Week 1

Critical Reading

Thinking Strategies
Objectives:

a. Determine the specific reading strategies

to use with specific texts;
b. Understand the specific thinking
strategies to use with specific texts;
c. Read an editorial and use the appropriate
reading and thinking strategies to get its
meaning.
Critical Reading

Reading critically does not, necessarily, mean being critical of what

you read.
Both reading and thinking critically don’t mean being ‘critical’ about
some idea, argument, or piece of writing - claiming that it is
somehow faulty or flawed.
Critical reading means engaging in what you read by asking yourself
questions such as, ‘what is the author trying to say?’ or ‘what is
the main argument being presented?’
Critical reading involves presenting a reasoned argument that
evaluates and analyses what you have read. Being critical,
therefore - in an academic sense - means advancing your
understanding, not dismissing and therefore closing off
learning.
Critical Reading
The non-critical reader
- Reads a text as a source for... - memorising facts & statements
- repeating facts & statements
- building a narrative around facts & statements without analysing validity,
reliability or applicability

The critical reader

- Reads a text as... - One interpretation of facts
- Recognises the importance of... - what a text says
- how the text evidences and portrays the subject matter

The critical thinker

- Reads a text as... - One interpretation of facts
- Recognises what a text says and does…
- applies own knowledge & values
- to evaluate and interpret a text’s overall meaning
Critical Reading
To read critically is to exercise your judgement about what you are reading – that
is, not taking anything you read at face value.

When reading academic material you will be faced with the author’s interpretation
and opinion. Different authors will, naturally, have different slants. You should
always examine what you are reading critically and look for limitations,
omissions, inconsistencies, oversights and arguments against what you are
reading.

In academic circles, whilst you are a student, you will be expected to understand
different viewpoints and make your own judgements based on what you have
read.

Critical reading goes further than just being satisfied with what a text says, it also
involves reflecting on what the text describes, and analysing what the text
actually means, in the context of your studies.
Critical Reading

As a critical reader you should reflect on:

What the text says: after critically reading a piece you should be able
to take notes, paraphrasing - in your own words - the key points.
What the text describes: you should be confident that you have
understood the text sufficiently to be able to use your own examples
and compare and contrast with other writing on the subject in hand.
Interpretation of the text: this means that you should be able to fully
analyse the text and state a meaning for the text as a whole.

Critical reading means being able to reflect on what a text says, what it
describes and what it means by scrutinising the style and structure of
the writing, the language used as well as the content.
Critical Reading
Critical Reading Strategies

1. Annotating
One of the first strategies to begin with is annotating a text. When you annotate, you
underline important parts of the text, such as the thesis statement, topic sentences of
body paragraphs and explanatory material. Annotating may also include circling key
words and writing comments or questions you have about the material in the margins.
This is also a very good way to mark material that needs to be studied for exams.
2. Contextualizing.
When you contextualize a text, you place it within its original historical or cultural
context. As a reader you should try to identify this context and consider how this
context differs from your own. In order to do this, you need to consider the following:
a. Language or ideas that appear foreign or out of date.
b. Your knowledge of the time and place in which the work was written.
c. The effect these differences have on your understanding and judgment of the
reading.
 Critical Reading
3. Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values.
Sometimes our beliefs about an issue are difficult to express because they are
so ingrained. In order to discover these beliefs it is important to explore how a
text challenges you. Does it make you feel disturbed, threatened, ashamed, or
inspired? Many of you may have a strong reaction to some of the essays you
read. This reaction is a good example of an occasion when this type of reading
strategy can be used. In order to do this, you might try the following:
a. Identify the points in the text where you feel your beliefs are being challenged.
b. Choose one or two of the most troubling challenges and analyze your feelings
about them.
4. Paraphrasing.
When you paraphrase a text, you put it into your own words. This can be helpful
in understanding a difficult or ambiguous passage. It is also one of the three
ways to incorporate other people’s ideas into your own. The other two are
quoting directly and summarizing. Unlike a summary, a paraphrase contains all
of the original information. The purpose of a paraphrase is to simplify without
changing any information. You are not changing what is said, but how it is said.
Critical Reading

5. Outlining.
This can be used as a preliminary to summarizing. Outlining allows
you to identify the basic structure of a text and the main ideas of the
text. In an outline you are listing the main ideas and supporting
evidence of a text. It is especially important to be able to distinguish
between the two. Use your own words when outlining a text.
6. Summarizing.
Summarizing creates a new text by synthesizing the material of the
original. After outlining the text, the information is put together again
in your own words. Summarization fosters understanding of the text,
as you need to be able to recreate the meaning of the text in your
own words.
Thinking
Strategies
Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information
gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or
communication, as a guide to belief and action.

This conceptualization of critical thinking has been refined and developed further by
Richard Paul and Linder Elder into the Paul-Elder framework of critical thinking.
Currently, this approach is one of the most widely published and cited frameworks
in the critical thinking literature. According to the Paul-Elder framework, critical
thinking is the:

● Analysis of thinking by focusing on the parts or structures of thinking ("the

Elements of Thought")
● Evaluation of thinking by focusing on the quality ("the Universal Intellectual
Standards")
● Improvement of thinking by using what you have learned ("the Intellectual
Traits")
Thinking
Strategies
Top Critical Thinking Skills:

Analysis: the ability to collect and process information and knowledge.

Interpretation: concluding what the meaning of processed information is.
Inference: assessing whether the knowledge you have is sufficient and
reliable.
Evaluation: the ability to make decisions based on the available
information.
Explanation: communicating your findings and reasoning clearly.
Self-Regulation: the drive to constantly monitor and correct your ways of
thinking.
Open-Mindedness: taking into account other possibilities and points of
view.
Problem-Solving: the ability to tackle unexpected problems and resolve
conflicts.
Thinking
Strategies
How to think critically

Here are steps you might take when using critical thinking for problem-solving
at work:
1. Identify a problem or issue.
2. Create inferences on why the problem exists and how it can be solved.
3. Collect information or data on the issue through research.
4. Organize and sort data and findings.
5. Develop and execute solutions.
6. Analyze which solutions worked or didn’t work.
7. Identify ways to improve the solution.
Being objective is a fundamental part of critical thinking. That means analyzing
the problem without allowing personal bias, emotions or assumptions to
influence how you think. A strong critical thinker will only analyze a problem
based on the context and facts collected after conducting thorough and
impartial research.
Thinking
Strategies
How to improve your critical thinking skills
While you might already have many of the skills above, it may still be helpful to
consider other areas for improvement—especially for specific skills listed on a job
description. You can always improve your critical thinking skills through practice
and extended educational opportunities.

To further improve your critical thinking skills, consider taking some of the following
steps:
1. Expand your industry-specific or technical skills to help you more easily
identify problems.
2. Take additional courses in your industry that require critical thinking and
analysis.
3. Actively volunteer to solve problems for your current employer.
4. Seek advice from professionals in your field or desired industry.
5. Play solo and cooperative games that require critical thinking skills, such as
analysis and inference.
Thinking
Strategies
Critical Thinking is an Extension of Critical Reading

Thinking critically, in the academic sense, involves being open-minded

- using judgement and discipline to process what you are learning
about without letting your personal bias or opinion detract from the
arguments.

Critical thinking involves being rational and aware of your own feelings
on the subject – being able to reorganise your thoughts, prior
knowledge and understanding to accommodate new ideas or
viewpoints.

Critical reading and critical thinking are therefore the very foundations
of true learning and personal development.
Thinking
Strategies
Why Is Critical Thinking So Important?

Why is critical thinking important? Critical thinking is more

than just important! It’s one of the most crucial cognitive skills
one can develop.

By practicing well-thought-out thinking, both your thoughts

and decisions can make a positive change in your life, on
both a professional and personal level. You can hugely
improve your life by working on your critical thinking skills as
often as you can.
Performance Output/Assignment:

Read an editorial and use the

appropriate reading and thinking
strategies to get its meaning.
Thank You!