Critical Thinking and Reading

The Polytechnic
LAN - EAP/ELS - 111

Critical
Thinking/Reading
January, 2021
Lecturer: Romeo Katanga

Semester 1
Outline
➢ Critical thinking and reading
Critical Thinking/Reflection and
Reading
➢ Critical thinking and reflective thinking are
often used synonymously
a) Critical Thinking
• Critical means “active” and “Positive”
• It is the thinking that is purposeful, reasoned
and goal directed
• Critical Thinking involves a wide range of
thinking skills leading toward desirable
outcomes
b) Reflective thinking
• reflective thinking focuses on the process of
making judgments about what has happened.
• This is a part of the critical thinking process
referring specifically to the processes of
analyzing and making judgments about what has
happened.
• Reflective thinking is an active, persistent, and
careful consideration of a belief or supposed
form of knowledge, of the grounds that
support that knowledge, and the further
conclusions to which that knowledge leads.
Requirements in Critical thinking
a. Active, critical thinkers search for and question
similarities and differences
• More sources always present similarities and
differences
b. Active critical thinkers challenge and are challenged
by sources
Challenge the author: Ask questions of the
sources
• Identify central Problem to explore and reasons
• Identify most important statement made
• Identify the author etc.
Challenge yourself: Ask questions of yourself
• Critical reading points in two directions: text
you are reading and you, especially origin of
your views
c. Active Critical thinkers set issues in a broader
context
• Identify issues that are important to a single
reading selection. The larger context is not
obvious.
• Techniques to discovering larger context
i. Begin by identifying one or more issues that
you think are important to a text
ii. Assume that each issue is an instance or
example, of something larger. Your job is to
speculate.
iii. Write the name of the issue at the top of a
page followed by a question: What is this
part of ?
iv. Use this broader context to stimulate more
thought on the reading selection and to
generate questions.
v. Option: Investigate other reading selections
d. Active critical thinkers will form and support
opinions
• Opinions follow from responses to questions
such as:
i. Has the author explained things clearly?
ii. In what ways does this topic confuse me?
iii. Has the author convinced me of his or her
main argument?
iv. What is my view on this topic?
v. Would I recommend this source to others?
Components of a close, critical
reading
• Reading is intended to understand, respond,
evaluate and synthesize.
Reading to understand
• Identify the author’s purpose such as to inform or
argue.
• Identify the author’s intended audience, text to be
written with particular readers in mind
• Locate the authors intended audience- think of
readers
• Understand the structure of the text – locate main
points
• Identify as quickly as possible what you do not
understand
• Reading to understand entails reading in three
stages:
i. Preview: skim text –reading quickly
ii. Read: read with pen in hand, making notes
iii. Review: skim text second time to consolidate
notes.
Reading to Respond
• This is the second component of critical reading
• The overall goal of reading to respond is to
identify and explore your reactions to a text. The
goals are as follows:
1. Reflect on your experience and association with
topic of text. Know what you feel about a text.
2. Let the text challenge you
3. Use the text to spark new, imaginative thinking.
• Applying techniques for reading to respond
- Use questions when you approach the text. The
questions are:
- Which one or two sentences did I respond to
most strongly in the text?
- What is the origin of my views on this topic?
- What new interests, questions or observations
does this text spark in me?
Reading to Evaluate
• This is the third component and focus is on
personal associations with the text.
• Setting goals for reading to evaluate. There are four
goals:
1. Distinguish between an author’s use of facts
and use of opinions
2. Distinguish between an author’s assumptions
and your own.
3. Judge the effectiveness of an explanation
4. Judge the effectiveness of an argument
➢ Applying techniques for reading to evaluate
• Distinguish your assumptions from those of an
author
• Distinguish facts from opinions
• Distinguish your definitions of terms from
those of an author
• Question sources that explain and sources that
argue
Reading to synthesize
• Once you have understood, responded to and
evaluated a single source, you are in a position to
link that source with others.
• Synthesis requires that you read and understand all
your source materials and that you respond to and
evaluate each one.
• Goals for reading to synthesize
1. Read to understand, respond to, and evaluate
multiple sources on a subject, problem or issue
2. Understand your own views on the subject,
problem or issue- be able to state these views in
a sentence or two.
3. Forge relationships among source materials,
according to your purpose. In a synthesis, your
views should predominate.
4. Generally, try to create a conversation among
sources- be sure that yours is the major vice in
the conversation.
➢ Applying techniques for reading to synthesize,
especially when writing:
• Subdivide the topic into parts, and give each
part a brief title
• Write cross-references for each part
• Summarize each author’s information or ideas
about each part
• Forge relationships among reading selections.
Note: Synthesis- a written discussion on which you
gather and present source materials according to well
defined purpose.
End of Presentation
Thank you!!!!!

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The Polytechnic

LAN - EAP/ELS - 111

Lecturer: Romeo Katanga

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