hiring and promotion in professional contexts, its construct validity, like many other measures of this challenging topic, has some limitations ( Possin 2014 ).

Less frequently, case study or experiential methods of assessment are also used. This approach may involve asking participants to reflect on past experiences, analyze the situations they faced and the way they behaved or made judgments and decisions and then took action ( Bandyopadhyay and Szostek 2019 ; Brookfield 1997 ). These methods, often employed by teachers or employers on students and employees, usually involve the analysis of qualitative data that can cast doubt on the reliability of the results. Consequently, various researchers have suggested ways to improve analytic methods, and they emphasize the need to create more advanced evaluation methods ( Brookfield 1997 ; Liu et al. 2014 ).

For example, Liu et al. ( 2014 ) reviewed current assessment methods and suggest that future work improves the operational definition of critical thinking, aiming to assess it both in different specific contexts and in different formats. Specifically, assessments could be contextualized within the major areas addressed by education programs (e.g., social sciences, humanities, and/or natural sciences), and the tasks themselves should be as practically connected to the “real world” as possible (e.g., categorizing a set of features, opinions, or facts based on whether or not they support an initial statement). Moreover, as Brookfield ( 1997 ) argues, because critical thinking is a social process that takes place in specific contexts of knowledge and culture, it should be assessed as a social process, therefore, involving a multiplicity of experiences, perceptions, and contributions. Thus, Brookfield makes three recommendations for improving the assessment of critical thinking that are still relevant today: (1) to assess critical thinking in specific situations, so one can study the process and the discourse related to it; (2) to involve students/peers in the evaluation of critical thinking abilities, so that the evaluation is not provided only by the instructor; and (3) to allow learners or participants in an experiment to document, demonstrate, and justify their engagement in critical thinking, because this learning perspective can provide insight into basic dimensions of the critical thinking process.

Finally, another more recent and less widely used form of assessment targets the specific executive functions that underlie logical reasoning and resistance to cognitive biases, as well as the ability of individuals to resist these biases. This form of assessment is usually done through specific experimental laboratory tasks that vary depending on the particular executive function and according to the domain of interest ( Houdé and Borst 2014 ; Kahneman 2011 ; West et al. 2008 ).

2.2.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Critical Thinking Skills

The executive functions underlying general critical thinking, the ability to overcome bias ( Houdé 2000 ; Houdé and Borst 2014 ), and meta-cognitive processes (i.e., meta information about our cognitive strategies) can all be trained and enhanced by educational programs ( Abrami et al. 2015 ; Ahern et al. 2019 ; Alsaleh 2020 ; Bellaera et al. 2021 ; Uribe-Enciso et al. 2017 ; Popil 2011 ; Pasquinelli and Bronner 2021 ; Yue et al. 2017 ).

Educational programs and institutions can support the development of critical thinking in several different ways. The process of developing critical thinking focuses on the interaction between personal dispositions (attitudes and habits), skills (evaluation, reasoning, self-regulation), and finally, knowledge (general and specific knowledge, as well as experience) ( Thomas and Lok 2015 ). It is specifically in regard to skills and knowledge that institutions are well suited to develop critical thinking through pedagogical elements such as rhetoric training, relevance of information evaluation (e.g., media literacy, where and how to check information on the internet, dealing with “fake news”, etc.), deductive thinking skills, and inductive reasoning ( Moore and Parker 2016 ). A few tools, such as case studies or concept mapping, can also be used in conjunction with a problem-based learning method, both in individual and team contexts and in person or online ( Abrami et al. 2015 ; Carmichael and Farrell 2012 ; Popil 2011 ; Thorndahl and Stentoft 2020 ). According to Marin and Halpern ( 2011 ), training critical thinking should include explicit instruction involving at least the four following components and objectives: (1) working on attitudes and encouraging individuals to think; (2) teaching and practicing critical thinking skills; (3) training for transfer between contexts, identifying concrete situations in which to adopt the strategies learned; and (4) suggesting metacognition through reflection on one’s thought processes. Supporting these propositions, Pasquinelli and Bronner ( 2021 ), in a French national educational report, proposed practical advice for creating workshops to stimulate critical thinking in school classrooms, which appear relevant even in non-school intervention situations. For example, the authors suggest combining concrete examples and exercises with general and abstract explanations, rules and strategies, which can be transferred to other areas beyond the one studied. They also suggest inviting learners to create examples of situations (e.g., case studies) in order to increase the opportunities to practice and for the learner to actively participate. Finally, they suggest making the process of reflection explicit by asking the learner to pay attention to the strategies adopted by others in order to stimulate the development of metacognition.

2.3. Communication

In its most basic definition, communication consists of exchanging information to change the epistemic context of others. In cooperative contexts, it aims at the smooth and efficient exchange of information contributing to the achievement of a desired outcome or goal ( Schultz 2010 ). But human communication involves multiple dimensions. Both verbal and non-verbal communication can involve large quantities of information that have to be both formulated and deciphered with a range of purposes and intentions in mind ( Jones and LeBaron 2002 ). These dimensions of communication have as much to do with the ability to express oneself, both orally and in writing and the mastering of a language (linguistic competences), as with the ability to use this communication system appropriately (pragmatic skills; see Grassmann 2014 ; Matthews 2014 ), and with social skills, based on the knowledge of how to behave in society and on the ability to connect with others, to understand the intentions and perspectives of others ( Tomasello 2005 ).

Like the other 4Cs, according to most authorities, communication skills are ranked by both students and teachers as skills of the highest priority for acquisition in order to be ready for the workforce in 2030 ( OECD 2019b ; Hanover Research 2012 ). Teaching students how to communicate efficiently and effectively in all the new modalities of information exchange is an important challenge faced by all pedagogical organizations today ( Morreale et al. 2017 ). All dimensions of communication (linguistic, pragmatic, and social) are part of what is taught in school curricula at different levels. But pragmatic and social competencies are rarely explicitly taught as such. Work on social/emotional intelligence (and on its role in students’ personal and professional success) shows that these skills are both disparate and difficult to assess ( Humphrey et al. 2007 ). Research on this issue is, however, becoming increasingly rigorous, with the potential to provide usable data for the development of science-based practice ( Keefer et al. 2018 ). Teachers and pedagogical teams also have an important, changing role to play: they also need to master new information and communication technologies and the transmission of information through them ( Zlatić et al. 2014 ).

Communication has an obvious link with the three other Cs. Starting with critical thinking, sound communication implies fostering the conditions for a communicative exchange directed towards a common goal, which is, at least in educational and professional contexts, based on a fair evaluation of reality ( Pornpitakpan 2004 ). Collaboration too has a strong link with communication, because successful collaboration is highly dependent on the quality of knowledge sharing and trust that emerges between group members. Finally, creativity involves the communication of an idea to an audience and can involve high-quality communication when creative work occurs in a team context.

2.3.1. Individual Assessment of Communication

Given the vast field of communication, an exhaustive list of its evaluation methods is difficult to establish. A number of methods have been reported in the literature to assess an individual’s ability to communicate non-verbally and verbally. But although these two aspects are intrinsically linked, they are rarely measured together with a single tool. Moreover, as Spitzberg ( 2003 ) pointed out, communication skills are supported by different abilities, classically conceptualized as motivational functions (e.g., confidence and goal-orientation), knowledge (e.g., content and procedural knowledge), or cognitive and socio-cognitive functions (e.g., theory of mind, verbal cognition, emotional intelligence, and empathy; McDonald et al. 2014 ; Rothermich 2020 ), implying different specific types of evaluations. Finally, producing vs. receiving communication involve different skills and abilities, which can also vary according to the context ( Landa 2005 ).

To overcome these challenges, Spitzberg ( 2003 ) recommends the use of different assessment criteria. These criteria include the clarity of interaction, the understanding of what was involved in the interaction, the satisfaction of having interacted (expected to be higher when communication is effective), the efficiency of the interaction (the more competent someone is, the less effort, complexity, and resources will be needed to achieve their goal), its effectiveness or appropriateness (i.e., its relevance according to the context), as well as criteria relative to the quality of the dialogue (which involves coordination, cooperation, coherence, reciprocity, and mutuality in the exchange with others). Different forms of evaluation are also called for, such as self-reported questionnaires, hetero-reported questionnaires filled out by parents, teachers, or other observers, and tasks involving exposure to role-playing games, scenarios or videos (for a review of these assessment tools, see Cömert et al. 2016 ; Landa 2005 ; Sigafoos et al. 2008 ; Spitzberg 2003 ; van der Vleuten et al. 2019 ). Results from these tools must then be associated with others assessing underlying abilities, such as theory of mind and metacognition.

2.3.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Communication Skills

Although communication appears to be a key employability skill, the proficiency acquired during studies rarely meets the expectations of employers ( Jackson 2014 ). Communication must therefore become a priority in the training of students, beyond the sectors in which it is already known as essential (e.g., in medicine, nursing, engineering, etc.; Bourke et al. 2021 ; D’Alimonte et al. 2019 ; Peddle et al. 2018 ; Riemer 2007 ), and also through professional development ( Jackson 2014 ). Training programs involving, for example, communication theory classes ( Kruijver et al. 2000 ) and self-assessment tools that can be used in specific situations ( Curtis et al. 2013 ; Rider and Keefer 2006 ) have had convincingly positive results. The literature suggests that interactive approaches in small groups, in which competencies are practiced explicitly in an open and feedback-safe environment, are more effective ( Bourke et al. 2021 ; D’Alimonte et al. 2019 ; AbuSeileek 2012 ; Fryer-Edwards et al. 2006 ). These can take different forms: project-based work, video reviews, simulation or role-play games (see Hathaway et al. 2022 for a review; Schlegel et al. 2012 ). Finally, computer-assisted learning methods can be relevant for establishing a secure framework (especially, for example, when learning another language): anonymity indeed helps to overcome anxiety or social blockages linked to fear of public speaking or showing one’s difficulties ( AbuSeileek 2012 ). Each of these methods tackles one or more dimensions of communication that must then be assessed as such, by means of tools specifically developed and adapted to the contexts in which these skills are expressed (e.g., see the two 4Cs evaluation grids for institutions and for games outlined in Section 4 and Section 5 , below).

2.4. Collaboration

Collaborative problem solving—and more generally, collaboration—has gained increasing attention in national and international assessments (e.g., PISA) as an educational priority encompassing social, emotional, and cognitive skills critical to efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation in the modern global economy ( Graesser et al. 2018 ; OECD 2017 ). Understanding what makes effective collaboration is of crucial importance for professional practice and training ( Détienne et al. 2012 ; Graesser et al. 2018 ), as evidenced by the long line of research on group or team collaboration over the past 40 years (for a review, see e.g., Salas et al. 2004 ; Mathieu et al. 2017 ). Although there is no consensus on a definition of collaboration, scholars often see it as mutual engagement in a coordinated effort to achieve a common goal that involves the sharing of goals, resources, and representations relating to the joint activity of participants; and other important aspects relate to mutual respect, trust, responsibilities, and accountability within situational rules and norms ( Détienne et al. 2012 ).

In the teamwork research literature, skills are commonly described across three classes most often labeled Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitudes (e.g., Cannon-Bowers et al. 1995 ). Knowledge competencies refer to the skills related to elaborating the knowledge content required for the group to process and successfully achieve the task/goal to which they are assigned. Behavior includes skills related to the actualization of actions, coordination, communication, and interactions within the group as well as with any other relevant interlocutors for the task at hand. Note here that effective collaboration involves skills that have also been identified elsewhere as essential competencies, including communication, creativity, and critical thinking. Finally, several attitudes have been evidenced or hypothesized as desirable competencies in the team context, for example, attitude towards teamwork, collective orientation, cohesion/team morale, etc. Another common distinction lies between teamwork and taskwork. Teamwork refers to the collaborative, communicative, or social skills required to coordinate the work within the participants in order to achieve the task, whereas taskwork refers to specific aspects related to solving the task such as using the tools and knowing the procedure, policies, and any other task-related activities ( Salas et al. 2015 ; Graesser et al. 2018 ). Furthermore, collaborative competences can have specific (to a group of people or to a task) and general dimensions (i.e., easily transferable to any group or team situation and to other tasks). For example, skills related to communication, information exchange, conflict management, maintaining attention and motivation, leadership, etc. are present and transferable to a large number of group work situations and tasks (team-generic and task-contingent skills). Other skills can, on the other hand, be more specific to a team or group, such as internal organization, motivation, knowledge of the skills distributed in the team, etc.

2.4.1. Individual Assessment of Collaboration

Assessing collaboration requires capturing the dynamic and multi-level nature of the collaboration process, which is not as easily quantifiable as group/team inputs and outputs (task performance, satisfaction, and changes at group/team and individual level). There are indeed multiple interactions between the context, the collaboration processes, the task processes, and their (various) outcomes ( Détienne et al. 2012 ). The integrative concept of “quality of collaboration” ( Burkhardt et al. 2009 ) encapsulates much of what is currently known about collaborative processes and what constitutes effective collaboration. According to this approach, collaborative processes can be grouped along several dimensions concerning communication processes such as grounding, task-related processes (e.g., exchanges of knowledge relevant for the task at hand), and organization/coordination processes ( Burkhardt et al. 2009 ). Communication processes are most important for ensuring the construction of a common referential within a group of collaborators. Task-related processes relate to how the group resolves the task at hand by sharing and co-elaborating knowledge, by confronting their various perspectives, and by converging toward negotiated solutions. Collaboration also involves group management activities such as: (a) common goal management and coordination activities, e.g., allocation and planning of tasks; (b) meeting/interaction management activities, e.g., ordering and postponing of topics in the meeting. Finally, the ability to pursue reflexive activity, in the sense of reflecting not only on the content of a problem or solution but on one’s collaboration and problem-solving strategies, is critical for the development of the team and supports them in changing and improving their practices. Graesser et al. ( 2018 ) identify collaborative skills based on the combination of these dimensions with a step in the problem-solving process.

A large body of methodology developed to assess collaboration processes and collaborative tools has been focused on quantifying a restricted subset of fine-grained interactions (e.g., number of speakers’ turns; number of words spoken; number of interruptions; amount of grounding questions). This approach has at least two limitations. First, because these categories of analysis are often ad hoc with respect to the considered situation, they are difficult to apply in all situations and make it difficult to compare between studies. Second, quantitative variations of most of these indicators are non-univocal: any increase or decrease of them could signify either an interactive–intensive collaboration or else evidence of major difficulties in establishing and/or maintaining the collaboration ( Détienne et al. 2012 ). Alternatively, qualitative approaches based on multidimensional views of collaboration provide a more elaborated or nuanced view of collaboration and are useful for identifying potential relationships between distinctive dimensions of collaboration and aspects of team performance, in order to identify processes that could be improved. Based on the method of Spada et al. ( 2005 ) in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) research, Burkhardt et al. ( 2009 ) have proposed a multi-dimensional rating scheme for evaluating the quality of collaboration (QC) in technology-mediated design. QC distinguishes seven dimensions, grouped along five aspects, identified as central for collaboration in a problem-solving task such as design: communication (1, 2), task-oriented processes (3, 4), group-oriented processes (5), symmetry in interaction—an orthogonal dimension—(6), and individual task orientation (7). This method has recently been adapted for use in the context of assessing games as a support to collaborative skills learning.

2.4.2. Institutional and Environmental Support for Development of Collaboration and Collaborative Skills

Support for individuals’ development of collaborative skills provided by institutions and programs can take a variety of forms: (a) through the social impact of the physical structure of the organization, (b) the nature of the work required within the curriculum, (c) content within the curriculum focusing on collaboration and collaborative skills, and (d) the existence and promotion of extracurricular and inter-institutional opportunities for collaboration.

For instance, institutional support for collaboration has taken a variety of forms in various fields such as healthcare, engineering, public participation, and education. Training and education programs such as Interprofessional Education or Team Sciences in the health domain ( World Health Organization 2010 ; Hager et al. 2016 ; O’Carroll et al. 2021 ), Peer-Led Team Learning in chemistry and engineering domains ( Wilson and Varma-Nelson 2016 ), or Collaborative Problem Solving in education ( Peña-López 2017 ; Taddei 2009 ) are notable examples.

Contextual support recently arose from the deployment of online digital media and new mixed realities in the workplace, in the learning environments and in society at large—obviously stimulated and accentuated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led many organizations to invest in proposing support for synchronous and asynchronous collaboration (notably remote, between employees, between students and educators or within group members, etc.) in various ways, including the provision of communication hardware and software, computer-supported cooperative work and computer-supported collaborative learning platforms, training and practical guides, etc. Users can collaborate through heterogeneous hybrid collaborative interaction spaces that can be accessed through virtual or augmented reality, but also simple video conferencing or even a voice-only or text-only interface. These new spaces for collaboration are, however, often difficult to use and less satisfactory than face-to-face interactions, suggesting the need for more research on collaborative activities and on how to support them ( Faidley 2018 ; Karl et al. 2022 ; Kemp and Grieve 2014 ; Singh et al. 2022 ; Waizenegger et al. 2020 ).

A substantive body of literature on teams, collaborative learning, and computer-supported technologies provides evidence related to individual, contextual, and technological factors impacting the collaboration quality and efficiency. For example, teacher-based skills that are critical for enhancing collaboration are, among others, the abilities to plan, monitor, support, consolidate, and reflect upon student interaction in group work ( Kaendler et al. 2016 ). Research focuses also on investigating the most relevant tasks and evaluating the possibilities offered by technology to support, to assess (e.g., Nouri et al. 2017 ; Graesser et al. 2018 ), and/or to learn the skills involved in pursuing effective and satisfying collaboration (see e.g., Schneider et al. 2018 ; Doyle 2021 ; Ainsworth and Chounta 2021 ).

3. Labelization: Valorization of the 4Cs and Assessing Support for Their Development

Moving from the nature of the 4Cs and their individual assessment and towards the ways in which institutions can support their development in individuals, we can now address the fundamentally important question of how best to support and promote this 21st century educational mission within and among institutions themselves. This also raises the question of the systemic recognition of educational settings that are conducive to the development of the 4Cs. In response to these questions, the nature and value of labelization is now presented.

A label is “a special mark created by a trusted third party and displayed on a product intended for sale, to certify its origin, to guarantee its quality and to ensure its conformity with the standards of practices in force” ( Renard 2005 ). A label is therefore a way of informing the public about the objective properties and qualities of a product, service, or system. The label is usually easily identifiable and can be seen as a proof that a product or service, a company, or an organization complies with defined criteria. Its effectiveness is therefore closely linked to the choice of requirements set out in its specifications, as well as to the independence and rigor of the body that verifies compliance with the criteria.

3.1. Labeling as a Means of Trust and Differentiation

As a sign of recognition established by a third party, the label or certification can constitute a proof of trust aiming to reassure the final consumer. According to Sutter ( 2005 ), there are different means of signaling trust. First, the brand name of a product or service and its reputation can, in itself, constitute a label when this brand name is recognized on the market. Second, various forms of self-declaration, such as internal company charters, though not statements assessed by a third party, show an internal commitment that can provide reassurance. Finally, there is certification or labeling, which is awarded by an external body and requires a third-party assessment by a qualified expert, according to criteria set out in a specific reference framework. It is this external body, a trusted third party, which guarantees the reliability of the label and constitutes a guarantee of credibility. Its objectivity and impartiality are meant to guarantee that the company, organization, product, or service meets defined quality or reliability criteria ( Jahn et al. 2005 ).

Research on populations around the world (e.g., Amron 2018 ; Sasmita and Suki 2015 ) show that the buying decisions of consumers are heavily influenced by the trust they have in a brand. More specifically, third-party assurances and labelization have been shown to strongly influence customer buying intentions and purchasing behavior (e.g., Kimery and McCord 2002 ; Lee et al. 2004 ). Taking France as an example, research shows that quality certification is seen as “important” or “significant” by 76% of companies ( Chameroy and Veran 2014 ), and decision makers feel more confident and are more willing to invest with the support of third-party approval than if their decision is merely based on the brand’s reputation or its demonstrated level of social responsibility ( Etilé and Teyssier 2016 ). Indeed, French companies with corporate social responsibility labels have been shown to have higher than average growth rates, and the adoption of quality standards is linked with a 7% increase in the share of export turnover ( Restout 2020 ).

3.2. Influence on Choice and Adoption of Goods and Services

Studies diverge in this area, but based on the seminal work of Parkinson ( 1975 ); Chameroy and Veran ( 2014 ), in their research on the effect of labels on willingness to pay, found that in 75% of cases, products with labels are chosen and preferred to those without labels, demonstrating the impact of the label on customer confidence—provided that it is issued by a recognized third party. Thus, brands that have good reputations tend to be preferred over cheaper new brands, because they are more accepted and valued by the individual social network ( Zielke and Dobbelstein 2007 ).

3.3. Process of Labelizing Products and Services

The creation of a label may be the result of a customer or market need, a request from a private sector of activity or from the government. Creating a label involves setting up a working group including stakeholders who are experts in the field, product managers, and a certification body in order to elaborate a reference framework. This is then reviewed by a specialized committee and validated by the stakeholders. The standard includes evaluation criteria that must be clearly defined ( Mourad 2017 ). An audit system is set up by a trusted third party. It must include the drafting of an audit report, a system for making decisions on labeling, and a system for identifying qualified assessors. The validity of the assessment process is reinforced by this double evaluation: a first level of audit carried out by a team of experts according to a clearly defined set of criteria and a second level of decision making assuring that the methodology and the result of the audit are in conformity with the defined reference framework.

3.4. Labelization of 21st Century Skills

The world of education is particularly concerned by the need to develop and assess 21st century skills, because it represents the first link in the chain of skills acquisition, preparing the human resources of tomorrow. One important means of simultaneously offering a reliable, independent assessment of 21st century skills and valorizing them by making them a core target within an educational system (schools, universities, and teaching and training programs of all kinds) is labelization. Two examples of labelization processes related to 21st century skills were recently developed by the International Institute for Competency Development ( 2021 ; see iicd.net; accessed on 20 November 2022) working with international experts, teachers, and researchers from the University of Paris Cité (formerly Université Sorbonne Paris Cité), Oxford University, and AFNOR UK (an accredited certification body and part of AFNOR International, a subsidiary of the AFNOR group, the only standards body in France).

The last two or three decades has seen the simultaneous rise of international ranking systems and an interest in quality assurance and assessment in an increasingly competitive educational market ( Sursock 2021 ). The aim of these labelization frameworks is to assist in the development of “quality culture” in education by offering individual programs, institutions, and systems additional independent, reliable means of benchmarking, charting progress, and distinguishing themselves based on their capacity to support and promote the development of crucial skills. Importantly, the external perspectives provided by such assessment system should be capable of being individually adapted and applied in a manner that can resist becoming rigidly imposed external standards ( Sursock and Vettori 2017 ). Similarly, as we have seen in the literature review, the best approach to understanding and assessing a particular C is from a combination of different levels and perspectives in context. For example, important approaches to critical thinking have been made from educationally, philosophically, and psychologically focused vantage points ( Lai 2011 ). We can also argue that understandings of creativity are also results of different approaches: the major models in the literature (e.g., the “4Ps” and “7Cs” models; see Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2019 ) explicitly result from and include the objectives of different education-focused, process-focused, and “ingredient” or component-focused approaches.

The two assessment frameworks outlined in the sections that follow were formulated with these different perspectives and objective needs in mind. Given the complexity and very different natures of their respective targets (i.e., one assessing entire formal educational contexts such as institutions or programs, whereas the other targets the less multi-dimensional, informal educational activities represented by games), the assessment of the individual Cs also represents what experts consider a target-appropriate balance of education- and curriculum-focused, process-focused, and component-focused criteria for assessing each different C.

4. The International Institute for Competency Development’s 21st Century Competencies 4Cs Assessment Framework for Institutions and Programs

One comprehensive attempt to operationalize programmatic-level and institutional-level support for the development of the 4Cs is the International Institute for Competency Development’s 4Cs Assessment Framework ( International Institute for Competency Development 2021 ). Based upon expert opinion and a review of the available literature, this evaluation grid is a practical tool that divides each of the 4Cs into three “user-friendly” but topic-covering components (see Table 1 and definitions and further discussion in the sections that follow). Each of these components is then assessed across seven dimensions (see Table 2 , below), designed to cover concisely the pedagogical process and the educational context. Examples for each point level are provided within the evaluation grid in order to offer additional clarity for educational stakeholders and expert assessors.

Three different components of each C in IICD’s 21st Century Skills 4Cs Assessment Framework.

Seven dimensions evaluated for the 3 different components of each C.

* Educational-level dependent and potentially less available for younger students or in some contexts.

The grid itself can be used in several important and different ways by different educational stakeholders: (1) by the institution itself in its self-evaluation and possible preparation for a certification or labelization process, (2) as an explicit list of criteria for external evaluation of the institution and its 4Cs-related programs, and (3) as a potential long-term development targeting tool for the institution or the institution in dialogue with the labelization process.

4.1. Evaluation Grid for Creativity

Dropping the component of “creative person” that is not relevant at the institutional level, this evaluation grid is based on Rhodes’ ( 1961 ) classic “4P” model of creativity, which remains the most concise model today ( Lubart and Thornhill-Miller 2019 ). The three “P” components retained are: creative process , creative environment , and creative product . Creative process refers to the acquisition of a set of tools and techniques that students can use to enhance the creativity of their thinking and work. Creative environment (also called “Press” in earlier literature) is about how the physical and social surroundings of students can help them be more creative. Finally, creative product refers to the evaluation of actual “productions” (e.g., a piece of art, text, speech, etc.) generated through the creative process.

4.2. Evaluation Grid for Critical Thinking

Our evaluation grid divides critical thinking into three main components: critical thinking about the world , critical thinking about oneself (self-reflection), as well as critical action and decision making . The first component refers to having an evidence-based view of the exterior world, notably by identifying and evaluating sources of information and using them to question current understandings and solve problems. Self-reflection refers to thinking critically about one’s own life situation, values, and actions; it presupposes the autonomy of thought and a certain distance as well as the most objective observation possible with regard to one’s own knowledge (“meta-cognition”). The third and final component, critical action and decision making, is about using critical thinking skills more practically in order to make appropriate life decisions as well as to be open to different points of view. This component also addresses soft skills and attitudes such as trusting information.

Our evaluation framework for critical thinking was in part inspired by Barnett’s “curriculum for critical being” (2015), whose model distinguishes two axes: one defined by the qualitative differences in the level of criticality attained and the second comprised of three different domains of application: formal knowledge, the self, and the world. The first two components of our framework (and the seven dimensions on which they are rated) reflect and encompass these three domains. Similar to Barrett’s proposal, our third rubric moves beyond the “skills-plus-dispositions” model of competency implicit in much theorizing about critical thinking and adds the importance of “action”—not just the ability to think critically and the disposition to do so, but the central importance of training and practicing “critical doing” ( Barnett 2015 ). Critical thinking should also be exercised collectively by involving students in collective thinking, facilitating the exchange of ideas and civic engagement ( Huber and Kuncel 2016 ).

4.3. Evaluation Grid for Collaboration

The first component of collaboration skills in the IICD grid is engagement and participation , referring to the active engagement in group work. Perspective taking and openness concerns the flexibility to work with and accommodate other group members and their points of view. The final dimension— social regulation —is about being able to reach for a common goal, notably through compromise and negotiation, as well as being aware of the different types of roles that group members can hold ( Hesse et al. 2015 ; Rusdin and Ali 2019 ; Care et al. 2016 ). (These last two components include elements of leadership, character, and emotional intelligence as sometimes described in other soft-skill and competency-related systems.) Participation, social regulation, and perspective taking have been identified as central social skills in collaborative problem solving ( Hesse et al. 2015 ). Regarding social regulation in this context, recognizing and profiting from group diversity is key ( Graesser et al. 2018 ). When describing an assessment in an educational setting of collaborative problem solving (with a task in which two or more students have to collaborate in order to solve it, each using a different set of resources), two main underpinning skills were described for the assessment: the social skill of audience awareness (“how to adapt one’s own behavior to suit the needs of the task and the partner’s requirements”, Care et al. 2016, p. 258 ) and the cognitive skill of planning and executing (developing a plan to reach for a goal) ( Care et al. 2016 ). The former is included in the perspective taking and openness rubric and the latter in the social regulation component in the IICD grid. Evans ( 2020 ) identified four main collaboration skills consistently mentioned in the scientific literature that are assessed in the IICD grid: the ability to plan and make group decisions (example item from the IICD grid: teachers provide assistance to students to overcome differences and reach a common goal during group work); the ability to communicate about thinking with the group (assessed notably in the meta-reflection strand of the IICD grid); the ability to contribute resources, ideas, and efforts and support group members (included notably in the engagement and participation as well as the social regulation components); and finally, the ability to monitor, reflect, and adapt individual and group processes to benefit the group (example item from the IICD grid: students use perspective-taking tools and techniques in group activities).

4.4. Evaluation Grid for Communication

The evaluation grid for communication is also composed of three dimensions: message formulation, message delivery, and message and communication feedback . Message formulation refers to the ability to design and structure a message to be sent, such as outlining the content of an argument. Message delivery is about effectively transmitting verbal and non-verbal aspects of a message. Finally, message and communication feedback refers to the ability of students and teachers to understand their audience, analyze their social surroundings, and interpret information in context. Other components of communication skills such as theory of mind, empathy, or emotional intelligence are also relevant and included in the process of applying the grid. Thompson ( 2020 ) proposes a four-component operationalized definition of communication for its assessment in students. First, they describe a comprehension strand covering the understanding and selection of adequate information from a range of sources. Message formulation in the IICD grid captures this dimension through its focus on content analysis and generation. Second, the presentation of information and ideas is mentioned in several different modes, adjusted to the intended audience, verbally as well as non-verbally. The message delivery component of the IICD grid focuses on these points. Third, the authors note the importance of communication technology and its advanced use. The IICD grid also covers the importance of technology use in its tools and techniques category, with, for example, an item that reads: students learn to effectively use a variety of formats of communication (social media, make a video, e-mail, letter writing, creating a document). Finally, Thompson ( 2020 ) describes the recognition of cultural and other differences as an important aspect of communication. The IICD grid aims at incorporating these aspects, notably in the meta-reflection category under each of the three dimensions.

5. Assessing the 4Cs in Informal Educational Contexts: The Example of Games

5.1. the 4cs in informal educational contexts.

So far, the focus has been on rather formal ways of nurturing the 4Cs. Although institutions and training programs are perhaps the most significant and necessary avenues of education, they are not the sole context in which 4Cs’ learning and improvement can manifest. One other important potential learning context is game play. Games are activities that are present and participated in throughout human society—by those of all ages, genders, and socio-economic statuses ( Bateson and Martin 2013 ; Huizinga 1949 ; Malaby 2007 ). This informal setting can also provide favorable conditions to help improve the 4Cs ( van Rosmalen et al. 2014 ) and should not be under-appreciated. Games provide a unique environment for learning, as they can foster a space to freely explore possibilities and one’s own potential ( de Freitas 2006 ). We argue that games are a significant potential pathway for the improvement of the 4Cs, and as such, they merit the same attention as more formal ways of learning and developing competencies.

5.2. 4Cs Evaluation Framework for Games

Compared to schools and educational institutions, the focus of IICD’s evaluation framework for games (see International Institute for Competency Development 2021 ) is more narrow. Thus, it is fundamentally different from the institutional grid: games, complex and deep as they can sometimes be, cannot directly be compared to the complexity of a school curriculum and all the programs it contains. The evaluation of a game’s effectiveness for training/improving a given C rests on the following principle: if a game presents affordances conducive to exercising a given skill, engaged playing of that game should help improve that skill.

The game’s evaluation grid is scored based on two criteria. For example, as a part of a game’s rating as a tool for the development of creativity, we determine the game must first meet two conditions. First, whether or not the game allows the opportunity for creativity to manifest itself: if creativity cannot occur in the game, it is obviously not eligible to receive ratings for that C. Second, whether or not creativity is needed in order to perform well in the game: if the players can win or achieve success in the game without needing creativity, this also means it cannot receive a rating for that C. If both conditions are met, however, the game will be considered potentially effective to improve creativity through the practice of certain components of creative behavior. This basic principle applies for all four of the Cs.

As outlined in Table 3 , below, the evaluation grid for each of the four Cs is composed of five components relevant to games that are different for each of the Cs. The grid works as follows: for each of the five components of each C, we evaluate the game on a list of sub-components using two yes/no scales: one for whether it is “possible” for that subcomponent to manifest and one for whether that sub-component is “required for success” in the game. This evaluation is done for all sub-components. After this, each general component is rated on the same two indicators. If 60% (i.e., three out of five) or more sub-components are positively rated as required, the general component is considered required. Then, the game is evaluated on its effectiveness for training and improving each of the 4Cs. If 60% or more components are positively rated as required, the game will be labelized as having the potential to be effective for training and improving the corresponding C.

Five different components evaluated for each C by the 4Cs assessment framework for games.

The evaluation grid for creativity is based on the multivariate model of creative potential (see Section 2.1.1 and Lubart et al. 2013 for more information) and is composed of four cognitive factors and one conative factor: originality , divergent thinking , convergent thinking , mental flexibility , and creative dispositions . Originality refers to the generation of ideas that are novel or unexpected, depending on the context. Divergent thinking corresponds to the generation of multiple ideas or solutions. Convergent thinking refers to the combination of multiple ideas and the selection of the most creative idea. Mental flexibility entails changing perspectives on a given problem and breaking away from initial ideas. Finally, creative dispositions concerns multiple personality-related factors conducive to creativity, such as openness to experience or risk taking.

The evaluation grid for critical thinking echoes Halpern’s ( 1998 ) as well as Marin and Halpern’s ( 2011 ) considerations for teaching this skill, that is, taking into consideration thinking skills, metacognition, and dispositions. The five components of the critical thinking grid are: goal-adequate discernment, objective thinking, metacognition, elaborate reasoning, and uncertainty management. Goal-adequate discernment entails the formulation of inferences and the discernment of contradictions when faced with a problem. Objective thinking corresponds to the suspension of one’s own judgment and the analysis of affirmations and sources in the most objective manner possible. Metacognition, here, is about questioning and reassessing information, as well as the awareness of one’s own cognitive biases. Elaborate reasoning entails reasoning in a way that is cautious, thorough, and serious. Finally, uncertainty management refers to the dispositional propensity to tolerate ambiguity and accept doubt.

The evaluation grid for collaboration is based on the quality of collaboration (QC) method ( Burkhardt et al. 2009 ; see Section 2.4.2 for more details) and is composed of the following five components: collaboration fluidity, well-argued deliberation and consensus-based decision, balance of contribution, organization and coordination, and cognitive syncing, input, and support. Collaboration fluidity entails the absence of speech overlap and the presence of a good flow in terms of turns to speak. Well-argued deliberation and consensus-based decision is about contributing to the discussion and task at hand, as well as participating in discussions and arguments, in order to obtain a consensus. Balance of contribution refers to having equal or equivalent contributions to organization, coordination, and decision making. Organization and coordination refers to effective management of roles, time, and “deadlines”, as well as the attribution of roles depending on participants’ skills. Finally, cognitive syncing, input, and support is about bringing ideas and resources to the group, as well as supporting and reinforcing other members of the group.

The five components used to evaluate communication in games include both linguistic, pragmatic, and social aspects. Linguistic skills per se are captured by the mastery of written and spoken language component. This component assesses language comprehension and the appropriate use of vocabulary. Pragmatic skills are captured by the verbal and non-verbal communication components and refer to the efficient use of verbal and body signals in the context of the game to achieve one’s communicative goals ( Grassmann 2014 ; Matthews 2014 ). Finally, the grid also evaluates social skills with its two last components, social interactions and social cognition, which, respectively, refer to the ability to interact with others appropriately—including by complying with the rules of the game—and to the understanding of other people’ mental states ( Tomasello 2005 ).

6. Discussion and Conclusions

Each of the 4Cs is a broad, multi-faceted concept that is the subject of a tremendous amount of research and discussion by a wide range of stakeholders in different disciplines, professions, and parts of the educational establishment. The development of evaluation frameworks to allow support for the 4Cs to be assessed and publicly recognized, using a label, is an important step for promoting and fostering these skills in educational contexts. As illustrated by IICD’s 4Cs Framework for educational institutions and programs, as well as its games/activities evaluation grid, the specific criteria to detect support for each C can vary depending upon the educational context (e.g., formal and institutional level or informal and at the activity level). Yet considering the 4Cs together highlights some additional observations, current challenges, and opportunities for the future that are worthy of discussion.

6.1. Interrelationships between the 4Cs and a New Model for Use in Pedagogy and Policy Promotion

One very important issue for understanding the 4Cs and their educational implementation that can be simultaneously a help and a hindrance for teaching them—and also a challenge when assessing them—is their multidimensionality and interrelatedness. In other words, the 4Cs are not entirely separate entities but instead, as Figure 2 shows, should be seen as four interlinked basic “elements” for future-oriented education that can help individuals in their learning process and, together, synergistically “bootstrap” the development of their cognitive potentials. Lamri and Lubart ( 2021 ), for example, found a certain base level of creativity was a necessary but not sufficient condition for success in managerial tasks, but that high-level performance required a combination of all four Cs. Some thinkers have argued that one cannot be creative without critical thinking, which also requires creativity, for example, to come up with alternative arguments (see Paul and Elder 2006 ). Similarly, among many other interrelationships, there is no collaboration without communication—and even ostensibly individual creativity is a “collaboration” of sorts with the general culture and precursors in a given field. As a result, it ranges from impossible to suboptimal to teach (or teach towards) one of the 4Cs without involving one or more of the others, and this commingling also underscores the genuine need and appropriateness of assessing them together.

“‘Crea-Critical-Collab-ication’: a Dynamic Interactionist Model of the 4Cs”. (Illustration of the interplay and interpenetration of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication shown in dimensional space according to their differing cognitive/individual vs. social/interpersonal emphases; (© 2023, Branden Thornhill-Miller. All Rights Reserved. thornhill-miller.com; accessed on 20 January 2023)).

From this perspective, Thornhill-Miller ( 2021 ) proposed a “dynamic interactionist model of the 4Cs” and their interrelated contributions to the future of education and work. Presented in Figure 2 , this model is meant to serve as a visual and conceptual aid for understanding the 4Cs and their interrelationships, thereby also promoting better use and understanding of them in pedagogical and policy settings. In addition to suggesting the portmanteau of “crea-critical thinking” as a new term to describe the overlap of much of the creative and critical thinking processes, the title of this model, “Crea-Critical-Collab-ication”, is a verbal representation of the fluid four-way interrelationship between the 4Cs visually represented in Figure 2 (a title meant to playfully repackage the 4Cs for important pedagogical and policy uses). This model goes further to suggest some dimensional differences in emphases that, roughly speaking, also often exist among the 4Cs: that is to say, the frequently greater emphasis on cognitive or individual elements at play in creativity and critical thinking in comparison to the social and interpersonal aspects more central to communication and collaboration ( Thornhill-Miller 2021 ).

Similarly focused on the need to promote a phase change towards future-oriented education, Lucas ( 2019 ) and colleagues have suggested conflating creative thinking and critical thinking in order to propose “3Cs” (creative thinking, communication, and collaboration) as new “foundational literacies” to symmetrically add to the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) of previous educational eras. Although we applaud these efforts, from our applied research perspective, we believe that the individual importance of, and distinct differences between, creative thinking and critical thinking support preserving them both as separate constructs in order to encourage the greatest development of each of them. Moreover, if only three categories were somehow required or preferable, one could argue that uniting communication and collaboration (as “collab-ication” suggests) might be preferable—particularly also given the fact that substantial aspects of communication are already covered within the 3Rs. In any case, we look forward to more such innovations and collaborations in this vibrant and important area of work at the crossroads between research, pedagogy, and policy development.

6.2. Limitations and Future Work

The rich literature in each of the 4Cs domains shows the positive effects of integrating these dimensions into educational and professional curricula. At the same time, the complexity of their definitions makes them difficult to assess, both in terms of reliability (assessment must not vary from one measurement to another) and of validity (tests must measure that which they are intended to measure). However, applied research in this area is becoming increasingly rigorous, with a growing capacity to provide the necessary tools for evidence-based practice. The development of these practices should involve interdisciplinary teams of teachers and other educational practitioners who are equipped and trained accordingly. Similarly, on the research side, further exploration and clarification of subcomponents of the 4Cs and other related skills will be important. Recent efforts to clarify the conceptual overlap and hierarchical relations of soft skills for the future of education and work, for example, have been helpful and promising (e.g., Joie-La Marle et al. 2022 ; Lamri et al. 2022 ). But the most definitive sort of taxonomy and measurement model that we are currently lacking might only be established based on the large-scale administration of a comprehensive battery of skill-measuring psychometric tests on appropriate cross sections of society.

The rapid development and integration of new technologies will also aid and change the contexts, resources, and implementation of the 4Cs. For example, the recent developments make it clear that the 4Cs will be enhanced and changed by interaction with artificially intelligence, even as 4Cs-related skills will probably, for the same reason, increasingly constitute the core of available human work in the future (see, e.g., Ross 2018 ). Similarly, research on virtual reality and creativity suggest that VR environments assist and expand individual and collaborative creativity ( Bourgeois-Bougrine et al. 2022 ). Because VR technologies offer the possibility of enhanced and materially enriched communication, collaboration, and information availability, they not only allow for the enhancement of creativity techniques but also for similar expansions and improvements on almost all forms of human activity (see Thornhill-Miller and Dupont 2016 )—including the other three Cs.

6.3. Conclusion: Labelization of the 4Cs and the Future of Education and Work

Traditional educational approaches cannot meet the educational needs of our emergent societies if they do not teach, promote, and assess in line with the new learner characteristics and contexts of the 21st century ( Sahin 2009 ). The sort of future-oriented change and development required by this shift in institutional practices, programming, and structure will likely meet with significant resistance from comfortably entrenched (and often outdated) segments of traditional educational and training establishments. Additional external evaluation and monitoring is rarely welcome by workers in any context. We believe, however, that top-down processes from the innovative and competition-conscious administrative levels will be met by bottom-up demands from students and education consumers to support these institutional changes. And we contend that efforts such as labelizing 4C processes will serve to push educators and institutions towards more relevant offerings, oriented towards the future of work and helping build a more successful future for all.

In the end, the 4Cs framework seems to be a manageable, focused model for modernizing education, and one worthy of its growing prevalence in the educational and research marketplace for a number of reasons. These reasons include the complexity and cumbersome nature of larger alternative systems and the 4Cs’ persuasive presence at the core of a number of early and industry-driven frameworks. In addition, the 4Cs have benefitted from their subsequent promotion by organizations such as the OECD and the World Economic Forum, as well as some more direct support from recent empirical research. The promotion, teaching, and assessment of the 4Cs will require a complex social intervention and mobilization of educational resources—a major shift in pedagogy and institutional structures. Yet the same evolving digital technologies that have largely caused the need for these massive, rapid changes can also assist in the implementation of solutions ( van Laar et al. 2017 ). To the extent that future research also converges on such a model (that has already been found pedagogically useful and policy-friendly by so many individuals and organizations), the 4Cs framework has the potential to become a manageable core for 21st century skills and the future of education and work—one that stakeholders with various agendas can already begin building on for a better educational and economic future together.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, B.T.-M. and T.L.; writing—original draft preparation, B.T.-M., A.C., M.M., J.-M.B., T.M., S.B.-B., S.E.H., F.V., M.A.-L., C.F., D.S., F.M.; writing—review and editing, B.T.-M., A.C., T.L., J.-M.B., C.F.; visualization, B.T.-M.; supervision, B.T.-M., T.L.; project administration, B.T.-M., T.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

B.T.-M. and T.L. are unpaid academic co-founder and project collaborator for the International Institute for Competency Development, whose labelization frameworks (developed in cooperation with Afnor International and the LaPEA lab of Université Paris Cité and Université Gustave Eiffel) are used as examples in this review. S.E.H. and M.A.-L. are employees of AFNOR International. No funding was received to support this research or article, which reflects the views of the scientists and researchers and not their organizations or companies.

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What is creative thinking and how can I improve?

Creative thinking refers to the ability to consider something in a new way, from a fresh perspective, or with novel ideas and solutions. It involves using one's imagination to generate original ideas, make new connections between seemingly unrelated concepts, and explore multiple possibilities.

Many people believe that creative thinking is something that strikes at random. In reality, there are many ways to use creative problem-solving every day, even if you don’t think you have innate creativity.

Building your creative skills is the key to innovation. But where do you start?

In this article, we’ll cover what creative thinking is, how it works, and how to strengthen your creative skills.

What is creative thinking?

At its core, creative thinking is intentionally gaining new insights and different ideas through existing information. Often, creative thought involves tapping into different styles of thinking and examining information from different viewpoints to see new patterns. Anyone can foster a creative mind with some practice!

Using a wide variety of brainstorming strategies can help you discover new solutions for issues in every area of your life, including at work.

In fact, 61% of employees say they’re expected to come up with creative ideas or new ways to do things at work. But, with only 30% of employees saying they’re given time to think or discuss new ideas daily, it’s becoming increasingly important to develop our creative thinking muscles.

Types of creative thinking

Fostering creative thinking starts with changing your perspective. Learning new and different styles of thinking can help give birth to powerful idea generation. 

Aesthetic, divergent , lateral, convergent, and inspirational thinking are five types of innovative thinking to get the ball rolling.

( Image source )

Divergent and convergent thinking are the most common ways to foster more creative thought. 

• Divergent thinking is like a traditional brainstorming session, where you come up with as many possible solutions as your imagination will allow. 
• Convergent thinking takes a more logical approach, encouraging you to gather facts and discover the most common solution to a problem. These strategies are frequently used together to conjure new creative solutions.
• Inspirational thinking focuses on imagining the best-case scenarios to find a new way to solve a problem.
• Lateral thinking involves letting ideas flow in a step-by-step format.
• Aesthetic thinking focuses on reframing the problem to see its inherent beauty and value, like looking at a painting.

Why is creative thinking important?

It’s easy to get stuck in the same thought patterns, especially at work. However, those thought patterns may be hampering your innovation and keeping you stuck in routines that don’t serve you. 

Creative thinking shows us that there are many solutions to any problem, and developing your creative thinking skills helps you recognize innovative solutions more quickly. 

Plus, creativity was the most sought-after soft skill in 2020 , so strengthening your creativity skills can set you apart at work, too.

Alongside critical thinking and focus , creative thinking is crucial to help recognize patterns that may not be obvious at first glance. Thinking creatively makes you a better problem-solver, which has far-reaching benefits in both your work and personal life.

Expressive, creative thinking helps us challenge our own assumptions, discover new things about ourselves and our perspective, stay mentally sharp, and even be more optimistic .

How creative thinking works

Many business leaders see creativity and innovation as something unpredictable, with 53% of businesses reporting that innovation occurs by chance . However, with the right tools, you can tap into creative thinking whenever you want.

There are many ways to get your creative juices flowing, and practicing creative thinking strategies can help you think outside the box more readily and more often: 

• A go-to example for creative thinking may be the advertising executive coming up with creative campaigns by brainstorming with divergent thinking. However, that’s far from the only way to use creative thinking. 
• In STEM industries like biomedicine, stimulating creativity by asking open-ended questions and creating fictional scenarios helps professionals find innovative solutions to health problems. These questions encourage medical professionals to experiment and discover new ways of solving a persistent problem. 

Creative thinking is valuable in many situations, not just in traditionally creative industries. Whether you’re solving a problem , organizing your calendar, or at an impasse with your team, creative thinking can come in handy.

Here are 5 examples of using creative thinking in and out of the workplace:

• Mind mapping for brainstorming : When tackling a new project, you create a mind map to explore various aspects and ideas. Start with the central concept in the middle of a page and branch out into subtopics, then further divide into smaller ideas. This visual representation helps you see connections and generate innovative solutions.
• Reverse thinking : Instead of thinking about how to solve a problem, consider how to cause it. For example, if you're trying to improve customer service , think about what actions would lead to poor customer service. Identifying these actions can help you understand what to avoid and inspire ideas for improvement.
• Combining unrelated concepts : Take two seemingly unrelated ideas and combine them to create something new. For instance, combining the concept of a café with a library led to the creation of a "book café," where people can read and enjoy coffee in a comfortable environment.
• Role-playing : Put yourself in someone else's shoes to gain a new perspective . For example, if you're developing a new product, imagine you're the end-user and think about their needs, desires, and pain points. This can help you design more user-friendly and innovative products.
• SCAMPER technique : Use the SCAMPER method to improve or innovate existing products or ideas. SCAMPER stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. By systematically applying these actions, you can generate new ideas and solutions. For instance, you might think about how to modify a traditional bicycle to create a more efficient electric bike.

The benefits of creative thinking

Creative thinking doesn’t just make you a better employee; it also makes you a better parent, student, and leader, too. By developing your creative thinking skills , the benefits of thinking creatively can show up throughout your daily life.

Here are a few major benefits of creative thinking.

Improved problem-solving capabilities

We don’t just solve problems at work, and we shouldn’t only use our creative thinking skills at work, either! Developing your creative thinking abilities can help you solve a wide variety of problems faster. 

As your mind becomes more accustomed to using different thought techniques, you’ll quickly recognize patterns that you might not have before.

Stronger interpersonal connections

Creative thinking can help you communicate your ideas more clearly , which leads to better conversations and relationships with your friends, family, and coworkers. 

Plus, many creative thinking methods work best when they’re done in a group. Developing new ideas together can strengthen bonds and help you combine ideas to create something truly innovative.

Heightened productivity

It may seem like creative thinking is a time-consuming distraction from your work, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

When we get stuck in thought patterns, it’s easy to get frustrated when something isn’t working correctly. That frustration can cause our productivity to plummet. 

Taking a moment and engaging in a creative thinking strategy can renew your motivation , reinvigorate your passion, and help you find new solutions when you’re stuck. 

Higher self-awareness

Creative thinking allows you to try on perspectives that you may not have considered before. 

As you’re exploring new perspectives, you may discover something about your own assumptions, viewpoints, or biases that you never noticed . 

Challenging your traditional way of thinking can offer higher self-awareness and build your emotional intelligence. With creative thinking, you strengthen your ability to reframe your perspective and harness a growth mindset.

Breaking away from your normal routine and trying something new is the key to fostering creative thinking in your daily life.

There are many ways to do this. While practicing different thinking strategies and brainstorming with your team at work help to develop these skills, they’re far from the only way to foster a more creative thought process. Here are 13 suggestions to inspire you:

1. Meet new people

One powerful way to get your creativity flowing is to meet new people , especially if they’re in the arts or in a different industry from you. Sharing your interests and listening to others can inspire you to view the world differently. 

2. Let yourself get bored

Practicing boredom can help you develop your creativity , too. Allowing yourself to become bored and seeing what pulls your interest can help you practice letting your curiosity lead the way. 

3. Embrace curiosity

Ask questions about everything that piques your interest, and come up with possible answers before you look up the actual answer. Challenging the status quo and seeking new information can develop a beginner mindset and lead to innovative ideas.

4. Seek out diverse experiences

Engage in different activities, travel, meet new people, and explore various cultures. Exposure to diverse experiences broadens your perspective.

5. Practice mindfulness and meditation

Regular mindfulness and meditation can help clear your mind, reduce stress, and improve your focus, creating a fertile ground for creativity.

6. Collaborate with others

Work with people from different backgrounds and fields. Collaborative efforts often lead to the cross-pollination of ideas and new perspectives.

7. Keep a journal

Maintain a journal to jot down thoughts, ideas, and observations. Writing regularly can help organize your thoughts and stimulate creativity.

8. Engage in brainstorming sessions

Set aside time for brainstorming . Allow free flow of ideas without judgment. Quantity can often lead to quality in creative thinking.

9. Change your environment

Alter your workspace or take breaks in different settings. A new environment can provide fresh stimuli and break routine thinking patterns.

10. Read widely

Read books , articles, and papers from various genres and fields. Reading widely exposes you to new ideas and ways of thinking.

11. Practice creative exercises

Engage in activities like drawing, writing, playing music, or solving puzzles. Creative exercises can enhance your problem-solving skills and imaginative thinking.

12. Take risks and embrace failure

Don’t be afraid to take risks and fail. Failure is a crucial part of the creative process , providing valuable lessons and insights for future endeavors.

13. Work with a coach

Coaching can also help you hone your creative thinking. In fact, 71% of employers see managerial coaching as helpful for creative development . When you’re feeling distracted or uninspired, coaching can refocus your attention and help you get curious about your experience.

Start fostering your creative thinking skills

Thinking more creatively can take effort, but a little practice can offer a ton of benefits. Honing your skills to recognize patterns and find solutions shifts your perspective and offers a new vantage point for you to explore. 

Not only can creative thinking improve your performance at work, but it can also improve every other area of your life too. 

Coaching is a powerful tool to help foster your creativity skills. Are you ready to become more innovative? 

Start working with a dedicated coach today to develop your own creative thinking skills.

Understand Yourself Better:

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Maggie Wooll, MBA

Maggie Wooll is a researcher, author, and speaker focused on the evolving future of work. Formerly the lead researcher at the Deloitte Center for the Edge, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Maggie is passionate about creating better work and greater opportunities for all.

Why creativity isn't just for creatives and how to find it anywhere

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Creative Thinking: What is it, Why is it Important, and How to Develop it?

by Rawzaba Alhalabi Published on January 17, 2021

So what is creative thinking?

Creative thinking is the process of nurturing your imagination allowing you to “think out of the box”. 

Being able to train your mind to think creatively helps you invent, problem-solve, create and communicate in fresh, new ways. Moreover,  studying art and design , along with diverse disciplines, provides a rich tapestry of perspectives and techniques, enriching your creative thinking process even further.

Creative thinkers are in high demand in the job market and creative thinking is one of the key skills needed in future jobs according to a recent report by the World Economic Forum. 

So, let’s develop your creative thinking skills!

In this article, we will take you through a step by step process of how  to  improve your creative thinking skills. You will  learn   about different ways used to help you become more open-minded, innovative and creative .  

Article Outline

• The importance of creative thinking
• 6 Ways to apply creative thinking in your everyday life
• Thinking Hats: Approach Creative Thinking by de Bono
• Another Creative Thinking Approach: Lateral Thinking

Things to Avoid which will impact your Creative Thinking

• How to succeed in your career based on your enneagram (infographic)

Every person can improve their  creative  thinking skills. By doing so, it will help you create, interpret and come with solutions to challenges  in your daily life routines at school, university, organization or simply at home. 

“Everyone is born creative” – Hugh Macleod

A group of CEOs were asked “What is the skill you most value in your people?” as part of a survey , they said creativity, the ability to solve problems, come up with new solutions, and use brainpower to figure things out. Moreover, developing creative thinking skills not only involves nurturing your imagination but also understanding your personality traits and how they influence your thinking process. Taking a DISC personality test can provide valuable insights into your unique behavioral styles, helping you to enhance your creative thinking capabilities. By knowing your strengths and areas for improvement, you can better leverage your natural tendencies to think outside the box. Discover more about your personality by taking our online DISC test  today.

Before we get into the techniques, let us explore why is it important to become a creative thinker.

Everyone Should Become a Creative Thinker

Being able to train your mind to think creatively helps you invent, problem-solve, create and communicate in fresh, new ways.

When you think open-mindedly you become a happier person ready to accept exciting surprises from life.  

8 reasons why creative thinking is an essential skill for everyone 

The following are 8 reasons why you are advised to be creative in your everyday life:  

• Thinking creatively  adds value  not only to your life but also to the life of others. Translating your thoughts into beautiful work, projects ‘yourself’ clearly into the world you live in.  
• Creative thinking helps you become  self relying and more confident . You can think on your own without the help of others making you a stronger, truly-happy person.  
• By thinking creatively you  become true to yourself . You accept who you are without worrying about other peoples’ judgments.  
• Thinking open-mindedly gives you a reason to wake up every morning to start  exploring new ideas and thoughts . It makes your life worth living.  
• Creative thinking can  bring out hidden talents  that you have not noticed before. Instead of just nagging about a problem, it helps you discover new opportunities that you haven’t been aware of.  
• Thinking ‘out of the box’  makes you feel satisfied  at all phases of your life. You never feel that you have reached a dead end instead you are always ready to explore new challenges. You have the ability to see what others can’t see.  
• Being creative helps you  express your feelings  allowing you to be whatever you want to be in this world.  
• The more experienced you get with thinking creatively, the easier it becomes to  master difficult situations  you may face in your life.  

As explained, creative thinking has many advantages but most importantly it will make you a happier and better person so start practicing!

Check out the below infographic extracted from a  global study  done by Adobe.

6 Ways to apply creative thinking in your everyday life  

Successful people today are great creative thinkers.

Practicing creativity on a daily basis guides you to become a great success in the future.

The most important thing is to feel free when trying to apply creativity in your life. Creativity is having the power to expand your imagination bringing the most out of your potentials.  

The following are 6 ways to apply creative thinking in your life:  

• R isk  Taking : Being adventurous and ready for life’s challenges pushes you a step forward to creativity.  
• Playing :  Trying to play and be funny at times gives you the chance to manipulate the given problem accordingly to what you need.   
• Regularly asking Why :   Being curious and nosy, wanting to ask questions all the time opens endless doors and possibilities.  
• Generating large quantity of ideas:  By producing a big number of possible solutions, a smart, unique, unexpected answer might be discovered.  
• Day Dreaming:  Wondering about things related to your project frees your mind to expand its horizons and explore new ways out there.  
• Reading:  Going to the library and spending hours reading can nurture your imagination and grow a strong creative thinker.  

Therefore, by working on being a risk taker, a day dreamer and a good reader you are forcing your mind to grow in all directions.

So follow the above steps to WOW your way to become a high-standard creative thinker as opposed to being a boring, traditional thinker with limited abilities!  

See also: Innovation Design Thinking

Thinking Hats: Approach Creative Thinking by de Bono  

The “6 Thinking Hats” is a system designed by Edward de Bono as an approach to promote creative thinking. It is a tool used to enhance real thinking to make the process more productive and focused.

The ‘6 Thinking Hats’ separates thinking into 6 different roles, each role identified with a colored symbolic thinking hat. This approach helps to redirect thoughts by mentally switching from one hat to the other.  

6 Thinking Hats – by de Bono

The following are the 6 thinking hats and what each color represents:  

• “White Hat” – stating facts and information, things you already know.
• “ Yellow Hat” – looking at the bright side, being optimistic and positive, adding value and benefits.
• “Red Hat” – expressing feelings and emotions, your reactions and opinions.
• “Blue Hat” – managing and controlling, looking at the bigger picture.
• “Green Hat” – exploring other alternatives, generating new ideas and solutions.
• “Black Hat” – being realistic and practical, being cautious, finding where things might go wrong, discovering dangers and difficulties. Black Hat is usually called the ‘devil’s voice’.

The above 6 hats, when combined together, allows your mind to think clearly and objectively.

For example, you can start by grabbing the “Blue Hat” asking yourself questions such as: what is our goal? Are the 6 guidelines observed clearly? What is the subject addressed? This helps you get an overall view of your problem.

Next, you can grab the “Red Hat” expressing what you feel towards the problem and asking yourself who might be affected by this problem.

Then, you can grab “Yellow” and later “Green Hat” to invent new concepts and solutions.

Finally, you can switch between the “White” and “Black hat” in order to validate your solution by using information that you already know.  

Start training your mind to switch directions from one hat to another to solve problems efficiently, effectively bringing out benefits too!  

Here’s a video to explain the process:

Another Creative Thinking Approach: Lateral Thinking 

Lateral Thinking is a phrase invented by Edward de Bono that means thinking about a problem in a different way than what is usually used.

You can check out Edward de Bono’s book on the topic:

Lateral thinking is far from logical thinking most people use today.

It is expanding your thinking limits, freeing yourself from boundaries giving you the chance to explore things you never knew existed.  

The following are 5 steps involved in Lateral Thinking: 

• Change the focus of your thinking , allowing your mind to discover new options. Don’t be afraid to try something new.  
• Break free from limits  of traditional logical thinking of reason. Think messy, think all over making every small detail count.  
• Develop new ideas and shape them to fit the  situation you have on hand. Generating ideas is not sufficient; implementing these ideas according to what you need is what it takes to be a success.  
• Use diverse unrelated data  to help you come up with new concepts. Break down data, group them together or even try data you have never imagined might work. By experimenting without judgment, unexpected solutions may arise!   
• Look beyond obvious alternatives . Sometimes, opportunities are hidden and can only be discovered by thinking ‘out of the box’.  

Creative thinking is the ability to free your mind to create, interpret and visualize possibilities.

See also: How to become an exceptional critical thinker

Whether you decide to use lateral thinking or the 6 hats thinking approach, work your way to become a WOW creative thinker!    

Creative thinking pushes passion allowing you to love and live beyond your limits.

However, sometimes situations happen in life that restricts your freedom. It’s up to you to break down these walls and live up to your full potential, with the support and resources from Customwritings to help you overcome any obstacles.

The following are 8 things you are advised to avoid in order to be able to unleash your creativity:  

Complain about a problem: 

Worry about what others think: , stay in your ‘comfort zone’: , school limiting your creativity: , hold back when you have a good idea: , stop learning: , assume certain perceptions: .

We suggest you try to avoid the 8 points mentioned above in order to free your mind to think creatively.

It is a step forward to raise hidden talents that will push our world to lasting global success!

How to succeed in your career based on your enneagram

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to succeeding in your career. Some personality types thrive when put in front of a crowd, but for others, it’s their worst nightmare! Similarly, some personality types have the potential to be amazing employees but their personalities may be able to show success in a different way. 

Understanding your career personality type is a great way to figure out how to succeed in your career. Using your Enneagram type , you can learn personality-specific ways that you can thrive. For example, type five does well when they can work independently and can use “heads down” (no meeting) days to get the space they need to be productive.

Ready to find your career Enneagram? Check out the infographic below to get started.

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Creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration: assessment, certification, and promotion of 21st century skills for the future of work and education.

1. Introduction

“21st century skills”, “soft skills”, and the “4cs”, 2. the 4cs, assessment, and support for development, 2.1. creativity, 2.1.1. individual assessment of creativity, 2.1.2. institutional and environmental support for development of creativity, 2.2. critical thinking, 2.2.1. individual assessment of critical thinking, 2.2.2. institutional and environmental support for development of critical thinking skills, 2.3. communication, 2.3.1. individual assessment of communication, 2.3.2. institutional and environmental support for development of communication skills, 2.4. collaboration, 2.4.1. individual assessment of collaboration, 2.4.2. institutional and environmental support for development of collaboration and collaborative skills, 3. labelization: valorization of the 4cs and assessing support for their development, 3.1. labeling as a means of trust and differentiation, 3.2. influence on choice and adoption of goods and services, 3.3. process of labelizing products and services, 3.4. labelization of 21st century skills, 4. the international institute for competency development’s 21st century competencies 4cs assessment framework for institutions and programs, 4.1. evaluation grid for creativity, 4.2. evaluation grid for critical thinking, 4.3. evaluation grid for collaboration, 4.4. evaluation grid for communication, 5. assessing the 4cs in informal educational contexts: the example of games, 5.1. the 4cs in informal educational contexts, 5.2. 4cs evaluation framework for games, 6. discussion and conclusions, 6.1. interrelationships between the 4cs and a new model for use in pedagogy and policy promotion, 6.2. limitations and future work, 6.3. conclusion: labelization of the 4cs and the future of education and work, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Thornhill-Miller, B.; Camarda, A.; Mercier, M.; Burkhardt, J.-M.; Morisseau, T.; Bourgeois-Bougrine, S.; Vinchon, F.; El Hayek, S.; Augereau-Landais, M.; Mourey, F.; et al. Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration: Assessment, Certification, and Promotion of 21st Century Skills for the Future of Work and Education. J. Intell. 2023 , 11 , 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11030054

Thornhill-Miller B, Camarda A, Mercier M, Burkhardt J-M, Morisseau T, Bourgeois-Bougrine S, Vinchon F, El Hayek S, Augereau-Landais M, Mourey F, et al. Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration: Assessment, Certification, and Promotion of 21st Century Skills for the Future of Work and Education. Journal of Intelligence . 2023; 11(3):54. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11030054

Thornhill-Miller, Branden, Anaëlle Camarda, Maxence Mercier, Jean-Marie Burkhardt, Tiffany Morisseau, Samira Bourgeois-Bougrine, Florent Vinchon, Stephanie El Hayek, Myriam Augereau-Landais, Florence Mourey, and et al. 2023. "Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration: Assessment, Certification, and Promotion of 21st Century Skills for the Future of Work and Education" Journal of Intelligence 11, no. 3: 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11030054

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Effective Communication — Effective Communication: The Key to Building Strong Connections

Effective Communication: The Key to Building Strong Connections

• Categories: Connection Effective Communication

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Published: Sep 12, 2023

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Table of contents

The importance of effective communication, key elements of effective communication, barriers to effective communication, strategies for improving communication, 1. building relationships:, 2. resolving conflicts:, 3. achieving goals:, 4. personal development:, 5. success in the workplace:, 1. clarity:, 2. active listening:, 3. empathy:, 4. nonverbal communication:, 5. respect:, 1. misunderstandings:, 2. lack of active listening:, 3. emotional barriers:, 4. assumptions and stereotypes:, 5. lack of feedback:, 1. practice active listening:, 2. foster empathy:, 3. be mindful of nonverbal cues:, 4. seek feedback:, 5. adapt to your audience: h3>, 6. practice constructive communication:, 7. educate yourself:.

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Essays About Creativity: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Creativity helps us understand and solve problems in different ways. Discover our top essays about creativity examples and use our prompts for your writing.

Albert Einstein defines creativity as “seeing what others see and thinking what others have not thought.” But what makes it such a popular topic to write about? Every person has a creative view and opinion on something, but not everyone knows how to express it. Writing utilizes ideas and imagination to produce written pieces, such as essays.

Creativity reinforces not only new views but also innovation around the world. Because creativity is a broad topic to write about, you’ll need several resources to help you narrow down what you want to discuss in your essay.

5 Essay Examples

1. way to foster creativity in young children by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 2. phenomenon of creativity and success by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 3. do schools kill creativity: essay on traditional education by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 4. creativity in dreams essay by writer pete, 5. the importance of creativity in higher education by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 1. what is creativity, 2. how creativity affects our daily lives, 3. the impact of creativity on students, 4. the importance of creativity, 5. creativity: a product of perception, 6. types of creativity, 7. art and creativity.

“There are different ways to foster creativity in young children. They include different approaches to the problem of making children more self-reliant, more creative, and more interested in the process of receiving education, obtaining experience, achieving certain results in the sphere of self-study.”

The essay delves into the importance of promoting creativity by teaching music to young students. The author says music’s intention, rhythm, and organizational features help people understand performance, improve their mood, and educate them about the world they live in, unlike noise. Music is an important area of life, so it is important to teach it correctly and inspire children.

Since music and creativity are both vital, the author notes that music teachers must find ways to facilitate ventures to enhance their students’ creativity. The author also believes that teachers must perform their duties appropriately and focus on shaping their students’ behavior, personality, and worldview. You might be interested in these articles about art .

“Over the past few decades, creativity has evolved from a characteristic normally associated with artistic activities into a quality that is found in people of various professions. However, in the 21st century, creativity has become a rather controversial issue.”

The author discusses that while creativity dramatically contributes to the success of individuals and companies, creativity in the 21st-century workplace still has mixed reception. They mention that creativity leads to new ideas and innovations, helps solve complex problems, and makes great leaders. 

However, some still see creative people as irrational, disorganized, and distracting in the workplace. This often results in companies rejecting applicants with this quality. Ultimately, the writer believes creativity is vital in all organizations today. Hiring people with this unique trait is highly beneficial and essential to achieving the company’s goals. For more inspiration, check out these essays about achievement and essays about curiosity .

“… the traditional education system has caused much controversy since the beginning of formal education because traditional education can hurt children’s ability to think creatively, innovate, and develop fascinating minds.”

The essay discusses how school rules and norms affect students’ expression of true individuality. The author mentions that today’s schools focus on students’ test performance, memorization, and compliance more than their aspirations and talents, preventing students from practicing and enhancing their creativity.

The author uses various articles, shows, and situations to elaborate on how schools kill a student’s creativity by forcing them to follow a specific curriculum as a means to succeed in life. It kills the student’s creativity as they become “robots” with the same beliefs, knowledge, and values. According to the writer, killing a child’s creativity leads to a lack of motivation and a wrong career direction.

“Creativity is enhanced whether one chooses to pay attention to it, or not. Each person has the capacity to learn much from their creative dreaming, if they would only think more creatively and openly when awake.”

The essay contains various studies to support claims about people being more creative when asleep. According to the author, the human brain processes more information when dreaming than in the waking state. While the brainstem is inactive, it responds to PGO Waves that trigger the human CMPG, which puts images into the dream to move. The author discusses two main perspectives to discuss how creative dreaming occurs.

First, creativity is enhanced when a person sleeps, not through dreaming but because the mind is free from stress, making the brain more focused on thinking and creating images. The second is that the dreaming mind gathers and processes more information than the human brain unconsciously accumulates daily. The author states that creativity helps express feelings and believes people should not take their creativity in dreams for granted.

“When students have the opportunity to be creative, they’ll have the freedom to express themselves however they want, which satisfies them and drives them to work hard.”

The essay focuses on how the role of creativity is getting slimmer as a student enters higher education. To explain the importance of creativity, the author shares their experience showing how elementary schools focus more on improving and training students’ creativity than higher education. Although rules and restrictions are essential in higher education, students should still practice creativity because it enhances their ability to think and quickly adapt to different situations.

If you want to use the latest grammar software, read our guide to using an AI grammar checker .

7 Prompts for Essays About Creativity

Creativity is an important topic that significantly affects an individual’s development. For this prompt, discuss the meaning of creativity according to experts versus the personal interpretation of creative individuals. Compare these explanations and add your opinion on these similarities and differences. You can even discuss creativity in your life and how you practice creativity in your hobbies, interests, and education.

There are several impacts of creativity in one’s life. It improves mental health, strengthens the immune system, and affects one’s ability to solve problems in school and real life. Sometimes, being creative helps us be more open to various perspectives to reduce our biases. 

Use this prompt to write about a specific situation you experienced where creativity made you more innovative, inventive, or imaginative. Discuss these particular moments by pointing out creativity’s impact on your goal and how things would differ without creativity. You may also be interested in learning about the different types of creativity .

Creativity significantly impacts students’ enthusiasm and feeling of belongingness as they share their passion. Additionally, creativity’s effects stretch to students’ career choices and mental health.

Use this prompt to start a discussion of the pros and cons of creativity with students. Give examples where a student’s creativity leads to their success or failure. You can also share your observations as a guardian or a student.  

Sometimes, when we lose touch with our creative side, our viewpoint becomes shallow. Creativity not only works for art but also broadens everyone’s perspectives in life. 

For this prompt, speak about how creativity matters and prove its importance by providing a situation. Theorize or discuss how creative people and people who fail to increase their creativity respond to the case. 

Perception is an underlying characteristic of creativity. It interprets what we observe, while creativity allows us to make sense of them. Use this prompt to define perception to the readers through the lens of creativity.

List your experience proving creativity is a product of perception. For example, people can have vastly different interpretations of a painting or sound depending on how they perceive it. 

There are several types of creativity, some people believe creativity is a natural talent, but others say it can be cultivated. In this prompt, briefly define creativity and identify each type, such as musical, artistic, or logical. 

Discuss how creativity can be taught and cultivated, and look into how some people are naturally creative. In your essay, use real-life examples; this could be someone you know who has studied a creative subject or a friend who is a naturally creative songwriter.

When people say creativity, they usually think about art because it involves imaginative and expressive actions. Art strongly indicates a person’s ongoing effort and emotional power. 

To write this essay effectively, show how art relates to a person’s creativity. Briefly explain creativity and art and incorporate the factors that link these two. Note that art can be anything from contemporary dance and music to sculptures and paintings. For help with your essay, check our round-up of best essay writing apps .

The science behind creativity

Psychologists and neuroscientists are exploring where creativity comes from and how to increase your own

Vol. 53 No. 3 Print version: page 40

• Neuropsychology
• Creativity and Innovation

Paul Seli, PhD, is falling asleep. As he nods off, a sleep-tracking glove called Dormio, developed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, detects his nascent sleep state and jars him awake. Pulled back from the brink, he jots down the artistic ideas that came to him during those semilucid moments.

Seli is an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and also an artist. He uses Dormio to tap into the world of hypnagogia, the transitional state that exists at the boundary between wakefulness and sleep. In a mini-experiment, he created a series of paintings inspired by ideas plucked from his hypnagogic state and another series from ideas that came to him during waking hours. Then he asked friends to rate how creative the paintings were, without telling them which were which. They judged the hypnagogic paintings as significantly more creative. “In dream states, we seem to be able to link things together that we normally wouldn’t connect,” Seli said. “It’s like there’s an artist in my brain that I get to know through hypnagogia.”

The experiment is one of many novel—and, yes, creative—ways that psychologists are studying the science of creativity. At an individual level, creativity can lead to personal fulfillment and positive academic and professional outcomes, and even be therapeutic. People take pleasure in creative thoughts, research suggests—even if they don’t think of themselves as especially creative. Beyond those individual benefits, creativity is an endeavor with implications for society, said Jonathan Schooler, PhD, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Creativity is at the core of innovation. We rely on innovation for advancing humanity, as well as for pleasure and entertainment,” he said. “Creativity underlies so much of what humans value.”

In 1950, J. P. Guilford, PhD, then president of APA, laid out his vision for the psychological study of creativity ( American Psychologist , Vol. 5, No. 9, 1950). For half a century, researchers added to the scientific understanding of creativity incrementally, said John Kounios, PhD, an experimental psychologist who studies creativity and insight at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Much of that research focused on the personality traits linked to creativity and the cognitive aspects of the creative process.

But in the 21st century, the field has blossomed thanks to new advances in neuroimaging. “It’s become a tsunami of people studying creativity,” Kounios said. Psychologists and neuroscientists are uncovering new details about what it means to be creative and how to nurture that skill. “Creativity is of incredible real-world value,” Kounios said. “The ultimate goal is to figure out how to enhance it in a systematic way.”

Creativity in the brain

What, exactly, is creativity? The standard definition used by researchers characterizes creative ideas as those that are original and effective, as described by psychologist Mark A. Runco, PhD, director of creativity research and programming at Southern Oregon University ( Creativity Research Journal , Vol. 24, No. 1, 2012). But effectiveness, also called utility, is a slippery concept. Is a poem useful? What makes a sculpture effective? “Most researchers use some form of this definition, but most of us are also dissatisfied with it,” Kounios said.

Runco is working on an updated definition and has considered at least a dozen suggestions from colleagues for new components to consider. One frequently suggested feature is authenticity. “Creativity involves an honest expression,” he said.

Meanwhile, scientists are also struggling with the best way to measure the concept. As a marker of creativity, researchers often measure divergent thinking—the ability to generate a lot of possible solutions to a problem or question. The standard test of divergent thinking came from Guilford himself. Known as the alternate-uses test, the task asks participants to come up with novel uses for a common object such as a brick. But measures of divergent thinking haven’t been found to correlate well with real-world creativity. Does coming up with new uses for a brick imply a person will be good at abstract art or composing music or devising new methods for studying the brain? “It strikes me as using way too broad a brush,” Seli said. “I don’t think we measure creativity in the standard way that people think about creativity. As researchers, we need to be very clear about what we mean.”

One way to do that may be to move away from defining creativity based on a person’s creative output and focus instead on what’s going on in the brain, said Adam Green, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist at Georgetown University and founder of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity . “The standard definition, that creativity is novel and useful, is a description of a product,” he noted. “By looking inward, we can see the process in action and start to identify the characteristics of creative thought. Neuroimaging is helping to shift the focus from creative product to creative process.”

That process seems to involve the coupling of disparate brain regions. Specifically, creativity often involves coordination between the cognitive control network, which is involved in executive functions such as planning and problem-solving, and the default mode network, which is most active during mind-wandering or daydreaming (Beaty, R. E., et al., Cerebral Cortex , Vol. 31, No. 10, 2021). The cooperation of those networks may be a unique feature of creativity, Green said. “These two systems are usually antagonistic. They rarely work together, but creativity seems to be one instance where they do.”

Green has also found evidence that an area called the frontopolar cortex, in the brain’s frontal lobes, is associated with creative thinking. And stimulating the area seems to boost creative abilities. He and his colleagues used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to stimulate the frontopolar cortex of participants as they tried to come up with novel analogies. Stimulating the area led participants to make analogies that were more semantically distant from one another—in other words, more creative ( Cerebral Cortex , Vol. 27, No. 4, 2017).

Green’s work suggests that targeting specific areas in the brain, either with neuromodulation or cognitive interventions, could enhance creativity. Yet no one is suggesting that a single brain region, or even a single neural network, is responsible for creative thought. “Creativity is not one system but many different mechanisms that, under ideal circumstances, work together in a seamless way,” Kounios said.

In search of the eureka moment

Creativity looks different from person to person. And even within one brain, there are different routes to a creative spark, Kounios explained. One involves what cognitive scientists call “System 1” (also called “Type 1”) processes: quick, unconscious thoughts—aha moments—that burst into consciousness. A second route involves “System 2” processes: thinking that is slow, deliberate, and conscious. “Creativity can use one or the other or a combination of the two,” he said. “You might use Type 1 thinking to generate ideas and Type 2 to critique and refine them.”

Which pathway a person uses might depend, in part, on their expertise. Kounios and his colleagues used electroencephalography (EEG) to examine what was happening in jazz musicians’ brains as they improvised on the piano. Then skilled jazz instructors rated those improvisations for creativity, and the researchers compared each musician’s most creative compositions. They found that for highly experienced musicians, the mechanisms used to generate creative ideas were largely automatic and unconscious, and they came from the left posterior part of the brain. Less-experienced pianists drew on more analytical, deliberative brain processes in the right frontal region to devise creative melodies, as Kounios and colleagues described in a special issue of NeuroImage on the neuroscience of creativity (Vol. 213, 2020). “It seems there are at least two pathways to get from where you are to a creative idea,” he said.

Coming up with an idea is only one part of the creative process. A painter needs to translate their vision to canvas. An inventor has to tinker with their concept to make a prototype that actually works. Still, the aha moment is an undeniably important component of the creative process. And science is beginning to illuminate those “lightbulb moments.”

Kounios examined the relationship between creative insight and the brain’s reward system by asking participants to solve anagrams in the lab. In people who were highly sensitive to rewards, a creative insight led to a burst of brain activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, the area of the brain that responds to basic pleasures like delicious food or addictive drugs ( NeuroImage , Vol. 214, 2020). That neural reward may explain, from an evolutionary standpoint, why humans seem driven to create, he said. “We seem wired to take pleasure in creative thoughts. There are neural rewards for thinking in a creative fashion, and that may be adaptive for our species.”

The rush you get from an aha moment might also signal that you’re onto something good, Schooler said. He and his colleagues studied these flashes of insight among creative writers and physicists. They surveyed the participants daily for two weeks, asking them to note their creative ideas and when they occurred. Participants reported that about a fifth of the most important ideas of the day happened when they were mind-wandering and not working on a task at hand ( Psychological Science , Vol. 30, No. 3, 2019). “These solutions were more likely to be associated with an aha moment and often overcoming an impasse of some sort,” Schooler said.

Six months later, the participants revisited those ideas and rated them for creative importance. This time, they rated their previous ideas as creative, but less important than they’d initially thought. That suggests that the spark of a eureka moment may not be a reliable clue that an idea has legs. “It seems like the aha experience may be a visceral marker of an important idea. But the aha experience can also inflate the meaningfulness of an idea that doesn’t have merit,” Schooler said. “We have to be careful of false ahas.”

Boosting your creativity

Much of the research in this realm has focused on creativity as a trait. Indeed, some people are naturally more creative than others. Creative individuals are more likely than others to possess the personality trait of openness. “Across different age groups, the best predictor of creativity is openness to new experiences,” said Anna Abraham, PhD, the E. Paul Torrance Professor and director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia. “Creative people have the kind of curiosity that draws them toward learning new things and experiencing the world in new ways,” she said.

We can’t all be Thomas Edison or Maya Angelou. But creativity is also a state, and anyone can push themselves to be more creative. “Creativity is human capacity, and there’s always room for growth,” Runco said. A tolerant environment is often a necessary ingredient, he added. “Tolerant societies allow individuals to express themselves and explore new things. And as a parent or a teacher, you can model that creativity is valued and be open-minded when your child gives an answer you didn’t expect.”

One way to let your own creativity flow may be by tapping into your untethered mind. Seli is attempting to do so through his studies on hypnagogia. After pilot testing the idea on himself, he’s now working on a study that uses the sleep-tracking glove to explore creativity in a group of Duke undergrads. “In dream states, there seems to be connectivity between disparate ideas. You tend to link things together you normally wouldn’t, and this should lead to novel outcomes,” he said. “Neurally speaking, the idea is to increase connectivity between different areas of the brain.”

You don’t have to be asleep to forge those creative connections. Mind-wandering can also let the ideas flow. “Letting yourself daydream with a purpose, on a regular basis, might allow brain networks that don’t usually cooperate to literally form stronger connections,” Green said.

However, not all types of daydreams will get you there. Schooler found that people who engage in more personally meaningful daydreams (such as fantasizing about a future vacation or career change) report greater artistic achievement and more daily inspiration. People who are prone to fantastical daydreaming (such as inventing alternate realities or imaginary worlds) produced higher-quality creative writing in the lab and reported more daily creative behavior. But daydreams devoted to planning or problem-solving were not associated with creative behaviors ( Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts , Vol. 15, No. 4, 2021).

It’s not just what you think about when you daydream, but where you are when you do it. Some research suggests spending time in nature can enhance creativity. That may be because of the natural world’s ability to restore attention, or perhaps it’s due to the tendency to let your mind wander when you’re in the great outdoors (Williams, K. J. H., et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology , Vol. 59, 2018). “A lot of creative figures go on walks in big, expansive environments. In a large space, your perceptual attention expands and your scope of thought also expands,” Kounios said. “That’s why working in a cubicle is bad for creativity. But working near a window can help.”

Wherever you choose to do it, fostering creativity requires time and effort. “People want the booster shot for creativity. But creativity isn’t something that comes magically. It’s a skill, and as with any new skill, the more you practice, the better you get,” Abraham said. In a not-yet-published study, she found three factors predicted peak originality in teenagers: openness to experience, intelligence, and, importantly, time spent engaged in creative hobbies. That is, taking the time to work on creative pursuits makes a difference. And the same is true for adults, she said. “Carve out time for yourself, figure out the conditions that are conducive to your creativity, and recognize that you need to keep pushing yourself. You won’t get to where you want to go if you don’t try.”

Those efforts can benefit your own sense of creative fulfillment and perhaps lead to rewards on an even grander scale. “I think everyday creativity is the most important kind,” Runco said. “If we can support the creativity of each and every individual, we’ll change the world.”

How to become more creative

1. Put in the work: People often think of creativity as a bolt of inspiration, like a lightbulb clicking on. But being creative in a particular domain—whether in the arts, in your work, or in your day-to-day life—is a skill. Carve out time to learn and practice.

2. Let your mind wander: Experts recommend “daydreaming with purpose.” Make opportunities to let your daydreams flow, while gently nudging them toward the creative challenge at hand. Some research suggests meditation may help people develop the habit of purposeful daydreaming.

3. Practice remote associations: Brainstorm ideas, jotting down whatever thoughts or notions come to you, no matter how wild. You can always edit later.

4. Go outside: Spending time in nature and wide-open spaces can expand your attention, enhance beneficial mind-wandering, and boost creativity.

5. Revisit your creative ideas: Aha moments can give you a high—but that rush might make you overestimate the merit of a creative idea. Don’t be afraid to revisit ideas to critique and tweak them later.

Further reading

Creativity: An introduction Kaufman, J. C., and Sternberg, R. J. (Eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2021

The eureka factor: Aha moments, creative insight, and the brain Kounios, J., & Beeman, M., Random House, 2015

Creativity anxiety: Evidence for anxiety that is specific to creative thinking, from STEM to the arts Daker, R. J., et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 2020

Predictors of creativity in young people: Using frequentist and Bayesian approaches in estimating the importance of individual and contextual factors Asquith, S. L., et al., Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts , 2020

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Critical Thinking and Effective Communication: Enhancing Interpersonal Skills for Success

In today’s fast-paced world, effective communication and critical thinking have become increasingly important skills for both personal and professional success. Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyze situations, gather information, and make sound judgments, while effective communication involves not only conveying ideas clearly but also actively listening and responding to others. These two crucial abilities are intertwined, as critical thinking often mediates information processing, leading to a more comprehensive understanding and ultimately enhancing communication.

Key Takeaways

Critical thinking fundamentals, skill and knowledge.

Critical thinking is an essential cognitive skill that individuals should cultivate in order to master effective communication. It is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understand the logical connections between ideas, identify and construct arguments, and evaluate information to make better decisions in personal and professional life [1] . A well-developed foundation of knowledge is crucial for critical thinkers, as it enables them to analyze situations, evaluate arguments, and draw, inferences from the information they process.

Analysis and Evidence

A key component of critical thinking is the ability to analyze information, which involves breaking down complex problems or arguments into manageable parts to understand their underlying structure [2] . Analyzing evidence is essential in order to ascertain the validity and credibility of the information, which leads to better decision-making. Critical thinkers must consider factors like the source’s credibility, the existence of potential biases, and any relevant areas of expertise before forming judgments.

Clarity of Thought

In summary, mastering critical thinking fundamentals, including skill and knowledge, analysis of evidence, and clarity of thought, is essential for effective communication. Cultivating these abilities will enable individuals to better navigate their personal and professional lives, fostering stronger, more efficient connections with others.

Importance of Critical Thinking

Workplace and leadership.

Critical thinking is a vital skill for individuals in the workplace, particularly for those in leadership roles. It contributes to effective communication, enabling individuals to articulate their thoughts clearly and understand the perspectives of others. Furthermore, critical thinking allows leaders to make informed decisions by evaluating available information and considering potential consequences. Developing this skill can also empower team members to solve complex problems by exploring alternative solutions and applying rational thinking.

Decisions and Problem-Solving

Confidence and emotions.

Critical thinking plays a significant role in managing one’s emotions and cultivating self-confidence. By engaging in rational and objective thinking, individuals can develop a clearer understanding of their own beliefs and values. This awareness can lead to increased self-assurance and the ability to effectively articulate one’s thoughts and opinions. Additionally, critical thinking can help individuals navigate emotionally-charged situations by promoting logical analysis and appropriate emotional responses. Ultimately, honing critical thinking skills can establish a strong foundation for effective communication and emotional intelligence.

Effective Communication

Verbal communication, nonverbal communication, visual communication.

Visual communication involves the use of visual aids such as images, graphs, charts, and diagrams to support or enhance verbal messages. It can help to make complex information more understandable and engaging. To maximize the effectiveness of visual communication, consider the following tips:

Critical Thinking Skills in Communication

Listening and analyzing.

Developing strong listening and analyzing skills is crucial for critical thinking in communication. This involves actively paying attention to what others are saying and sifting through the information to identify key points. Taking a step back to analyze and evaluate messages helps ensure a clear understanding of the topic.

Biases and Perspective

Considering other people’s perspectives allows you to view an issue from multiple angles, eventually leading to a more thorough understanding. Approaching communications with an open and receptive mind gives you a greater ability to relate and empathize with others, which in turn enhances the overall effectiveness of communication.

Problem-Solving and Questions

Critical thinking is intrinsically linked to problem-solving and asking questions. By incorporating these skills into the communication process, you become more adept at identifying issues, formulating solutions, and adapting the way you communicate to different situations.

Ultimately, enhancing your critical thinking skills in communication leads to better understanding, stronger connections, and more effective communication. By combining active listening, awareness of biases and perspectives, and problem-solving through questioning, you can significantly improve your ability to navigate even the most complex communications with confidence and clarity.

Improving Critical Thinking and Communication

Methods and techniques.

By honing these skills, individuals can better navigate the complexities of modern life and develop more effective communication capabilities.

Problem-Solving Skills

By mastering this framework, individuals can tackle problems more effectively and communicate their solutions with clarity and confidence.

Staying on Point and Focused

By maintaining focus throughout your communication, you can improve your ability to think critically and communicate more effectively.

Teaching and Training Critical Thinking

Content and curriculum, instructors and teachers.

The role of instructors and teachers in promoting critical thinking cannot be underestimated. They should be trained and equipped with strategies to stimulate thinking, provoke curiosity, and encourage students to question assumptions. Additionally, they must create a learning environment that supports the development of critical thinking by being patient, open-minded, and accepting of diverse perspectives.

Engaging Conversations

Conversations play a significant role in the development of critical thinking and effective communication skills. Instructors should facilitate engaging discussions, prompt students to explain their reasoning, and ask open-ended questions that promote deeper analysis. By doing so, learners will be able to refine their ideas, understand various viewpoints, and build their argumentation skills, leading to more effective communication overall.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the essential aspects of critical thinking, how do communication skills impact problem-solving.

Effective communication skills are crucial in problem-solving, as they facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and perspectives. Clear and concise communication helps ensure that all team members understand the problem, the proposed solutions, and their roles in the process. Additionally, strong listening skills enable better comprehension of others’ viewpoints and foster collaboration.

How does language influence critical thinking?

What strategies can enhance communication in critical thinking, what are the benefits of critical thinking in communication.

Critical thinking enhances communication by promoting clarity, objectivity, and logical reasoning. When we engage in critical thinking, we question assumptions, consider multiple viewpoints, and evaluate the strength of arguments. As a result, our communication becomes more thoughtful, persuasive, and effective at conveying the intended message .

How do critical thinking skills contribute to effective communication?

You may also like, critical thinking and decision making, critical thinking vs creative thinking.

Thinking Vs. Critical Thinking: What’s the Difference?

Thinking critically about your personal finance in a recession, download this free ebook.

• DOI: 10.59324/ejtas.2023.1(5).34
• Corpus ID: 263640093

Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Creativity and Communication Skills among School Students: A Review Paper

• Mohammad Ismail Stanikzai
• Published in European Journal of… 1 September 2023
• European Journal of Theoretical and Applied Sciences

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Aligning maritime education: enhancing industry relevance through lecturer internship programs, effectiveness of contextual teaching and learning (ctl) through differentiated instruction on students’ critical thinking skills in economics, 76 references, transforming traditional teaching practices with 21st century skills in k-12 classrooms, the complexities in fostering critical thinking through school-based curriculum innovation: research evidence from singapore, integrating the 4 cs in the learning of science and mathematics, student negotiated learning, student agency and general capabilities in the 21st century: the delorean project, project-based learning for the 21st century: skills for the future, effecting change on students’ critical thinking in problem solving, innovative pedagogies in higher education to become effective teachers of 21st century skills: unpacking the learning and innovations skills domain of the new learning paradigm, collaborative learning: increasing students' engagement outside the classroom, a study of student technological creativity using online problem-solving activities, how do students value the importance of twenty-first century skills, related papers.

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Creativity and Critical Thinking

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The twenty-first century has seen a rapid growth of curriculum initiatives that consider the development of cross-curriculum competencies as a core issue, and significant for every discipline area. Both because of such cross-curriculum developments and because of the nature of STEM itself, the integration of the particular core competencies of ‘creativity’ and ‘critical thinking’ across the STEM disciplines has also grown rapidly in educational importance. Creativity and critical thinking in education are best viewed from the perspectives of both learner development and teacher expertise, with the attributes specific to each concept appropriately seen as increasing in sophistication or complexity over time. A broad examination of each of the two concepts and their interrelatedness, and the consequent implications for educational practice concerned with developing them, creates a lens through which to view the application of creativity and critical thinking across the complexity and diversity of the STEM disciplines and their integrated forms.

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Ellerton, P., Kelly, R. (2021). Creativity and Critical Thinking. In: Berry, A., Buntting, C., Corrigan, D., Gunstone, R., Jones, A. (eds) Education in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85300-6_2

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Student Performance Through 21st-Century Skills: Integrating Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork, and Creativity in Modern Education

Posted: 30 Aug 2024

Rujonel Cariaga

Department of Education

Date Written: August 12, 2024

Globalization, quick technological advancement, and the necessity of individuals who can think critically, communicate clearly, collaborate effectively with others, and be creative (the 4Cs) define the demands of the twenty-first century. Our schools must adapt to these requirements. We must cease depending so much on inflexible, set-in-stone instructional approaches and replace them with more flexible, skill-based methods suitable for a future we have yet to learn about. The COVID-19 epidemic is driving more classes and examinations conducted online. This emphasizes the need for robust, flexible educational institutions to manage such issues. While some instructors need more training, some children perform well, and others do not. Local educational systems have to cope with these all-around issues. Regarding the instructors and the tools they use for learning, schools in the country and those in the city differ greatly. More major problems causing students to do poorly on their work include stress before examinations and online proctoring systems failing as they used to be. Problems in the neighborhood that aggravate these include socioeconomic ones influencing entrance into the justice system and the school. Furthermore, people dislike the unequal application of STEM education, which compromises the 21st-century competencies of pupils. Research on best teaching and assessing 21st-century skills in many environments still needs to be completed. This article will examine the 4Cs, teacher independence, and professional development today in light of one another. The aim is to uncover evidence capable of influencing educational policy and practice. Understanding this will help political leaders and educators create better classrooms for every child. Every child will do better in school, enabling them to prepare for difficult circumstances ahead. Researchers must understand how 21st-century abilities influence students' performance in various spheres, including math if they are to create decent educational strategies. Since they determine how well college students do in the classroom, 21st-century skills are applicable at all academic levels. People discuss many issues related to student performance in the twenty-first century, including student knowledge and performance, teacher performance and behavior, technology, and integrated learning approaches, curriculum development policies and plans, and the necessity of significant legislative reforms. Six distinct approaches to viewing and analyzing education assist us in grasping its current dynamics. DiBenedetto and Myers (2016) see things differently regarding preparing children for the year 2000. Williams (2021) explores how federal and state policies may help bridge the achievement disparity among early children by linking policy initiatives to school performance. Many authors have commented on the problems that result from applying contemporary education in various global locations. Voogt and Roblin published a study in 2010 on 21st-century talents. The two guys discussed the difficulties of teaching Latin American children more in 2007. People will consider the issues and opportunities schools worldwide have to handle.

Keywords: Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Teamwork, Student Performance

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Creative Thinking Definition

Creative thinking examples, why is creative thinking important, how to include creative thinking skills in a job application, how to build creativity, what is creative thinking definition and examples.

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Table of Contents

Creative thinking is the ability to come up with unique, original solutions. Also known as creative problem-solving, creative thinking is a valuable and marketable soft skill in a wide variety of careers. Here’s what you need to know about creative thinking at work and how to use it to land a job. 

Creative thinking is all about developing innovative solutions to problems. Creative thinkers brainstorm not only a large number of ideas but also a variety and range of them. In the workplace, creative thinking is highly valuable because employers look to hire innovative employees who can help them solve the company’s problems.

So, what does creative thinking in the workplace look like? First, a creative person brainstorms their ideas, then they’ll experiment with them. They look at ideas from multiple perspectives and examine how their solutions fit into the scope of what they’re working on. Creative thinkers aren’t afraid to take risks and try new ideas. In fact, this ability to develop, test, and implement original solutions makes them a valuable asset to just about any workplace. 

Creative thinking in the workplace might look like:

• Holding an interactive brainstorm to gather initial thoughts on a project
• Evaluating a current process and offering suggestions on how to improve it
• Researching other ways to market a product and leading experiments on new marketing channels
• Developing an innovative way to reach out to prospective clients
• Identifying a unique opportunity to promote the company brand and developing a strategy to do so
• Discovering a new way to measure a product initiative’s success and using learnings to iterate on the next version

Finding patterns in a company’s revenue growth and using data trends to strategize a new sales plan  

Creative thinking includes the process of innovative problem-solving — from analyzing the facts to brainstorming to working with others. Creative thinking examples include analytical skills, innovation, and collaboration.

Analytical Skills

Analytical skills are problem-solving skills that help you sort through facts, data, and information to develop rational solutions. These skills aid you in the first part of the creative thinking process as you brainstorm and start to generate ideas. 

Analytical skills include:

• Data analysis
• Forecasting
• Interpreting
• Communication

Innovation is the ability to come up with something new; however, you don’t need to develop the first flying car to be an innovative thinker. “Something new” at work might mean a method you haven’t tried before or experimenting with an unfamiliar process. Innovators in the workplace aren’t afraid to step away from tradition and explore something original, even if it might fail. 

Innovation skills include:

• Risk-taking
• Brainstorming
• Critical thinking

Collaboration

Creative thinking doesn’t have to happen alone; you might have your most creative ideas when bouncing your work off others. Collaboration skills ensure you consider multiple perspectives and ways of thinking when you develop and refine ideas.

Collaboration skills include:

• Written and verbal communication
• Active listening
• Inclusivity

A soft skill like creative thinking will always be valuable to employers, whether you’re looking for a marketing job or trying to land a career in finance . Employers need employees who can develop and experiment with new ideas to help them solve complex problems. 

“Many employers seek candidates that are analytical and outside-the-box thinkers which are iterations of creative thinking skills,” says Alejandra Garcia, manager, alumni college and career success at Code2College and Forage content development partner. “Thus, creative thinking, creative problem solving, innovative thinking, and analytical skills are all valuable in the current workplace — these skills are especially important in our ever-changing workplaces with new emerging technologies.”

The data supports this idea, too. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs report , creative thinking is the second most important skill for workers in 2023, preceded only by analytical skills. Other top skills include soft skills like resilience, flexibility and agility, motivation and self-awareness, and curiosity and lifelong learning .

“The ability to navigate new challenges quickly can benefit any workplace!” Laura Fontenot, resume writing expert, ACRW, and CPRW, says. “The current world of work is fast-paced, technically driven, and constantly changing. Being intuitive, creative, driven, and a problem solver are key.”

If creative thinking is one of the top soft skills employers look for, how do you show you have it in a job application? The key is to prove these skills through examples of how you’ve used them rather than just naming them.

On a Resume

While creative thinking is a skill employers might look for, you don’t necessarily need to write “creative thinking” on your resume to show you have this skill. Instead, it’s better to demonstrate how you’ve used creative thinking skills to drive results.

“Think of your best mental strengths,” says Fontenot. “Are you a great problem solver? Do you understand how to phrase things differently? Can you learn a new skill quickly? Those questions can help you find great words for the resume . Consider adding things like problem-solving, intuition, collaboration, fast learner, organized, or communication.”

Log in to view and download a customizable resume template with examples of how to include creative thinking skills:

On Your Professional Profiles

You can show these skills outside of your resume in creative ways — including on your LinkedIn profile and website (if you have one!).

“Early professionals can make creative thinking a part of their professional brand by explicitly adding creative thinking or creative problem solving to their list of skills on their resumes and LinkedIn profiles — this will help with ATS optimizations,” Garcia advises. 

Yet beyond just listing this skill, Garcia adds that you can provide real proof of your creativity online, too.

“Consider adding projects or an online portfolio website link to your resume and LinkedIn where you can showcase projects you’ve worked on that demonstrate their problem-solving skills.”

In the Interview

In the interview , make sure you can describe your workflow and process for these projects or any other situation when you’ve used creative thinking. Elaborate how you brainstormed ideas, what range of ideas you had, how you tested and experimented, and how you decided on a final solution. 

It’s best to use the STAR method to structure your answers. This will ensure you clearly explain the situation and the results you brought by using your creative thinking skills.

>>MORE: Prepare to speak about your soft skills by practicing answers to commonly asked behavioral interview questions .

1. Put Yourself in a Box

Creative thinking is about “thinking outside the box,” but putting limitations on your problem-solving can help you think more freely and innovatively. For example, if someone tells you to make dinner, you may struggle to come up with a meal you don’t always cook. Yet if they ask you to make a hot dinner with three specific ingredients and two spices, you’ll more likely come up with something original. 

Putting yourself inside a box can help expand your thinking, whether that’s by telling yourself you need to include three charts in your presentation or giving yourself a strict word count for an article.

2. Switch up Your Routine

Routine can be a great productivity booster, but it also can get in the way of your creativity. So, switch up your routine for one project, day, or even an hour. This can be something as small as where you’re physically sitting when you do your work or something as big as your process for approaching projects. Challenging yourself to do something different will help you find creative ways to adapt to your new environment.

3. Challenge What’s Currently Working

Think about how you might expand or improve upon a current process. What would you do if you had more resources, whether that’s time, money, or another expert? What would you do if you had fewer resources? If this project was taking place at a different time of year? If the target audience was different? Imagining these different potential scenarios will force you to problem-solve and adjust for various (very possible!) circumstances. 

4. Find Inspiration

Creative thinking doesn’t happen in a bubble. It’s vital to ask for others’ opinions and ideas. Creative thinkers consider multiple perspectives and are curious about how others think. Ask your colleague about their work processes, whether it’s how they research for a client deliverable or how they approach meeting an external buyer. 

5. Ask for Feedback

The best way to improve a skill is to get feedback from others on how you’re using it — and you don’t need to set up a formal feedback session to do so. Instead, ask questions when you’re working with others about your work. Keep these questions open-ended and lead with curiosity instead of looking for a specific answer. What did they think of how you led the brainstorm? What would they have done differently? What strikes them about the final product? Keep an open mind and remember not to take the feedback personally. It’s an opportunity to grow, and growing those skills might just help you land your next job!

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Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking, and Communication

(17 reviews)

Tanya Long Bennet

Copyright Year: 2017

ISBN 13: 9781940771236

Publisher: University of North Georgia Press

Language: English

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Reviewed by Gina Burkart, Director of Learning Services and Adjunct Instructor of English, Clarke University on 12/13/22

I was very impressed. Bennet covered all of the necessary topics that are covered in the Intro to Literature course that I normally teach and used the same approach that I use with students. The glossary and index were helpful. There were also... read more

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I was very impressed. Bennet covered all of the necessary topics that are covered in the Intro to Literature course that I normally teach and used the same approach that I use with students. The glossary and index were helpful. There were also great resources and examples provided.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The accuracy of the material was spot on. It matched how I present the material and was accessible to students.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The examples were very relevant--even Call of Duty was included for students to relate to. The stories and and literature used were the same as which I often use. The language and tone was perfect and accessible/authentic for students.

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As mentioned above, the language and tone was very accessible for students.

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It seemed consistent.

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Interface rating: 5

I didn't have any issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't notice any.

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It seemed more traditional in the use of texts/stories--but those are the same texts/stories that I use and this university uses--so I didn't have a problem with it.

I think it is an excellent text and will recommend it to our department!

Reviewed by Katherine Ramsey, Academic Director of English/Literature, Spartanburg Community College on 9/22/22

This text includes a detailed table of contents, a glossary of terms, and a bibliography. It does not include an index. The books consist of nine chapters. It does include a review of rhetorical appeals and effective argumentation, which is... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text includes a detailed table of contents, a glossary of terms, and a bibliography. It does not include an index. The books consist of nine chapters. It does include a review of rhetorical appeals and effective argumentation, which is helpful. The major literary genres are covered, including creative non-fiction, which is not typically included in this type of literature anthology. This text also includes suggested texts based on theme to support instructors. However, there is only one chapter each devoted to short fiction, drama, and poetry, so the information on the various literary elements could be developed more thoroughly. Overall, this hits all the necessary basic information about literary genres and literary elements, with a decent assortment of literary works and essay assignment ideas.

I did not notice any typographic or content errors in the text. There is no overt bias detected.

Content is up to date. Links to the MLA formatting go to the most updated version of the handbook. Most of the linked materials are to readings, which will not go out of date. This text would be fairly simple to modify and update. Instructors could add additional readings and poems.

This text is a straightforward and concise book that is student centered and not so in-depth that it would intimidate students. It is an “easy read” for students; the phrasing is not overly dense or wordy. With only 9 chapters, all of the essentials are covered. Terms are in bold type face, and a glossary is provided.

The formatting of the textbook is consistent and uniform. It progresses logically and is effectively laid out for the reader, so it is easy to follow.

This text is well divided into 9 chapters, with subheadings/subsections within, making this easy to “chunk” into reading assignments.

The material is well organized, includes a review of the elements of rhetoric and argumentation, in addition to the genre studies, critical theory, terminology, and a variety of readings throughout. It flows smoothly and logically from topic to topic.

Interface rating: 4

There were no significant issues in this area. Although one text link did not open when I tried it, all of the other links were working. The charts that were included were displayed correctly and were easy to read although one chart was in landscape orientation, but it was still fairly easy to read. The margins, spacing, and general page appearance is pleasing to the eye and simple to read/navigate. The page numbers are clearly labeled, and the chapter information is in the right header bar. The book effectively uses text structures such as bolding, headings, italics, etc. in an effective manner.

I detected no grammatical errors while I was reviewing this text.

This text is well rounded and inclusive with works, both contemporary and canonical, from a wide variety of authors with diverse genders, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds. Instructors could add additional readings to further diversify the literary perspectives, but overall, there was effort made to present a variety of authors, considering the issue of copyright that governs the use of literary texts.

Reviewed by Rebecca Owen, Part-Time Faculty, Chemeketa Community College on 3/10/22

This book covers all the major writing projects that they might encounter in a writing or literature class. Chapters are conversational, easy to follow, and provide good examples of texts and questions. It gives sample essays for the genres and... read more

This book covers all the major writing projects that they might encounter in a writing or literature class. Chapters are conversational, easy to follow, and provide good examples of texts and questions. It gives sample essays for the genres and does a fine job at explaining the why behind common writing assignments.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content is clear, straightforward, and easily navigable for a student reader. It does feel like there could be more possible examples to include--especially by delivering links to more representative content in some chapters, like Creative Nonfiction vs. providing whole excerpts or stories (like in the fiction chapter). I wouldn't have minded more examples, though! I think a student reader or instructor might also appreciate more examples of texts to analyze and review.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

I felt like the introduction led us toward an idea that this would be a way to see a similarity between popular movies/literature and social media alongside the classics (like Shakespeare, Hemingway, Joan Didion, etc). I wouldn't have minded more of those types current examples as well as the classics. It might help students see a link between the content they consume and the content they're using for class.

Very clear, very easy to follow writing throughout. I think a student reader would find this as a very helpful intro-level guide. It's very accessible for new writers.

Consistency rating: 4

I felt like the book is overall very comprehensive and complete--but it does feel like a very basic or brief look at literature analysis. I felt like it is a book that might come up when looking for texts for a composition class, but it felt much more focused on reading and interpreting literature than learning about composition. That's where the consistency felt a little off to me.

I could see using a chapter--the discussion of scholarly vs. non-scholarly sources, for instance, or ethos/logos/pathos--and posting those links to my composition students. I might not assign the whole textbook, but there are very easily digestible pieces to add to students' understanding of the subject.

Very clear, very well organized throughout. Each chapter is nicely organized with a conversational style. I liked that it included creative nonfiction as a genre, too. Lots of useful information about personal writing (and reading personal essays), too.

For the most part, everything is great. Once we get into the research paper chapter, though, there is a graph that presents sideways (chapter 8). I was reading on both a phone and a laptop, and it was tricky to access that chart both times.

I didn't notice anything alarming, grammar-wise.

I think some of the examples of texts to read could be a little more modern--more recent texts from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, original languages, ethnicity. I think it could make more of an appeal to students through new media and other multimedia examples as well.

This book was clear and easy to follow--I don't know if I would assign the entire book for a composition class, but I could see several chapters as really helpful, easy resources for certain assignments.

Reviewed by Annamaria Formichella, Professor, Buena Vista University on 12/28/21

The chapters on writing are relatively comprehensive, and I appreciated the prefatory comments in the “Why Write About Literature” section. They helped to establish the usefulness of this approach for students. On the other hand, certain of the... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The chapters on writing are relatively comprehensive, and I appreciated the prefatory comments in the “Why Write About Literature” section. They helped to establish the usefulness of this approach for students. On the other hand, certain of the genre chapters are brief. The drama chapter has only about one page of content regarding dramatic structure, followed by about 117 pages of sample plays. The creative nonfiction chapter is only about five pages long. More information defining the literary genres would have been helpful as I taught my course.

The content was accurate and unbiased.

Much of the content is relevant and current, especially the sample student papers. In order to strengthen the relevance, I would recommend revising the drama chapter to include the genre of film. Film is our contemporary medium for telling visual stories, has become much more popular than traditional plays, and would resonate more powerfully with undergraduates. In a similar vein, most of the poems at the end of chapter 4 were published in the 19th-century or earlier. Contemporary poetry has changed significantly in terms of form and content, and again would appeal more strongly to young people today. Including song lyrics or links to spoken-word poetry performances would resonate with this generation of students.

The writing style is clear and jargon-free. The conversational style is likely to appeal to young readers.

The text is consistent in terms of the way the chapters are structured. Most contain bolded key terms, relevant student examples, and discussion questions. Again, as I mentioned above, the four chapters that focus on literary genres might have been more consistent in terms of depth. The poetry chapter contains much more terminology than the others.

The chapters are relatively short, which makes them easy to assign in the course. The exception would be the lengthy sample texts. Shakespeare’s The Tempest, for example, takes up almost 100 pages (and the entire book is only about 260 pages).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text begins with chapters about analytical writing, then moves into the four literary genres, then returns to writing assignments (literary analysis and the research paper). Although this order might have worked well for the author’s purposes, in my course it would have been preferable to begin with the genre chapters and then move on to the writing chapters. I would put chapters 2 and 3 just prior to chapter 8, so that the writing guidance could be more effectively integrated.

The text does not contain many graphic elements. In fact, there are no images at all. The few charts that are included are displayed clearly, and the reader can interact easily with the text. Because the textbook is available as a pdf, the highlighted links to outside texts do not work as hotlinks. The student must copy and paste the link into a browser. That might dissuade some young readers from pursuing extra-textual content. While the majority of the links work, I found three (Didion on p. 233, Feynman on p. 234, and Anzaldua on p. 269) that were broken (page not found or forbidden access).

There are no grammatical errors in the text.

For the most part, the textbook is inclusive. I appreciated, for example, the nuanced discussion of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in chapter 5. I do think the list of additional readings, included in the Resources for Instructors section, could be more diverse. Of the fifteen readings listed, only three are written by women, and only two have nonwhite authors.

I used this textbook in my composition II class in the fall of 2021. Midway through the semester, I asked the students for feedback on the readings. I thought I’d include a few representative comments. “I think that this textbook is ok. I appreciate that it is free but sometimes the chapters seem like they are only examples. I feel like some of the information in each chapter is unnecessary.” “I think that the chapters are helpful in certain aspects. I do wish that they used fewer examples and just discussed the topics themselves more. I feel that it uses the examples as an out to avoid having to elaborate, but that can make the concepts confusing at times. Especially when they are topics that I have never heard of before.” “The chapters are very long and there are a lot of inserts of outside text.” “The chapters themselves are not bad for the book being free, but sometimes the text seems very simple which is not a bad thing, but it is something that I noticed.” “I think this book does its job. It is not the best book in the world, but I think considering it is free, it does everything it needs to. After reading the chapters I know what the main idea was and know what I was supposed to learn. I think the chapters are short and to the point which makes it easy to read. Sometimes it is hard to get myself to spend the five to ten minutes reading the chapter when the examples are long and harder to read. I have trouble focusing on lengthy examples.” From the students’ perspective, the main takeaways seem to be that the sample texts are lengthy, and the content is fairly simple. The simplicity can make it a very useful and accessible text for some students, especially those just beginning to think about writing and literature. I did find myself quite often needing to supplement with content. Shorter sample texts might make it more likely that students would complete those readings.

Reviewed by Marion Hernandez, Adjunct Instructor English Department/DCE, Bunker Hill Community College on 6/30/21

This text covers every aspect of literature, writing skills. instructions for writing papers i each genre as well as giving clear writing lessons and sample essays. read more

This text covers every aspect of literature, writing skills. instructions for writing papers i each genre as well as giving clear writing lessons and sample essays.

The point of view is written with the student in mind and the terminology and focus are very student centered. No grammar errors are present and the level is definitely focused on college level readers.

Because the focus is on the student, concerns particular to first year students is the priority. Agin, the terminology is consistent with any pedagogy teachers might decide to present.

The writing lessons are present is a very clear manner. The format here is using bold face type to work in an outline form when describing the various points to consider in reading and writing. The materials and sample essays are pinpointed to include advanced readings suitable for college and points of view that are challenging, that is, not talking down to the students.

The chapters are consistent because the format repeats itself in a good way as it works from genre to genre giving instruction, reading and sample students papers. The format is repeated by the content is specific to the genre under study.

One of the very best features of the text is that the terminology dictates the order of both the chapters and the presentations. The chapters are clear-cut and the student could easily use only the chapters pn which the class focuses.

All the previous recommendations focus on just this point of organization. The clear cut sections are presented in clearly defined sequences would give students confidence in the text, knowing that the information is right on target and presented in an academic but casual voice. Only one thing seems to be a small weakness in the text: adequate work on building a thesis. This is not that important because every chapter cover thesis in some way, but in the research writing section, only half a page is devoted to thesis statements.

There are no distractions such as visuals, cartoons, and charts. There are diagrams and subtitles and some charts. Fro instance in the Critical Thinking chapter deductive and inductive reasoning skills. pathos and logos are charted in a clear and informative manner.

There are no grammatical errors. Sentence structure is varied and employs longer sentences with complex and compound clauses. The terminology dictates the the vocabulary would be at a college level.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The readings span many various time periods and points of view. Everything from Susan Glaspell to Shakespeare. Poetry has a separate unit as well as drama and all selections are provocative without being biased.

This is a wonderful text that covers every aspect of what one expects to find in an English course. Because to its comprehensive nature, the text would be perfect for a two semester course. However the organization into separate chapters and genres lends itself to a one semester course as well. i will use this for my research writing course.

Reviewed by Kirstin Krick, Instructor, Community College of Aurora on 5/30/21

The information presented in this resource outlines the major elements of literature analysis while also focusing on traditional genres. There are added segments discussing common settings in which students might also use academic research writing... read more

The information presented in this resource outlines the major elements of literature analysis while also focusing on traditional genres. There are added segments discussing common settings in which students might also use academic research writing principles. Chapters are well-rounded and easy to maneuver.

Overall, the content is simple in nature, each section breaks down a topic, expands on it, then there are exercises or sample readings that illustrate further. This text contains few to no errors as far as content in general; but the author does juxtapose questionable phraseology, opinion language, and superfluous imagery [often found in hypothetical examples] with the contradictory idea of research writing needing to be based in fact and conformed to a rigid set of formatting guidelines and structural parameters.

There are up to date samples and references mixed with outdated terminology [names, issues, trends] throughout this source. Where the author includes quite a few classical or contemporary titles, there is nothing after 2018, which is ancient history by now (2021). Although use of current examples and associations is lacking, instructors can easily implement ancillary materials more suited to the evolving world condition.

Clarity rating: 4

A majority of the text is easily readable whereas some illustrations [charts, essay samples, annotations] may have accessibility issues if students are using older versions of Windows or Word, a Mac, etc. In these cases, it might get tricky viewing and working with the source information outside of its original formatting. Annotation examples are not tabled, the only thing distinguishing the notes from the original excerpt being annotated is font style. That is being really picky though, some instructors may not feel that it affects the flow at all. To each their own.

This resource provides consistent, relevant information pertaining to topics typically discussed in literature courses, with the added bonus of outlining the essential format and structure of college-level research writing. Activities and exercises are carried out in similar fashion throughout. Additionally, the author clearly attempts to balance the amount of content presented [to the reader] in each section so it is never overwhelming.

In terms of modularity, the layout of contents is very user friendly. It’s easy to “get around” and sections are not too congested with distracting visual implements. What is promised in the introduction is delivered to its conclusion, the author does a great job of keeping expectations transparent without oversimplifying.

For the most part, the ideas in this source are fleshed out clearly, save a few rocky areas. One thing that might throw the reader off is the order in which writing concepts are presented. As an example, Argument is discussed in depth at the beginning, but Analysis is not mentioned except in reference to specific genres. It seems slightly counterintuitive not to have a section on critical/analytical thinking and reasoning before delving into the complexities of argumentation.

Navigating through this resource is a breeze! There aren’t excessive advertisements on the sites the reader is linked to either, just nice, clean web pages that have been well vetted (most of which are also mainstays in the field of literature). That being said, whether it will quench the modern day student’s thirst for interaction or obsession with social media, remains to be seen.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Due to the author’s choice of simple, relatable terms, along with clearly outlined activities and examples, there are no obvious errors when it comes to the overall content. Tiny incongruities may exist, such as sources not being quoted or cited with appropriate punctuation. The concern there is that parts of the text are incorrectly formatted [APA, MLA, CMS] which contradicts parameters illustrated in later chapters.

In the author’s defense, this resource was created in 2018, pre-pandemic; which now seems like light years in the past, so although it could use a touch-up, there is no need for a full on make-over here. When the writer puts forth hypotheticals, they pass the basic test of not being gender or race bias but the full source doesn’t include cultural considerations (like a multiple language learner’s perspective) or present case studies specifically designed to exemplify instances of diversity. Under some circumstances, the cultural aspect is lost in time, there are several outdated references and examples that present missed opportunities to get students communicating about people with different cultural backgrounds and unique world views. Instructors may want to do some maintenance in those sections.

In OER (whenever referenced) the author's name is spelled Bennet, but on the original source it is Bennett. That could be an issue for the writer, especially when citing or documenting.

Reviewed by Donald Carreira Ching, Instructor, Leeward Community College on 3/12/21

Overall, what I like about this text is that it concisely covers what it needs to. There is a table of contents, a glossary, additional resources for instructors, and a bibliography. read more

Overall, what I like about this text is that it concisely covers what it needs to. There is a table of contents, a glossary, additional resources for instructors, and a bibliography.

The content is accurate and concise. This text works as a great reference point for instructors and students. I also like that it covers a wide-range of writing forms.

This is great for a wide-range of courses. The fact that you can re-mix and build the work in various ways makes it particularly relevant, especially when combined with other outside resources and readings.

Text is written in a clear and concise way. Examples are provided. Text is student-focused.

The text is ordered and organized consistently. Sections are broken up in a consistent way.

As mentioned in the relevance section, the license allows the text to be remixed and integrated in the way that suits the instructor. It is easily and readily divisible. I also like the concision of the sections.

Well organized and presented. Concise.

I didn't notice any errors in regard to the interface. Everything was readable and accessible.

Text is free of grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

The book does not contain readings but what is contained in the text is focused on a Western-audience. More diversity in perspective and content would be appreciated. This is perhaps my biggest concern with the text, but it's a common one across all of the OER texts.

Reviewed by C. Mason, Adjunct Instructor of English, Middlesex Community College on 6/30/20

The text aspires to comprehensiveness, but serves better as a useful introduction to literary analysis. The examples of literature provided may appear limited, but that opens the door for instructors to introduce their own examples and have... read more

The text aspires to comprehensiveness, but serves better as a useful introduction to literary analysis. The examples of literature provided may appear limited, but that opens the door for instructors to introduce their own examples and have students implement these various critical approaches. The initial chapters are a bit underdeveloped. For example, Historical Analysis gets a sentence. A more thorough examination of logical fallacies would be appreciated. That said, the sections on comprehending and writing about fiction, poetry and drama are the heart of the text and are effective.

The analytical content is accurate. With respect to MLA citation, the text may need to be updated in the future.

As stated, the text provides students with a foundational grounding in literary criticism. This analysis is often applied to traditional works of literature. One might welcome more contemporary works of literature, along with more recent forms of literary criticism. This is not the primary focus of the text. These gaps provide an excellent opportunity for instructors to introduce recent critical approaches, or ask students to seek these out and evaluate these approaches as part of a project. On another note, there is always the possibility that the sample student paper on Call of Duty may be viewed as outdated by future students.

The procession through the subject matter, from the introduction through fiction, poetry, and drama, is logical. This will certainly benefit students who wish to use the text as quick reference for composing assignments.

The chapters are thoughtfully and consistently organized.

The modules clearly follow a logical pattern. An instructor could break it apart if necessary. For example, the poetry chapter could stand on its own. Overall, each chapter is informed by previous chapters and anticipates future chapters, providing a holistic approach to examining literature.

Overall, the structure of the book holds together quite well. Occasionally, transitions between chapters are a bit clunky. A careful instructor can easily bridge these gaps for the class.

The formatting is consistent. Students should be able to navigate the text on their phones, if necessary.

There are apparently none.

One would certainly appreciate a more diverse grouping of authors. Obtaining author permissions may have posed difficulties. That said, because the offerings of open source materials are fluid, one may be able successfully supplement the readings by drawing from other texts.

I would strongly consider this text for an introductory literature course.

Reviewed by Laurette Folk, Adjunct Professor of English, North Shore Community College on 6/30/20

While I enjoyed reading Writing and Literature and found it very accessible, it seems to be missing some key elements and is out of scope in others. 1. While the works included here are exemplary and timeless, there are few modern-day, living... read more

While I enjoyed reading Writing and Literature and found it very accessible, it seems to be missing some key elements and is out of scope in others. 1. While the works included here are exemplary and timeless, there are few modern-day, living writers discussed. How are students supposed to know where we are now with respect to the literary canon? I think of writers/poets like Marie Howe, Sharon Olds, Billy Collins, Jhumpa Lahiri, Alice Munro, Lynn Nottage. Also, the diversity of the literary canon is not exactly obvious through the work selected. We have primarily white and African American writers studied here. 2. The Effective Argument chapter needs to be condensed. Some of the law terms such as "enthymeme" are out of scope and not needed. Inductive reasoning is really the only type of logic needed for this class. 3. I found the discussion on thesis statements to be weak. Students in an introductory literature class struggle with thesis statements and need examples of working, final, and erroneous statements. 4. In chapter 2, "Forming a Perspective on a Subject/Discovering and Honoring Your Passions and Values" the sample paper "Call of Duty: Short of Reality" is better suited for a first semester composition class via the concept essay. I understand that it is important for students to hone in on their passions, but professors must hold the primary texts as paramount for a literature class. Where is the connection to the character in the story regarding his war experience? There in no evidence of this, no in-text citations; the novel The Sun Also Rises is not even in the Works Cited page.

Although somewhat verbose at times, I found the discussion to be quite accurate, with the exception of number 4 in "Comprehensiveness."

Modifying the text with modern-day poets, fiction writers, and playwrights can be easily implemented.

This text is written in conversational language with concrete examples that are easy to comprehend.

The consistency of the main literary elements of theme, imagery, character/narrator, setting, etc could be better emphasized with respect to the genres. For instance, theme is common to all of the literary genres discussed.

Text can be easily used to teach the different genres of literature in a particular sequence for each semester.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

I don't agree with the author's philosophy of teaching poetry first. Poetry is often dense, complex, and abstract ("Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a perfect example of this) and will surely send students mentally heading for the hills. Beginning the course with concrete, relatable stories in short fiction and introducing the main literary elements regarding this genre is a better strategy.

The interface of the text is mostly fine; there were some links that didn't work, however. These are p. 37, link to the Poetry Foundation; p. 47 link to "Blackberry Eating" (link does not take you directly to the poem, but to the home page); p. 258, "The Hunting of the Hare" story in the Works Cited page, EBSCO link in Works Cited.

Ostentatious grammatical errors were not immediately apparent.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

See comment in "Comprehensiveness."

I liked the main philosophy of the book--to reach students. Discussions on passive vs. active reading, why we need literary terminology, evidence, writing as a process, and research are thorough. My main complaint is the lack of literary diversity and the esoteric law terms.

Reviewed by Michael Alleman, Associate Professor, LSUE on 4/30/20

The textbook provides what few others do: analysis of and guidance in the core methods of literary argumentation in particular, although Chapter 3 (Effective Argument) would be valuable in a number of writing situations. The writer has done a... read more

The textbook provides what few others do: analysis of and guidance in the core methods of literary argumentation in particular, although Chapter 3 (Effective Argument) would be valuable in a number of writing situations. The writer has done a commendable job of covering critical reading compositional strategies, including literary research in an economical way. The only quibble I have is the limited literary pieces, but these author is limited to what they can choose, so I do not hold this against the text.

I find the concepts and strategies to conform to best practices.

The textbook could have made better use of hyperlinks to online texts or supplemental material. Some links do not work.

The writing is clear because the writer focuses on conveying ideas and methods in a simple and succinct style.

No problems here.

The nine chapters can work for either a short (7-8 week) course or long (15 week) course, and the text provides a mix-and-match flexibility that can be easily adapted to a long or short session.

I love the organization, especially the Tractatus-like numbering system which make it easy to organize the sections and subsections to suit a particular course's emphasis.

Interface rating: 3

Some problems with dead links or links leading to sites access to which is denied.

No noticeable errors.

The text is inclusive and sensitive.

There's a lot you can do with this book. It can act as the foundation of the course, or it can be used in a supplementary fashion. I might consider assigning one or two of the chapters to any of my classes that require critical writing about texts. This

Reviewed by Alissa Cruz, Adjunct English Instructor, Blue Ridge Community College on 4/13/20

The book covers genre, approach, reasoning and more. I was impressed with the range it was able to cover. read more

The book covers genre, approach, reasoning and more. I was impressed with the range it was able to cover.

This book is accurate and thorough.

The examples and ideas in this book are relevant and current, but will not be outdated quickly. The book is arranged in a way that is logical and easy to follow.

This book is excellent in terms of clarity. The tone is perfect for students. Everything is explained well with strong, relevant examples that students can relate to. In some cases, such as the Effective Argument section, there could have been more explanation or more examples given. Sometimes a student needs more than one example to understand the concept.

The text is consistent and thorough. The glossary of terms in the back is particularly helpful.

The text is divided into sections that are readable and that make sense for the student. Everything is presented well and has relevant titles.

It is organized in a logical, helpful manner. I would not change a thing about how the text is presented.

The books interface is perfect until Chapter 8 (pages 241-42). This section has a very helpful calendar example of how a student should break up working on their essay. The drawback is that the calendar is vertical and not easy to read. If this was flipped to a horizontal structure it would be easier to follow. Everything else in the book is set up well.

The book is grammatically sound.

The text is not insensitive in any way. There could be more inclusion of literature that includes a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

An aspect that I really enjoyed was the style in which it was written. It is casual and accessible for the student. The author uses many examples that allow the student to see the relevance of the topic. There are a good number of diverse stories, plays, essays, and poems to look at. There are helpful links to outside sources, sample essays, and helpful diagrams to enhance the students' understanding.

Reviewed by Kathryn Enders, Lecturer, Shenandoah University on 7/17/19

As a textbook addressing students in a freshman composition course, "Writing and Literature" has very little about writing. Chapters on "The Literary Analysis Essay" and "The Research Paper" are pushed to the end of the book. The two paragraphs on... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

As a textbook addressing students in a freshman composition course, "Writing and Literature" has very little about writing. Chapters on "The Literary Analysis Essay" and "The Research Paper" are pushed to the end of the book. The two paragraphs on "Articulating an Effective Thesis" fail to offer examples, and although sample student papers are later included, they do not identify the strengths or weaknesses of those papers or show the writing process. Overall, this is not a helpful textbook on composition. Nor is this textbook especially comprehensive when it comes to analyzing literature. The chapter on drama consists mostly of two complete plays that would be better accessed through online links. Chapters on poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction are slightly more thorough. The questions about literature that seem to be the impetus for the subtitle "Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking, and Communication" really are nothing more than questions at the end of a reading. Nothing new here!

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The information presented here is accurate enough, but shallow. An instructor could use the textbook as a starting point, perhaps, though many other textbooks provide this information in more accessible and engaging formats.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 1

With little variety of literature and few samples of the process of writing, this textbook is probably already irrelevant one year after publication with the content easily found elsewhere. As the author writes, "For success in any project, a writer must be aware of and carefully consider his [sic] audience." Unfortunately, Bennett did not take her own advice. This textbook does not address the situation of a contemporary student. For example, in arguing the benefits of writing about literature in a composition course, her first explanation is that an imaginary professor, Dr. Lopez, would have chosen this approach because, "He is better able to evaluate the effectiveness of your compositions if they are written on a topic with which he has some expertise." That rationale gives students little reason to want to read literature or write about it, other than to please the professor and get out of the class as quickly as possible.

Clarity rating: 3

The language used in this textbook is clear and defines terms used, but it fails to address its intended audience in an engaging, informative, and consistent way.

Consistency rating: 2

In some cases, this textbook refers students to other open-source locations to read the literature selections being discussed, but in other cases, it includes the entire text. This inconsistency makes sense (perhaps) with short texts like poetry, but not so much with the entirety of "The Tempest" and "Trifles". As a result the quality of chapters is uneven. This seems like an unfinished attempt.

Modularity rating: 1

As currently organized, this is not a course-friendly text. Also, more links to more literature selections would be helpful.

Chapters were clearly organized, though content was uneven. For a composition textbook, I would expect more discussion of writing earlier in the book.

No interface issues

I found no glaring grammatical errors except a reliance on the male generic pronoun.

The text assumes a male generic pronoun throughout; the literature chosen for analysis is Western canonical. At times, the author's voice seemed patronizing, as when she suggested students "probably enjoy reading certain kinds of texts, such as internet articles on your pet interests.... You may even have literary favorites."

I'm surprised that the ratings of this textbook have been so high despite the critical comments made by other reviewers. Is that because of getting high marks on "modularity" and "interface"? If this text were not available through the Open Textbook Library, it would not be worth purchasing. A big disappointment and I will not use it for my classes!

Reviewed by Thom Addington, Visiting Assistant Professor, Richard Bland College on 4/12/19

The "About the Book" section suggests an engagement in reconfiguring literature-centered composition practice in the age of social media and digital humanities. Ultimately, the textbook does not follow this through. While it references pop culture... read more

The "About the Book" section suggests an engagement in reconfiguring literature-centered composition practice in the age of social media and digital humanities. Ultimately, the textbook does not follow this through. While it references pop culture touchstones in video games and other media, these references are scattered across the text and not deployed in a way that generates critical discussion on expanding definitions of literature, literacy, and/or critical engagement through composition. As a result, the textbook repackages a very traditional understanding of literature and literary analysis in a way that makes it feel disconnected from the contemporary student. The recognition of one's passions, however, as important context(s) that impact reading and writing is well-taken and could perhaps be expanded and developed as a central contribution of a revised edition.

While the textbook is forthcoming about its literary bias, its treatment of texts and its assumptions about the reader lean towards universalizing. Moreover, its handling of new media and literary nonfiction is beginning to feel outdated.

The textbook's present content is relevant insofar as the canon (both categorically and by composition) remains so. It would be beneficial and impactful to look ahead to how the various literary genres, schools of criticism, and works are developing.

The textbook presents and unpacks literary and critical concepts in accessible prose.

The textbook is consistent in its structuring and unpacking of concepts and practices, but framing commentary is at times excluded in sections.

Modularity rating: 4

In certain chapters, the division among framing material, literary text, and student application could be demarcated more clearly. While the genre chapters could function as standalone units, the first three chapters build on one another in such a way that they must be assigned in order.

Individual chapters are introduced clearly and thoroughly, and each of the genre chapters could function as a standalone piece; however, some closer attention could be payed to the linkages between chapters after the first three.

Aside from the alignment of some tables, the textbook's interface is crisp and clean. There may be some benefit in reevaluating the use of font, color, and page arrangement, but these would be improvements rather than corrections. The centering of the literary text on the page in the short prose and drama sections does not inhibit reading, but it does make these sections border on the overly long and visually monotonous.

I found no grammatical errors.

As noted in previous reviews, the textbook draws its content almost exclusively from the Western literary canon; the majority of the works considered are written by white men. The textbook does engage the work of six writers of color: Charles Chesnutt, Langston Hughes, Robert Hayden, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Maya Angelou, and Gloria Anzaldua. Their respective works, however, are given marginal status. Angelou and Anzaldua, the only two women writers of color, are only listed in the “Also for Consideration” portions of their respective sections. While texts such as Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” and Shakespeare’s The Tempest invite inquiry into issues such as race, nationalism, and empire, the textbook does not enter this terrain.

Reviewed by Nicole Drewitz-Crockett, Associate Professor of English, Emory and Henry College on 4/11/19

Since this book is taking a particular approach to teaching college writing, it is not attempting to be comprehensive in subject matter. Instead, it focuses on ways composition can be taught through literature. In that vein, the text does a good... read more

Since this book is taking a particular approach to teaching college writing, it is not attempting to be comprehensive in subject matter. Instead, it focuses on ways composition can be taught through literature. In that vein, the text does a good job of moving instructors and students through a comprehensive process of reading closely and arguing effectively in a variety of literary genres. Although the text does not provide an index, it does offer a helpful glossary and several resources for instructors including possible themes and primary works and assignment ideas.

The content is accurate and easily digestible for students. It provides a good foregrounding in effective reading and argument before venturing into literary genres and analysis. The text does a good job of revealing its bias from the beginning; as a good example of argumentation, it indicates why a professor might choose to teach composition using literature rather than non-fiction.

Primarily because this text does not include a section of primary readings, it will have good longevity. Although the suggested thematic list of texts is helpful and there are some primary text examples weaved throughout the text, a given instructor can easily use any pieces of literature with this book.

This text is very clear and highly accessible. It is easy to read. While one could see it as "too easy" for a college audience, it invites the students to read difficult material outside of the text. In other words, it instructs them on how to read and how to argue in student-friendly prose so that they can clearly grasp the framework for reading more difficult materials outside of the text. This strategy is quite helpful when instructing a class of students whose abilities can vary widely.

It is consistent in terminology and framework throughout.

It would be difficult to take this text apart into modules that don't follow the prescribed organizational pattern. While an instructor could certainly teach the genres included in any order desired, the first three chapters build on one another to build the framework necessary for analyzing those genres.

The text is well-organized. It progresses clearly from foundational ideas and terms to genres in which one might practice using those ideas and terms.

This text is extremely straight forward. There are no issues in navigation; it is a basic chapter by chapter book in black and white. In fact, I would offer that as a slight criticism. Although there a couple of charts, some images would be helpful for student interest.

The book does not contain errors that disrupted my reading.

Of the primary text examples this book included and suggested for thematic courses, almost all of them are well-known, canonical texts. Although some women's voices and voices of color are included, the literary selections are primarily written by white men. This surprises me somewhat since I am familiar with Dr. Bennet's work on Appalachian author Lee Smith. Even though the primary texts in the book are limited, I will again state that the instructor would be able to easily add primary texts. Perhaps that is why "classic" texts were chosen.

Reviewed by James Gapinski, Instructional Specialist, Chemeketa Community College on 3/8/19

The description of this book seems to suggest that WRITING AND LITERATURE will explore how literary texts remain relevant and vital amid a modern era of hashtags and image-rich media. The book approaches this goal, but it never fully achieves it.... read more

The description of this book seems to suggest that WRITING AND LITERATURE will explore how literary texts remain relevant and vital amid a modern era of hashtags and image-rich media. The book approaches this goal, but it never fully achieves it. The introduction specifically situates this book as a beginning college-level reader, but the topics discussed feel at times esoteric, and at other times the book comes off as reductive. There are some moments when modern examples are peppered into this book—for example, there’s a sample that discusses the popular Call of Duty videogame franchise. However, the majority of this book does not directly deal with a deep discussion of how literature fits into a landscape dominated by new media. Moreover, the texts discussed often draw from a classic American and European texts, and there is not much time spent on new modes of thinking or diverse voices. Students reading this book are being told that literature is vital to their lives and that rhetorical analysis of literature builds crucial college-level skills, but this message falls flat when the text often resorts to the same Western canon that has already been drilled into their heads throughout high school. There is not enough expansion of knowledge here. Ultimately, the book feels like a stodgy literary text that has been dressed up with some approximations of a modern student’s perspective.

This book is relatively accurate, but it makes some assumptions about its audience and about new media that come off as reductive.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

WRITING AND LITERATURE will need substantial updating to remain relevant. The few examples of new media that are discussed will likely be obsolete in a couple years, and some other material already feels dated. The book’s central goal seems to be convincing students that classic modes of writing are still relevant, but it does not fully achieve this goal.

The book uses accessible language in most chapters, and new terms are quickly defined for readers. Transitions between chapters could be strengthened; the book’s main ideas are not always linked, and there are missed opportunities for callbacks or review of previous information. However, the book is clear and readable overall. Adept students will be able to identify the core themes and of each isolated chapter.

This book is consistent in its formatting. Chapter breaks are clear, bulleted lists help set key information apart, and sections are clearly marked. Students reading this book will discover a consistent layout and feel to each chapter.

WRITING AND LITERATURE has some clear modules, but many of them may be longer than they need to be. Breaking each section into smaller subsections could improve navigation, especially for students who have trouble synthesizing large swaths of text.

Individual chapters flow well; there is a logical internal progression. Overall, each chapter works well as a standalone piece. These pieces, however, do not always add up to a cohesive whole. The book is occasionally disjointed and transitions from one chapter to the next could be smoother.

There are some tables, samples, and lists to guide students. The use of color could be more thoughtful, and the chapters themselves could be enhanced with more explicit concluding ideas and next steps for students who want to apply their newfound knowledge. The interface is usable, but it could be improved with some additional special formatting.

I did not notice any glaring grammatical problems.

Cultural Relevance rating: 1

As mentioned by previous reviewers, this text relies heavily on a whitewashed Western canon. Obviously, an OER textbook author is often limited by licensing. However, there are many public domain works from diverse authors; there is no justifiable need to rely so heavily on a predominantly white male canon even in an OER textbook. A quick search of Project Gutenberg yields numerous diverse pieces of literature from the American civil rights era. Additionally, there are places in this book where the WRITING AND LITERATURE does not directly address or embed texts into the work, opting to simply recommend that students follow a URL to read a freely available website. This workaround could be used more thoughtfully in order to share contemporary work that is more universal, culturally relevant, and better aligns with the book’s rhetorical goals.

WRITING AND LITERATURE has a grand vision that is not fully executed. The idea is impressive, and I fully support texts that seek to venerate and celebrate literature in the composition classroom. I’d love to see an updated version that is more culturally competent, comprehensive, and strengthens its links to the lives of everyday students.

Reviewed by Cassandra Sachar, Assistant Professor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania on 1/27/19

The book attempts to cover many different aspects related to writing and literature; however, due to the ambitious breadth, it often only skims the surface of many of the topics. For example, while I appreciate the background on different types of... read more

The book attempts to cover many different aspects related to writing and literature; however, due to the ambitious breadth, it often only skims the surface of many of the topics. For example, while I appreciate the background on different types of literary criticism in Ch. 2, there are no actual examples of the different critical approaches and no follow-up student exercises. Additionally, literary terms are defined throughout the book but are often not explained. The glossary, list of links for additional works of literature, and assignment ideas at the back of the book are well-organized and helpful.

I did not find any inaccuracies or biases, but many of the descriptions were not detailed enough, which I believe will lead to poor comprehension of several concepts for readers. For example, in order for a reader to understand blank verse, the book could easily show lines of poetry, but there is merely a short definition.

The writer incorporates examples from modern life that are sure to help college readers relate, but none of these should make this book seem outdated in the next decade or so, as I cannot imagine that social media (which she references) will become obsolete. From the book's description, which mentions "Buzzfeeds, hashtags, and Tweets," I expected more references to modern technology, but the author may be making a concerted effort to avoid discussing trends so as not to have the world outgrow her work too quickly. While I appreciate the inclusion of (mostly British) classic texts, I would have liked to see more modern writings, as well.

The writer maintains a pleasant, very readable style and strives to make her ideas accessible with many easy-to-relate analogies. However, there are times when the introduction to a concept goes on for far too long, causing the reader to lose focus, and then the concept itself is often not described in adequate detail. For example, there is a whole section about a student playing video games. The purpose of this is to explain the importance of forming a perspective, but it's very long-winded. Then, the student's full research paper is included, but there is no explanation on what was done well or poorly. Why not just share a snippet of the paper to illustrate a point?

The text uses consistent headings and organization; however, there are places where sample texts are given without much context. Some texts are introduced with focal areas and/or follow-up questions, yet others, such as the poems at the end of Ch. 4, are simply provided without direction. Also, I cannot understand why the book includes the entire play of _The Tempest_; why not just provide a piece and a link?

Every chapter is short (except the one that includes an entire play) and thus does not present an overwhelming reading assignment to a student. I do not believe the text needs to be presented in a linear fashion; there is such breadth to this book that the chapters could easily be mixed, matched, and/or left out.

Chapter titles and headings are informative. I believe some of the content presented in narrative form would be more easily accessible to the reader if formatted into bulleted lists. This would cut much of the wordiness.

The book is presented clearly with no distortions. The font is easy to read, and the writer uses color to her advantage, such as showcasing different methods of annotation. There are a few calendar pages which are printed sideways, but this is not really an issue.

I did not locate a single grammatical error. This text looks very professional.

Nothing in this book is culturally insensitive, and the author includes pieces from some writers of color. The literature is mostly American or British in origin and could include other parts of the world, but I do understand that the author is limited by copyright laws.

Reviewed by Joy Sanchez-Taylor, Associate Professor, LaGuardia Community College (CUNY) on 12/5/18

This text is well-organized and clearly addresses ways to write about different genres of literature. I like that the text begins by explaining how the study of literature can be relevant to students who are not English majors. The chapter follow... read more

This text is well-organized and clearly addresses ways to write about different genres of literature. I like that the text begins by explaining how the study of literature can be relevant to students who are not English majors. The chapter follow a logical progression and cover all of the major topic for literary analysis. I find Dr. Long Bennet to be very knowledgeable about her subject. My major critiques of the text are the separation of “fun reading” like science fiction and fantasy and “literary” readings. This view is an outdated classification. These days, literature professors are assigning a variety of literary works in their courses to try to fully engage students. Which leads me to my second criticism of the text: the choice of readings. I understand that with an open-access textbook, Dr. Long Bennet was limited in her choices of literary examples. But for future versions, it would be great if she could try to get permission to include more contemporary texts.

I find the text to be accurate overall. The descriptions of the critical perspectives could have been more detailed. Some of the citations will need to be updated to MLA 8 format. I particularly like the research essay checklist and glossary sections.

The overall advice for writing about literature will be relevant for many years. The MLA citation examples, however, will need to be updated whenever MLA changes their guidelines, which happened again recently.

Overall, I find the wording to be clear. I think some of the writing, such as the justifications for why non-English majors should write about literature, are a little wordy. Students don’t need every reason why they should write about literature; a few concise examples of how literary analysis can help them in other courses would be more effective.

The chapters are very consistently organized.

A professor could easily teach the genre chapters in whatever order they preferred.

The textbook has strong organization and flow.

Overall, the text was clear and the visuals were easy to read. Some of the visuals, such as the sample essay planning calendar, will need to be printed out for students to read because they are sideways in the text.

I would like to see examples of authors from a diverse range of backgrounds and time periods. Again, this is difficult to achieve when dealing with author permissions, but it is not impossible.

I plan to use some of the writing descriptions and materials in my course, but I will change the literary samples to include a more diverse range of authors.

Table of Contents

• Why Write About Literature?
• Chapter 1: Reading Like a Professional
• Chapter 2: Forming a Perspective on the Subject
• Chapter 3: Effective Argument
• Chapter 4: Experiencing the Power of Poetry
• Chapter 5: The Truths of Fiction
• Chapter 6: All the World's a Stage
• Chapter 7: Creative Nonfiction, The Fourth Genre
• Chapter 8: The Literary Analysis Essay
• Chapter 9: The Research Paper

Ancillary Material

• Ancillary materials are available by contacting the author or publisher .

About the Book

In the age of Buzzfeeds, hashtags, and Tweets, students are increasingly favoring conversational writing and regarding academic writing as less pertinent in their personal lives, education, and future careers. Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking and Communication connects students with works and exercises and promotes student learning that is kairotic and constructive. Dr. Tanya Long Bennett, professor of English at the University of North Georgia, poses questions that encourage active rather than passive learning. Furthering ideas presented in Contribute a Verse: A Guide to First-Year Composition as a complimentary companion, Writing and Literature builds a new conversation covering various genres of literature and writing. Students learn the various writing styles appropriate for analyzing, addressing, and critiquing these genres including poetry, novels, dramas, and research writing. The text and its pairing of helpful visual aids throughout emphasizes the importance of critical reading and analysis in producing a successful composition. Writing and Literature is a refreshing textbook that links learning, literature, and life.

About the Contributors

Dr. Tanya Long Bennet, University of North Georgia

Contribute to this Page

175 Critical Thinking Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best critical thinking topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on critical thinking, 🥇 most interesting critical thinking topics to write about, ✅ simple & easy critical thinking essay titles, ❓ critical thinking essay questions.

• What Is Critical Thinking? A critical thinker makes his decisions based on broad and in-depth analysis of the evidence and thereafter communicates the beliefs accurately and clearly. Ennis in his book “The Cornell Critical Thinking Tests” defines critical thinking […]
• Critical Thinking in Everyday Life The conception of free will is based on the question of whether it is possible for a person to have absolutely objective thinking, or we are always under the influence of many hindrances preventing us […]
• Perception and Critical Thinking: The Relations Between the Cognitive Processes Critical thinking is possible if different parts of the brain adequately assess the relevance of various external stimuli.
• Critical Thinking Role in the Clinical Psychology These activities and conducts may lead a psychologist to identify the mental activities in the brain of the individual. Clinical psychologists specialization is founded on the framework the individual takes in training to become a […]
• Disadvantages of Modern Technology for Critical Thinking Due to the ubiquity of the Internet, people have access to all sources of information, libraries, research, etc. Modern technologies open access to knowledge to everyone, but at the same time, they do not provide […]
• The Role of Technology in Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills Modern technologies are effective in enhancing critical thinking skills because they expose teachers and students to valuable information and allow them to develop their research competencies.
• Critical Thinking: Definition and Characteristics One of the concept’s definitions is “the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment”. Ryan proposes a similar explanation, “Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment”.
• Political Sciences: Nelson Mandela as a Critical Thinker One of the aspects that make Mandela a critical thinker is his ability to reflect on ideas, beliefs, arguments, and conclusions.
• Critical Thinking. Asking the Right Questions Questions are the essence of study and cognition, consequently, the ability to ask questions is at the center of any thinking process, especially critical thinking, which is aimed at reviewing and analyzing.
• Critical Thinking in Law Enforcement Critical thinking is a unique approach to a situation that allows a to analyze the available information to come to conclusions. Therefore, it is essential to include the development of critical thinking skills in the […]
• The Importance of Critical Thinking at Work I have a strong ability to learn the most from all situations and recall similar situations that I have been in before in an attempt to decide what to do.
• Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice The necessary improvement can be made by prioritizing critical thinking in the training process and providing the students with tools to develop this ability during everyday life activities. Critical thinking relates to the processes of […]
• Critical Thinking and the Concept of Utility Taking into account that the search and satisfaction of customers needs are the fundaments in the profitability and overall effectiveness of the business, the efforts should be made by the firm to find the market […]
• Examples of Critical Thinking in Law Enforcement The eight elements of thought in critical thinking will outline the model and provide a blueprint to the development of new policies and strategies.
• The Importance of Critical Thinking in Education These characteristics of critical thinking are valuable for the teaching profession and their development and improvement can help to considerably increase the quality of teaching.
• Critical Thinking in Junot Diaz’s “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” Noteworthy, the relationship between Oscar and Ybon is used as an example of the relationships that occur between members of the South American immigrants in the US. Yet, he holds to the stereotypic belief that […]
• Critical Thinking: Knowledge and Understanding In spite of the fact that knowledge enhances the intellectual capacity of the people, it deprives them of the ability to think critically about the information that they have amassed.
• Using CTQs and CTDs to Develop Critical Thinking CTQ and CTD can help a person develop critical thinking, as it is an algorithm of actions and a set of questions, the study of which directs the brain to the process of critical thinking.
• Public Speaking: Ethics and Critical Thinking The audience should be able to trust the speaker. The speaker will also use valid arguments and facts before presenting his or her findings to the audience.
• Critical Thinking in Diagnosing Sepsis Most likely, this is a generalized nonspecific infectious and inflammatory process caused by the penetration of uroinfectious pathogens and their toxins into the bloodstream. The abdomen of the patient is soft, flat and non-tender, with […]
• The Nature of Arguments and Critical Thinking An example is: Alaska is one of the states of the United States of America. This is the reasoning to which the standard of validity or logical correctness can be applied.
• Critical Thinking: Mindsets and Biases Most of the perceptions that people have about most of the things in this world are shaped by mindsets and biases.
• Does Group Discussion Improve Critical Thinking Skills? And a divisive question among psychologists and educators is the use of group work and discussion as a means to develop critical thinking.
• Critical Thinking. Start-Up Success and Growth Vic Ahmed, the founder of Innovation Pavilion, can be considered a successful entrepreneur as he can take risks, which is one of a businessman’s essential qualities. The factor determining their progress is based on a […]
• Critical Thinking: Thought and Intellectual Standard Elements of thoughts and intellectual standards are very vital parts of the critical thinking process and this essay will look at some of the elements of thoughts and intellectual standards in details.
• Critical Thinking and Decisions Making in Business, Management and Relationships Critical thinking is one of the most important skills required in making various decisions that pertain to business, management, relationships, and every other aspect of life.
• Assumptions and Critical Thinking Assumptions refer to the things that a researcher might take for granted in the research process, yet they are very important, as far as the success of the research is concerned. An individual is encouraged […]
• The Importance of Critical Thinking Consequently, a manager may rely on the CT technique of using ISs to aid in DM by examining the nature of information exchange and generating a sound stance toward resolving an issue.
• Critical Thinking: Immigrants’ Experiences The present paper analyzes the experiences of immigrants from Japan, China, and Mexico, as well as the history of Black Americans in the North.
• Critical Thinking on the Border Crossings Argument Since both of these factors are morally unimportant, they should not constitute restrictions on the movement of people across borders. Therefore: Morally unimportant factors are not a valid argument for prohibiting the suppression of states’ […]
• International Drug Trafficking: Critical Thinking Moreover, it is of concern that the power of drug traffickers is constantly growing and that they are influencing the economic and political affairs of cities.
• Learning Strategies for Critical Thinking It improves the students’ comprehension skills of the acquired material, as they learn to obtain the necessary information. Finally, it encourages teamwork, as they cooperate to achieve the goals.
• Importance of Encouraging Critical Thinking Moreover, the method of forward-thinking, which contributes to improving critical thinking by developing optimism and logic in students, will be implemented.
• Instructional Strategies for Critical Thinking The most notable strategies include the use of other points of view, reading a lot, and analyzing things as they are seen.
• Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills Media literacy implies an understanding by the audience of the basic principles of the work of the media, including the search for the necessary information, understanding the principles of the formation of messages by different […]
• Decision Making, Problem Solving, and Critical Thinking Because there is a low retention rate in the profession. Why is there a low retention rate in the profession?
• Assumptions and Critical Thinking: Overview Implicitness, as the ability to contain information that is not explicitly expressed, is a category of text that is complex, integral, and has various ways of manifestation. The difference is that in the first case, […]
• Perception and Critical Thinking Critical thinking is an essential ability that helps people investigate the environment, find information, and make decisions. The scenario above is an example of critical thinking that is essential for individuals.
• Importance of Critical Thinking As for the heart of the matter, it is essential to define three types of thinking here: comparative, ideological, and empirical. Empirical thinking is the thinking of facts and the conclusions that are possible from […]
• The Role in Education in Critical Thinking Development I try to walk the audience through my research process using critical thinking, and I see improved results in their response.
• Teamwork and Critical Thinking The analyst role is essential to team thinking in nursing practice because it enables the nurses to realize all the aspects of the situation, providing a wider view.
• Critical Thinking in the Medical Field The strengths that can contribute to my success as a critical thinker are empathy, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills. Critical thinking is correlated with an entire set of different skills as it can be […]
• Critical Thinking Incident in Clinical Nursing The confusion resulting in the outcomes is caused by the continuous and demanding activities undertaken by the providers and the failure to inquire about the effects of the action taken.
• Critical Thinking Elements in Nursing The ability to introduce the elements of critical thinking into problem management and address patients’ needs is one of the principal skills that students will have to develop to have a proper clinical practice.
• Critical Thinking in a Personal Decision However, the anticipated outcome of the solution is to create a way to reflect on my past while reevaluating the decisions I made back then and starting afresh, and therefore, this decision will give me […]
• How to Teach Your Child to Be a Critical Thinker The use of particular methods, tactics, and strategies of encouragement is the key to the development of a unique system of judgments and certain abilities, skills, and talents in solving difficult moments.
• Critical Thinking and Decision Making In the first journal entry, the heart of the matter or the core issue in a situation was noted to be the most essential in ensuring that it is solved properly.
• Critical Thinking and What Constitutes This Ability One, a critical thinker must have the ability to engage in both independent and reflective thinking. The other standard blocks associated with critical thinking are that a person must be willing to reflect on the […]
• Creative and Critical Thinking in Case of Lack of Water In order to identify the significance of creative and critical thinking in the situation presented, it is necessary to dwell on the definition of the process of creative thinking.
• Discussion of Critical Thinking I believe this study qualifies to be the primary data source for the investigation of the relationship between the reputation of the seller and their performance in the market.
• Critical Thinking: Multinational Strategic Management At some point in the management of this organization, the policies that have been formulated to ensure that the operations of the firm are smooth and efficient have failed in application. This is because they […]
• Critical Thinking in the Writing Process The academic writing process can be summarized by five distinctive stages. First, the discovery and investigation stages require writers to engage with sources.
• “Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Teach Critical Thinking…” by Nentl Information should be synthesized during the academic writing process. The first part of the process is knowledge, a type of category that involves remembering information.
• Critical Thinking: Examining the Claims About Salespeople The third claim to be examined is the assertion that salespeople are not doing a great job and, therefore, have to be kicked out from the organization in order to help the management improve sales.
• Critical Thinking Activity Overview For this critical thinking activity, I decided to watch the episodes of a Reality TV show and a News show whose the main purposes are entertainment and the provocation of emotions.
• Ethical Understandings and Critical Thinking in Education The success of the paradigm reflects the dramatic change in the perception of education goals that has happened throughout the last century.
• Critical Thinking and Practice of the Registered Nurse There is a lot of proficiency that can be gained in relation to reasoning and this is where critical thinking comes in.
• Use of Critical Thinking in the Diagnostic Process With the realization that the responses provided by patients are foundational in diagnoses, it is emphasized that nurses need to encompass CT during nursing diagnoses as this helps in unraveling the complexity and uniqueness of […]
• Applying Critical Thinking Processes to Professional Practice The 8 phases of clinical reasoning helped the team understand and analyse the contextual factors contributing to Jenny’s health and identify roles of health professionals involved in the case management.
• Critical Thinking of Palestine For instance, the levels of suffering and poverty have increased in the region due to the problem of desertification. Learners should consider such issues and be ready to be part of the problem.
• The Issue of Traffic Congestion in Atlanta: Composition and Critical Thinking In the following paper, the issue of traffic congestion in Atlanta will be addressed in terms of its possible solutions that could be implemented with the aim of solving it.
• Warnick’s “Critical Thinking and Communication” Book’s Marketing Analysis The book “Critical Thinking and Communication: The Use of Reason in Argument ” by Edward Inch and Barbara Warnick can be evaluated as one of the best textbooks on the art of rhetoric, developing arguments, […]
• Critical Thinking in a Work-Related Decision It was at that instance that Larry paid a lot of attention and told Scott that his uncle owned a condo in the exact region Scott intended to visit.
• Steve Williams on Critical Thinking Review The following are the processes that he recommends to be taken; The first step in making a good decision is defining the challenge that calls for a decision to be made.
• Whistleblowing Is an Act Representative of Critical Thinkers Analyzing the definitions of “whistleblowing” and “critical thinking”, it is possible to make a conclusion that these concepts have similar meanings.
• Whistleblowing and Representation of Critical Thinkers In Allegory of the Cave, the Plato presents the idea that a person who has seen the fire or “the light” is able to see the reality and the truth.
• Obesity Tackling on Critical Thinking Standards It is impossible to stop the implementation of technology and invention in daily life. The solutions of the reasoning are accurate in the way that it is dealt with in this paper.
• Critical Thinking in the Medical Care Delivery System Issues pertaining to truth or mission of truth is a frustrating, discouraging, tiring, and long journey because most of the individuals who have industries or organizations ties may attempt to mislead other people.
• Critical Thinking With Obesity Technically, obesity is a condition of the human body in which the bodyweight of an individual is much higher than the normal prescribed weight and is measured by checking the Body Mass Index of the […]
• What Critical Thinking Is and How to Become an Accomplished Critical Thinker? In that regard, a definition that covers all the concepts of critical thinking might be considered as follows: Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a […]
• Rap Culture and Music: Critical Thinking Thanks mainly to the champions of the folk revival of the 1960s and the dynamic African-American musicians leading the Civil Rights Movement, serious – and highly volatile – problems such as social injustice, hypocrisy, war-mongering, […]
• Death Penalty: Critical Thinking and Arguments The execution sermons of the early colonies were full of warnings against following in the footsteps of the condemned, and executions were public events designed to instill fear and reverence for the law in the […]
• Reasoning and Critical Thinking in Daily Life As a counterpoint to the idea that expert behavior is the best place to look for generally useful strategies, The goal of producing descriptive theories of how people go about solving problems and the development […]
• The Socratic Method: Fostering Critical Thinking The Socratic Method is a philosophical mode of questioning that involves the investigation of connotations of other situations that are related to the topic of inquiry itself.
• Influence and Application of Critical Thinking The information processing and critical thinking had been regarded above, and it is directly linked with reading the same factors of critical thinking influence both: reading and information processing.
• Presidents Misdeeds: Ethics and Critical Thinking The same applies to what is right and what is wrong that is what is right or wrong differs from individual to individual, group to group, society to society.
• Online Social Networking and Critical Thinking The purpose of this paper is to assess whether this technology has helped to enhance the critical thinking ability and the effective writing skills of a person.”A social networking site is an online place where […]
• Critical Thinking and Decision Making in Professional and Personal Life The critical thinking and decision-making procedures are very important and essential in dispensation the amount of order that is pushed on us daylight hours the following day.
• Mobile Technology Impact on Critical Thinking Abilities in Nurses The issue of the research is absent from the abstract, but the point is that it is not clearly declared in the main body.
• Leaders’ Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills At the same time, the main barriers to effective decision-making are perceptual and emotional biases, as well as such phenomena as groupthink or collective thinking, referring to the tendency to agree with the opinion of […]
• Critical Thinking in Business Management In order to prevent the development of confirmation bias, managers must be aware of it and ready to learn and accept new information.
• Critical Thinking Skills for Postgraduate Study 1 However, to be able to explore a certain area and converse with others effectively, critical thinking is not enough, In addition to the ability to discern between the sensible and the nonsensical, one also […]
• Critical Thinking Development in Students It is necessary to note that people who are able to think critically can actually make a difference and contribute to development of the entire humanity.
• Critical Thinking and Society Exercise For instance, using fossil fuels as the main source of energy has led to the degradation of the environment through toxic emissions. Opinion can be used to redirect the process of thinking by weighing the […]
• The Eleven Steps in the Critical Thinking Method It was also pointed out the certainty that the members of the union will lose their jobs because of the government’s drive to achieve efficiency although there is nothing in the proposal that can compel […]
• Decision Making and Critical Thinking When making a certain decision, it is important to consider all the involved elements in order to achieve the desired results and avoid consequences that would affect either party in a negative manner.
• Critical Thinking Skills for Company’s Communication It is therefore important that the company introduces a new product in the market to regain its position as the leader in the market.
• Best Practices in Critical Thinking and Decision Making Thus, it is the role of the critical thinker to make sure that the evaluation drawn from such a breakdown is defensible.
• Critical Thinking and Writing Skills Reflection I have gained so much academically from studying this writing course, and I believe that the skills and knowledge gained from Clouse and Grevstad’s The Student Writer: Editor and Critic will go a long way […]
• Critical Thinking in the Decision-Making Processes According to Ennis, one can view “critical thinking as a way of becoming aware of and taking control of one’s thinking processes to think more effectively”.
• Critical Thinking, Mission and Leadership Statement This is because it consists of a detailed guideline that takes into consideration all the factors in the environment that may influence the goals, missions, and leadership statements. The position of a leader that I […]
• Believing Game as Critical Thinking Approach The doubting game is considered to be an essential approach to this process. Moreover, this approach helps to evaluate the personal position and to see its possible drawbacks and weak spots.
• Critical Thinking in Business & Life Decision-Making Such a method is beneficial for its practical application to determine and make tradeoffs within the context of set objectives as well as the range of alternatives to them.
• Students’ Critical Thinking Skills Development If Tsui only states the perspectives according to which it is possible to reform the existing approach to enhance the students’ critical thinking abilities with references to the conducted research, Payne and Gainey provide the […]
• Doctoral Demeanor, Responsibility, Critical Thinking It has been demonstrated that the outward expression of an individual greatly determines how he or she is perceived by other persons. If the demeanor attributes are not pleasing other people, the individual could be […]
• Critical Thinking: Developing Skills At that time, the ability to think critically and recognize the deeper meaning of information coming from the outside world became more attractive due to the pressure of the totalitarian governments that were operating in […]
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• How to write a narrative essay | Example & tips

How to Write a Narrative Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A narrative essay tells a story. In most cases, this is a story about a personal experience you had. This type of essay , along with the descriptive essay , allows you to get personal and creative, unlike most academic writing .

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Table of contents

What is a narrative essay for, choosing a topic, interactive example of a narrative essay, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about narrative essays.

When assigned a narrative essay, you might find yourself wondering: Why does my teacher want to hear this story? Topics for narrative essays can range from the important to the trivial. Usually the point is not so much the story itself, but the way you tell it.

A narrative essay is a way of testing your ability to tell a story in a clear and interesting way. You’re expected to think about where your story begins and ends, and how to convey it with eye-catching language and a satisfying pace.

These skills are quite different from those needed for formal academic writing. For instance, in a narrative essay the use of the first person (“I”) is encouraged, as is the use of figurative language, dialogue, and suspense.

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Narrative essay assignments vary widely in the amount of direction you’re given about your topic. You may be assigned quite a specific topic or choice of topics to work with.

• Write a story about your first day of school.
• Write a story about your favorite holiday destination.

You may also be given prompts that leave you a much wider choice of topic.

• Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself.
• Write about an achievement you are proud of. What did you accomplish, and how?

In these cases, you might have to think harder to decide what story you want to tell. The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to talk about a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

For example, a trip where everything went according to plan makes for a less interesting story than one where something unexpected happened that you then had to respond to. Choose an experience that might surprise the reader or teach them something.

Narrative essays in college applications

When applying for college , you might be asked to write a narrative essay that expresses something about your personal qualities.

For example, this application prompt from Common App requires you to respond with a narrative essay.

In this context, choose a story that is not only interesting but also expresses the qualities the prompt is looking for—here, resilience and the ability to learn from failure—and frame the story in a way that emphasizes these qualities.

An example of a short narrative essay, responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how the structure works.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
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• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
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• College Essay Format & Structure
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If you’re not given much guidance on what your narrative essay should be about, consider the context and scope of the assignment. What kind of story is relevant, interesting, and possible to tell within the word count?

The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to reflect on a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

Don’t worry too much if your topic seems unoriginal. The point of a narrative essay is how you tell the story and the point you make with it, not the subject of the story itself.

Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. They may also form part of a university application.

When you are prompted to tell a story about your own life or experiences, a narrative essay is usually the right response.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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