What Are Intellectual Skills?

Glow Images, Inc/Glow/Getty Images

According to Cambridge University, intellectual skills refer to critical, analytical, synthesizing and problem-solving skills. Intellectual skills include the assimilation of new knowledge, the development of a critical analysis of studied information, and the application of basic knowledge in wider contexts.

Many educational facilities work to hone student comprehension and information-gathering abilities. A goal is also to strengthen skills in arguments and analysis, to improve intellectual skills through essays, set problems and examinations. When presented with new information, students can improve intellectual skills by asking the following questions: How might that be true? What are the pros and cons to this information? How does this relate to what existing information?