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Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking Complete Guide (NEB New Syllabus) | Notes, Exercise Solutions & Summary | Language Development
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Welcome to your premier destination for the Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking academic syllabus. This complete online textbook companion offers fully resolved answers to all end-of-chapter questions and professional writing exercises.

Through this comprehensive resource on Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking, you will navigate cognitive terminology, explore the philosophy of “precepts” from the novel *Wonder*, and master English grammar rules for question tags in diverse contexts.

To acquire more academic context on the cognitive concepts discussed in this unit, you can explore the psychology and methods of critical thinking online.

Access our general index for additional chapters here: Class 11 English Notes.

Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking study notes

1. Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking: Working with Words

A. Find the words from the text that match with the following meanings.
a. Shuffle: walking by dragging one’s feet along or without lifting them fully from the ground.
b. Doodle: drawing pictures or patterns while thinking about something else.
c. Plaque: a flat piece of metal or stone with writing on it, used as a memorial or ornament.
d. Precepts: general rules intended to regulate behavior or thought.
e. Sneaky: moving or going in a furtive, stealthy, or underhanded way.
B. Consult your teacher and define the following thinking skills.
a. Convergent thinking
Convergent thinking is a cognitive process that focuses on finding a single, well-established, and standard solution to a clearly defined problem. It emphasizes speed, accuracy, and logic to derive the single best or correct answer to a question.
b. Divergent thinking
Divergent thinking is a spontaneous, free-flowing thought process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. In a short amount of time, a wide variety of unexpected, non-linear connections are drawn.
c. Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of factual evidence to form a well-reasoned, skeptical, and unbiased judgment. It involves reflecting on the validity of claims and logical fallacies rather than accepting information blindly.
d. Creative thinking
Creative thinking is the ability to generate entirely new, unconventional, and valuable ideas. It is a highly productive skill that enables individuals to look at problems from unique perspectives and devise innovative solutions.

2. Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking: Comprehension Solutions

Answer the following questions based on the text.
a. Who was Jack? How did he make children laugh?
Jack Will was a friendly and popular middle school student whom other kids naturally liked. He made children laugh by spontaneously telling funny jokes and acting comically during class breaks.
b. Why are “Sharks” important to Reid?
Sharks are vitally important to Reid because they act as natural ecological clean-up crews in the ocean, keeping the marine environment healthy by eating dead, decaying, and diseased organisms.
c. What does Mr. Browne think about the most important thing?
Mr. Browne believes that the most important thing is to genuinely “Know Thyself”—to understand one’s own character, evaluate personal strengths and flaws, and actively strive to cultivate the best version of oneself.
d. What is it that has not been noticed by the student?
The student had completely failed to notice the profound, ancient philosophical message inscribed on the plaque over the school’s main entrance gate: “Know Thyself.”
e. How did Jack make fun of the English class?
Jack made fun of the English class by wittily replying “To attend English class” when Mr. Browne asked the class the deep, existential question: “Why are you here?”
f. What were the students going to do at the end of the month?
At the end of the month, the students were going to write a short essay reflecting on and exploring the deeper meaning of Mr. Browne’s monthly precept.
g. What particular act of students surprised a girl student?
The girl student was highly surprised to learn that even after graduating and leaving middle school, former students voluntarily continued to write their own personal precepts on postcards and mail them back to Mr. Browne every summer.

3. Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking: Critical Thinking Analysis

a. Have you made your own precept after you read this lesson? What is it? Share it with your friends.

Yes, reading this inspiring lesson about Mr. Browne’s unique classroom philosophy has heavily motivated me to craft my own personal precepts to guide my daily thoughts and actions. Precepts are rules about really important things, like compasses to steer us through life. Here are the core guidelines I have developed for myself:

1. “Success is temporary, but lessons from failure are permanent.” — This reminds me to remain humble in victory and highly resilient in defeat, focusing on growth.
2. “When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kindness.” — Inspired directly by the text, this guides me to prioritize empathy over ego during arguments.
3. “Believe in conscious karma rather than blind fate.” — This empowers me to take active responsibility for my own actions instead of passively blaming luck.
4. “In a world where you can be anything, be authentic.” — This keeps me grounded in my unique values instead of conforming to societal pressure.
b. According to Josh Lanyon, “If there was one life skill everyone on the planet needed, it was the ability to think with critical objectivity.” Justify this statement with your logic.

Josh Lanyon’s statement regarding the absolute necessity of critical objectivity perfectly captures the most vital cognitive tool needed in modern human civilization. “Critical objectivity” is the rare ability to evaluate situations, claims, and data purely on the basis of facts, logic, and evidence, entirely unswayed by personal bias, cultural prejudices, or transient emotions.

In our current digital age—which is flooded with misinformation, manipulative media algorithms, and social echo chambers—the capacity to think objectively has become a key survival skill. Without critical objectivity, individuals are easily misled by false propaganda, leading to social polarization, conflict, and unwise life decisions. From scientific inventions to democratic voting, every progressive stride human beings have made is a direct product of analyzing the world objectively.

Critical thinking allows us to pause, separate the message from the messenger, detect logical fallacies, and constructively evaluate the consequences of our choices. Therefore, it is indeed the single most important life skill required to foster a rational, compassionate, and progressively developing global society.

4. Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking: Writing Tasks (Email)

Write an email to your friend explaining an interesting class you had.

From: binodkumar12@gmail.com

To: shristi2011@gmail.com

Subject: Share of an Unforgettable English Class I Had


Dear Shristi,

I hope this email finds you in excellent health and high spirits! I am doing great here and recently had an experience so fascinating that I immediately thought of sharing it with you.

Yesterday, we had our regular English class, but it turned out to be completely different from standard lectures. Our teacher decided to introduce us to the concept of “precepts” as shown in the novel *Wonder*. Instead of analyzing grammar from a textbook, she started by asking us a deep question: “What is your personal rule of life?”

Initially, there was a quiet silence, but soon, everyone started sharing highly personal and creative thoughts. We discussed how simple guidelines can steer our behavior when we face difficult choices. One classmate shared, “Never judge a book by its cover, but more importantly, never judge a person by their status.” The discussion was so interactive and intellectually stimulating that the 45-minute class flew by in what felt like seconds!

This class made me realize that English is not just a language of rules, but a powerful medium to explore human character, empathy, and philosophy. It gave me a lot of mental confidence and a completely fresh perspective on how we should treat our classmates.

I would love to know if you have ever had such a life-changing class in your school. Do write back when you find some time!


Warm regards,

Binod Kumar

5. Class 11 English Unit 16 Critical Thinking: Grammar (Question Tags)

A. Rewrite the following sentences adding appropriate question tags.

(Rule: Positive statements take negative tags; negative statements take positive tags. Imperatives take “will you/won’t you”; “let’s” takes “shall we”.)

a. Gill does not know Ann, does he?
b. I’m very patient, aren’t I?
c. They’d never met me before, had they?
d. Listen carefully, will you?
e. Let’s have a break, shall we?
f. Let us invite them, will you?
g. Hari used to live in France as a boy, didn’t he?
h. You’d better not take a hard drink, had you?
i. Sheep eat grass, don’t they?
j. Mr. Pande can speak nine languages, can’t he?
k. She’s finished her classes, hasn’t she?
l. She barely managed to reach the goal, did she? (Note: “Barely” is semantically negative, hence takes a positive tag)
m. Don’t let him swim in that pond, will you?
n. There are lots of people here, aren’t there?
B. Read the following situations. What do you say in these situations? Use question tags.
a. The sky is full of cloud. You can see lightning and hear thunder.
It’s going to rain soon, isn’t it?
b. You want to pay the taxi fare but you are short by 100 rupees.
Shyam, you can lend me Rs. 100, can’t you? / you have to lend me Rs. 100, haven’t you?
c. You have met a stranger at a party and you want to have a chat with him/ her.
We will talk later, won’t we? / It’s a wonderful party, isn’t it?
d. You came out of the film hall with your friend. You enjoyed the film.
The film was very enjoyable, wasn’t it?
e. You and your friend listened to a comedian on the stage and felt spellbound by his/her performance.
He gave an excellent performance, didn’t he?
f. You think your friend’s father has arrived from the US but you are not sure.
Your father has arrived from the US, hasn’t he?
g. You think Susan will join the new job tomorrow but you are not sure.
Susan will join the new job tomorrow, won’t she?
h. Your friend’s hair looks too short.
You have cut your hair too short, haven’t you?
i. You want to go for a picnic with your friends in class.
Let’s go for a picnic, shall we?
j. You want permission from your father to go for a walk.
Let me go for an evening walk, will you?

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