Man. I keep trying to reply, and end up with novels.

Maybe if I try to narrow the subject down...what sort of examples do you want? Is there an article you might want me to look at and comment on?

I noticed a lot of what I was writing when attempting to answer ended up on the subject of critical thinking and logic...my experience writing just assists those skills. And I hesitate to speak on it too long because I'm self-taught, and folks who have majored in university or such might be better sources? Or at least have jargon and sources I'm missing...

But anyway...when approached from the idea that the topic is more about logic and thinking skills than strictly writing, I guess I narrow my thinking on this down to:

• Question assumptions in writing. Sometimes writers assume something that shouldn't be assumed. Does the intersection REALLY need a new stop sign? Why or why not? Does everyone REALLY believe social security won't be around when they retire? Why or why not? Does someone have a stake in NOT having it around?
• Question value judgments in writing...adjectives that aren't directly factual. If someone is called "strong" or "shy" or a "slut" or a "thug" or "canny" or "presidential"...that's them trying to plant an image in your mind that might not be real. Question adjectives like that. Even when they're applied to ideas, or physical objects, or anything.
• Ask what was left out, or played down. I don't know your age, but I know I was very frustrated when I was younger by the blank spots in my experience and knowledge, because it affected how well I could analyze something or put it in context. (I actually had a friend agree with me and relate an anecdote on this--he said he felt there was something wrong with him...until he grew up and the spots filled in!) So even if you have "blank spots" of knowledge or experience, try to figure out what might be missing in an article, try to find what was left unsaid. Sometimes it's unsaid because it's really not relevant, but sometime its something that really needs to be examined. I found stuff like knowing how a small business worked, and how manufacturing worked REALLY helped me put things into context. I'm a woman, but I've worked in a warehouse, and in IT, and I had a super-sharky salesman as a boss once whom I listened to (even if I would be terrible as a saleswoman!), and all of that REALLY helped me understand how different real-world systems worked.
• It's possible to have someone being critical without substance. So analyze critical things too, and ask yourself if the facts really should generate such a negative end opinion. (On Reddit I admit I'm often frustrated by people crying over "circle jerks" or jaded comments about the trendiness of something. It's entirely possible to assess the worth of something and find that it is actually pretty neat.)
• Question "charged" words and comparisons. Words to do with evil, or "sins" are "charged", particularly when they're used as value judgments or when something is being compared to a noxious event, person, item, etc. Also question when something is too gilded, too positive...sometimes things that are left out and shouldn't have been need to come into play.
• Question polarization. "Us vs. them" mentality is not conductive to reason in my view.

(Also note I used the charged word "crying" above. That's an example of a value judgment that should be questioned before agreeing/disagreeing with it.)