This is the core of how I teach my academic-writing classes. Another term for the “critical thinking” the source in the article describes is “rhetoric,” which is simply the study of how persuasive arguments are made; it’s a practice that goes back to Aristotle in ancient Greece. Unfortunately, the term “rhetoric” is often used now to refer to speech or writing that might be persuasive or impressive but ultimately lacks sincerity or substance, so some people might be put off by the idea of rhetorical analysis. However, learning how to interpret and explain a speaker’s or writer’s rhetoric and evaluating whether it is effective or not can help you speak or write more persuasively, which is the core of academic writing but also business writing, marketing, job applications, proposals, etc.—some would argue that everything is an argument. Rhetoric (i.e., studying persuasion) can also help you see through and not be fooled by rhetoric (i.e., empty talk).