CRITICAL READING AS LOOKING

FOR WAYS OF THINKING

WHAT IS CRITICAL READING?
WHENEVER YOU READ SOMETHING AND YOU
EVALUATE CLAIMS, SEEK DEFINITIONS, JUDGE INFORMATION,
DEMAND PROOF, AND QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS, YOU ARE
THINKING CRITICALLY. THIS TYPE OF READING GOES
BEYOND PASSIVELY UNDERSTANDING A TEXT, BECAUSE YOU
PROCESS THE AUTHOR’S WORDS AND MAKE JUDGMENTS
AFTER CAREFULLY CONSIDERING THE READING’S MESSAGE.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF CRITICAL READERS
1. CRITICAL READERS ARE WILLING TO SPEND TIME REFLECTING ON THE IDEAS PRESENTED IN
THEIR READING ASSIGNMENTS. THEY KNOW THE TIME IS WELL‐SPENT TO ENHANCE THEIR
UNDERSTANDING.
2. CRITICAL READERS ARE ABLE TO RAISE QUESTIONS WHILE READING. THEY EVALUATE AND
SOLVE PROBLEMS RATHER THAN MERELY COMPILE A SET OF FACTS TO BE MEMORIZED.
3. CRITICAL READERS CAN THINK LOGICALLY. THEY ARE FACT‐ORIENTED AND CAN REVIEW THE
FACTS DISPASSIONATELY. THEY BASE THEIR JUDGMENTS ON IDEAS AND EVIDENCE.
4. CRITICAL READERS CAN RECOGNIZE ERROR IN THOUGHT AND PERSUASION AS WELL AS
RECOGNIZE GOOD ARGUMENTS.
5. CRITICAL READERS ARE SKEPTICAL. THEY UNDERSTAND THAT NOT EVERYTHING IN PRINT IS
RIGHT. THEY ARE DILIGENT IN SEEKING OUT THE TRUTH.
6. CRITICAL READERS ARE OPEN‐MINDED. THEY SEEK ALTERNATIVE VIEWS AND ARE OPEN TO
NEW IDEAS THAT MAY NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THEIR PREVIOUS THOUGHTS ON A
TOPIC. THEY ARE WILLING TO REASSESS THEIR VIEWS WHEN NEW OR DISCORDANT
EVIDENCE IS INTRODUCED AND EVALUATED.
7. CRITICAL READERS ARE IN TOUCH WITH THEIR OWN PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
ABOUT A TOPIC. THEY ARE EAGER TO EXPRESS THEIR THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS. THEY ARE
EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING.
8. CRITICAL READERS ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ARGUMENTS AND ISSUES. THEY ARE ABLE TO
ASK PENETRATING AND THOUGHT‐PROVOKING QUESTIONS TO EVALUATE IDEAS.
9. CRITICAL READERS ARE CREATIVE. THEY SEE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN TOPICS AND USE
KNOWLEDGE FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES TO ENHANCE THEIR READING AND LEARNING
EXPERIENCES.
10. CRITICAL READERS ARE WILLING TO TAKE A CRITICAL STANCE ON ISSUES.
 TECHNIQUES THAT DEVELOP CRITICAL READING SKILLS
1. KEEPING A READING JOURNAL
A READING JOURNAL IS SIMILAR TO KEEPING A DIARY,
EXCEPT YOU ARE WRITING YOUR FEELINGS AND IDEAS IN
REACTION TO YOUR READING ASSIGNMENT. THIS PROCESS
ALLOWS YOU TO DEVELOP IMPRESSIONS OF THE TEXT AND
CONNECT THEM TO YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. THIS
ALLOWS YOU TO BETTER RELATE TO THE ESSAY AND
UNDERSTAND THE AUTHOR’S IDEAS.
 STEPS IN KEEPING A READING JOURNAL
1. HAVE A SEPARATE NOTEBOOK FOR YOUR READING JOURNAL
2. WRITE THE TITLES OF THE READING ASSIGNMENT YOU ARE
RESPONDING TO AND ADD DATES YOUR ENTRIES
3. MAKE IT A HABIT TO REREAD YOUR ENTRIES SO YOU CAN SEE
HOW YOUR IDEAS AND WRITING HAVE EVOLVED
4. ONLY WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE SHARING
2. ANNOTATING THE TEXT
ANNOTATING THE TEXT SIMPLY MEANS MAKING NOTES ON YOUR
COPY OF THE READING. THIS INCLUDES HIGHLIGHTING OR
UNDERLINING IMPORTANT PASSAGES AND WRITING NOTES,
COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, AND REACTIONS ON THE MARGINS. BY
DOING THIS, YOU ARE ENTERING INTO A DIALOGUE WITH THE
AUTHOR AND NOT JUST PASSIVELY READING THE TEXT. IT IS USUALLY
BEST TO ANNOTATE THE TEXT AFTER YOU HAVE READ IT MORE THAN
ONCE TO ENSURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND IT PROPERLY.
3. OUTLINING THE TEXT
CREATING A ROUGH OUTLINE OF THE TEXT WILL ALSO BE
HELPFUL IN GETTING TO UNDERSTAND IT MORE
CRITICALLY. BY LOCATING THE THESIS STATEMENT, CLAIMS,
AND EVIDENCE, AND THEN PLOTTING THESE INTO AN
OUTLINE, YOU CAN SEE HOW THE WRITER STRUCTURES,
SEQUENCES, AND CONNECTS HIS OR HER IDEAS.
4. SUMMARIZING THE TEXT
SUMMARIZING THE TEXT IS SIMILAR TO OUTLINING, IN THAT YOU
NEED TO GET THE GIST. A SUMMARY CONSISTS OF GETTING THE MAIN
POINTS OF THE ESSAY AND IMPORTANT SUPPORTING DETAILS.
SUMMARIZING IS A USEFUL SKILL BECAUSE YOU CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND
THE READING IF YOU CAN RECOGNIZE AND DIFFERENTIATE MAJOR AND
MINOR POINTS IN THE TEXT.
USUALLY, LOCATING THE THESIS STATEMENT AND TOPIC SENTENCES ARE
HELPFUL IN CREATING YOUR SUMMARY. THE SUPPORTING DETAILS IN THE
PARAGRAPH AND SUCCEEDING PARAGRAPHS MAY BE USED TO DEVELOP
OR CLARIFY THE WRITER’S POINTS
• 5. QUESTIONING THE TEXT
• QUESTIONING THE TEXT INVOLVES ASKING SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON POINTS THAT YOU ARE SCEPTICAL
ABOUT. THESE MAY BE TOPICS THAT DO NOT MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS OR AGREE WITH YOUR PERSONAL
VIEWS. ALTERNATELY, YOU SHOULD ALSO TAKE NOTE OF THINGS THAT YOU FOUND IMPRESSIVE. THE
FOLLOWING MAY BE ASKED:
• WHAT TYPE OF AUDIENCE IS ADDRESSED?
• WHAT ARE THE WRITER’S ASSUMPTIONS?
• WHAT ARE THE WRITER’S INTENTIONS?
• HOW WELL DOES THE WRITER ACCOMPLISH THESE?
• HOW CONVINCING IS THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED?
• HOW RELIABLE ARE THE SOURCES? ARE THEY BASED ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, SCIENTIFIC DATE, OR OUTSIDE
AUTHORITIES?
• DID THE WRITER ADDRESS OPPOSING VIEWS ON THE ISSUE?
• IS THE WRITER PERSUASIVE IN HIS/HER PERSPECTIVE?