Critical thinking skills are required to successfully navigate the overwhelming amount of information sources available today. To address the challenge of developing critical thinking skills, this empirical study examines the effectiveness of exercises in developing thinking skills in college freshmen students. The workbook exercises were designed to develop specific skills related to academics and critical thinking. Two groups of college freshmen participated in the study: one group was given the workbook, the other group was not. At the end of the semester, both groups completed a critical thinking assessment test. A comparison of the test scores confirms the effectiveness of these exercises on improving the critical thinking skills of college freshmen.