Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

According to this definition of critical thinking, we can infer that critical thinking requires a deep thought process, and it forces one to intensely elaborate on whatever is being asked to think about/write about/discuss