Reading and Writing

Quarter 4 – Module 5:
Critical Reading as
Reasoning
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For the learner:

Welcome to the Reading and Writing 11 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)

Module on critical reading as reasoning.

The hand is one of the most symbolized parts of the human body. It is often
used to depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create
and accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a
learner is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies
and skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being an active
learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.

What I Know This part includes an activity that aims to

check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.

What’s In This is a brief drill or review to help you link

the current lesson with the previous one.

What’s New In this portion, the new lesson will be

introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity or a situation.

What is It This section provides a brief discussion of the

lesson. This aims to help you discover and
understand new concepts and skills.

What’s More This comprises activities for independent

practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.

What I Have Learned This includes questions or blank

sentence/paragraph to be filled into process
what you learned from the lesson.

What I Can Do This section provides an activity which will

help you transfer your new knowledge or skill
into real life situations or concerns.

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 Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate your
level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.

Additional Activities In this portion, another activity will be given

to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the
lesson learned. This also tends retention of
learned concepts.

Answer Key This contains answers to all activities in the

module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
2. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
3. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and in checking your
answers.
4. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
5. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning
and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. Fact, convention, opinion, and preference are common types of assertion used in
A. Identifying assertion C. Determining evidences
B. Formulating counterclaim D. None of the above

2. Critical reading is not to criticize but to assess the validity of the text
A. True C. Both
B. False D. Not so sure

3. Determining evidences is
A. Asserting facts to support claims C. Conducting a survey
B. Rebutting a previous claim D. Showing courteous

4. Hedges are used to be courteous in expressing

A. Evidence C. Counterclaims
B. Assertions D. Critical reading

5. Hypertext reading is more difficult than intertext reading.

A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. None of the above

6. Your tone must be courteous when you are writing counterclaims.

A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. None of the above

7. It is the act of giving a statement for justification and explanation.

A. Hedges C. Asserting
B. Reasoning D. Evidence

8. It is an engaging in analytic activity which involves the reader by asking questions

about the text and the author’s claim.
A. Evidence C. Counterclaims
B. Assertions D. Critical reading

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9. Interaction with the text is not necessary in evaluating judgment.
A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. None of the above

10. The following are the forms of hedges, except:

A. Modals C. Location adverbs
B. Frequency adverbs D. Probability adverbs

11. Which is an example of a modal hedge?

A. Could C. Usually
B. Probably D. None of the above

12. Which is an example of a probability adverb?

A. Could C. Usually
B. Probably D. None of the above

13. Which is a Frequency adverb?

A. Could C. Usually
B. Probably D. None of the above

14. It is a body of facts given by the authors to support their claims?

A. Counterclaims C. Evidence
B. Opinion D. None of the above

15. Critical reading is meant to assess the validity of textual evidence and not to
criticize.
A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. None of the above

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 Lesson

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Explain critical reading as reasoning

Interaction with the text is very important to you as a reader because it will help you
evaluate and formulate judgment on how the text works.

In this lesson, we will focus on explaining critical reading as reasoning.

What’s In

Previously, you have learned the different functions of intertext and hypertext.
Hypertext reading is more difficult than intertext reading because of information
overload as the reader needs to recognize the accuracy of the information presented and
evaluate it.

Now let’s move on to explaining critical reading as reasoning.

What’s New

Read the paragraph and answer the following questions on a separate sheet.

Eastern Samar is an underdeveloped place and is one of the most disaster-prone

places in the Philippines. Because of poverty, residents are forced to live in high-risk
places, which makes them prone to disasters. Disasters in Eastern Samar affect a large
number of people by destroying their houses, farmlands, livelihoods, and other personal
assets.

Question: What is the weakness in the argument that the writer makes to support the
conclusion about the relationship of poverty to disaster?
a. The writer fails to consider the role of poverty in causing disasters.
b. The writer concludes that the situation in Eastern Samar will generalize
to all underdeveloped places.
c. The writer fails to consider the role of disaster play in causing poverty.
d. The writer fails to explain how people are affected by a disaster.

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 What is It

Critical reading is engaging in analytic activity which involves the reader by asking
questions about the text and the author’s claim. Critical readers are doing the process
of evaluating, analyzing, and interpreting the assertion of the hidden meaning of the
entire text.

On the other hand, reasoning as defined in Merriam-Webster dictionary, is an act of

giving statements for justification and explanation. It is the ability of someone to defend
something by giving out reasons.

Therefore, when reading critically, it is necessary to question the different arguments

used by the author, as any problem can weaken the authenticity of the conclusion.

Remember that critical reading is not meant to criticize but to assess the validity of
textual evidence.

Steps Used in Critical Reading as Reasoning

by Maxine Rafaella C. Rodriguez and Marella Therese A. Tiongson

1. Identifying assertions
Identify by a common type of assertion such as fact, convention, opinion, and
preference
2. Formulating a counterclaim
Counterclaims are made to rebut a previous claim
3. Determining evidence
Evidence is the details given by the authors to support his/her claims

Example
You are asking your father for an Android phone—that is your claim.
Then, your father answers you, “I am sorry, but you couldn’t.”—this is his
counterclaim.
He might say that you already have a cellphone. Now, you are going to
formulate a reason for your counterclaim. You may say that the reason you are
asking for an Android phone is because you need to use it for your online class
and would be very helpful in the new normal classroom setup.

When you write your counterclaim, you are expressing unfavorable statements.
Therefore, it is needed that you use hedges, which are words or phrases that give a
courteous tone.

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Different forms of hedges
Modals: may, could, would, should, might, certain, must, etc.
Frequency adverbs: usually, generally, commonly
Probability adverbs: probably, possibly, presumably

Example:
The common cold is caused by a virus.
With hedges:
The common cold must be caused by a virus.
The common virus is certain to be caused by a virus.

What’s More

Read the passage carefully. Find the claim, the evidence, and the reasoning in the
passage. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Crecencian T.V.L. senior high school graduates are capable of joining the
workforce and be globally competitive skilled workers since passing the National
Competency II examination is the result of the in-depth training that they had developed
while in school. Crecencian T.V.L instructors are highly skilled in their field of
specialization. They are NC III & IV holders and have years of experience in the industry
before joining the academe. Many of the skilled graduates are now hired by different
corporations and some of them continue their college education in connection with their
chosen strand.

Claim:

Evidence:

Reasoning:

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 What I Have Learned

Get your reflection journal then write down your takeaways from the lesson and
their impact on your critical thinking skills. Use the template as your guide.

My takeaways from the lesson How will I apply them to

my everyday life?

What I Can Do

Let’s Talk. This activity aims to make a conversation between the student and
the author of the text. This inspires the learner to challenge claims in a conversational
manner. However, the learner should have an in-depth study of the resources used in
the text
Find an editorial article and try to evaluate and analyze it. Use the given Dialogic
journal template with guide questions. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
Please attach the chosen article on your answer sheet.

Before reading the article ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why are you reading the article?
2. What do you hope to learn as you read it?
Name Date:
Title :
Author of the article:
Paragraph
Question/s & page no. Answer/s with supporting detail/s

What issue is emphasized by the

writer?

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 Is the writer able to take a clear
stand on is issue?

What is the writer’s purpose in

writing the article?

What is the writer’s tone? Why?

Does the writer assume the

readers to agree with his /her
stand?

What are the evidences

presented by the writer to
support his argument?

Notes to the Teacher

The teacher may let the students choose their
article to read and analyze.

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 Assessment

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.
1. Which is an example of a probability adverb?
A. Could C. Usually
B. Probably D. None of the above

2. Fact, convention, opinion, and preference are common types of assertion used in
A. Identifying assertion C. Determining evidences
B. Counterclaim D. None of the above

3. Determining evidences is
A. Asserting facts to support claims C. To details the given support survey
B. Rebutting a previous claim D. Showing courteous

4. Hedges are used to be courteous in expressing

A. Evidence C. Counterclaims
B. Assertions D. Critical reading

5. Critical reading is not to criticize but to assess the validity of the text.
A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. Not so sure

6. Hypertext reading is difficult than intertext reading.

A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. None of the above

7. Your tone must be courteous when you are writing counterclaims.

A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. None of the above

8. Critical reading is meant to assess the validity of textual evidence and not to criticize
A. True C. Both A & B
B. false D. None of the above

9. Interaction with the text is not necessary in evaluating judgment.

A. True C. Both A & B
B. False D. None of the above

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10. Which is an example of a modal hedge?
A. Could C. Usually
B. Probably D. None of the above
11. Which is an example of Frequency adverb?
A. Could C. Usually
B. Probably D. None of the above
12. Which of the following is a body of facts given by authors to support their claims?
A. Counter claim C. Evidence
B. Opinion D. None of the above
13. It is the act of giving statement for justification and explanation.
A. Hedges C. Asserting
B. Reasoning D. Evidence
14. The following are the forms of hedges, except
A. Modals C. Location adverbs
B. Frequency adverbs D. Probability adverbs
15. It is an engaging in analytic activity which involves the reader by asking questions
about the text and the author’s claim
A. Evidence C. Counterclaims
B. Assertions D. Critical reading

Additional Activities

Write a paragraph on any topic that interests you. Use the outline as your guide.
I. What is your claim?
a. Supporting detail
b. Supporting detail
II. Write three lines or different text evidences that support your argument.
a.
b.
c.
III. Write a short counterclaim or counter-argument to the claim.

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Rubric

Sufficient Insufficient Score

I. Claim (60%)

II. Evidence (30%)

III. Argument (10%)

TOTAL (100%)

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References
Book
Rodriguez, Maxine Rafaella C. and Tiongson, Marella Therese A., Reading and Writing
Skills, Manila, Rex Book Store, Inc., 2016.

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