Students' Critical Thinking in Writing An English Exposition Text

This study was aimed at investigating elements of critical thinking demonstrated by students in writing an English exposition text. Further, it was intended to find out students' opinion about critical thinking reflected in their essays. A qualitative research design, particularly a case study, was employed. The data of students' texts which were analyzed by using the critical thinking theory proposed by Reichenbach (2001), Ennis (1996), and Chaffee et al (2002) indicated that students were able to utilize all aspects of critical thinking. However, they still need guidance in expressing effective and sound arguments. Moreover, the result of interview indicated that students lack critical thinking knowledge. Therefore, they suggested critical thinking and written composition should be taught and combined into an integrated activity.