In terms of critical thinking, the basic level of attainment of knowledge requires that you be able to identify what is being assumed: the topic, the issue, the thesis, and the main points. Become a knowledgeable individual by obtaining knowledge and pursuing topics that interest you. Comprehension means understanding the material read, heard or seen. In comprehending, you make the new information that you have learned your own by connecting it to what you already know. The more you are involved with the material, the better you will comprehend it. As always, the main test of whether you have understood something is whether you can put what you have read or heard into your personal words. Application requires that you know what you have read, heard, or seen, that you understand it, and that you carry out some task to apply what you know to an actual situation. Analysis involves breaking what you read or hear into its component parts, in order to make clear how the ideas are ordered, related, or connected to other ideas. Synthesis includes the ability to place together the fragments you analyzed with other information to create something innovative. Evaluation occurs once we have understood and analyzed what is said or written and the reasons offered to support it. Then we can appraise this information