Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking
READING STRATEGIES FOR CRITICAL THINKING
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Steps in Critical Reading
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- ALWAYS THE MAIN SOURCE - critical, objective, specialized texts written by experts or professionals in a given field using formal language.
Academic Text
fuses the reader's intellectual and emotional responses to what he read.
Affective Reading
you have achieved a higher level of comprehension, stayed open-minded, and have continued to learn and embrace knowledge and wisdom outside your own standards and beliefs.
Being a critical reader
· reader should be able to interpret and explain the main points of text on his or her own words
Content of the text
Reading critically means reflecting on:
Content of the text Descriptions in the text Interpretation of the text
- Involves raising reasoned, logical, and balanced argument that analyzes the text.
Critical Reading
engaging yourself in what you read by asking questions like, "what does the author mean?" "what message is being conveyed in the text?" "what is the argument raised?"
Critical Reading
questioning and evaluating reading materials and is closely associated with the reader's ability to think critically and to react intelligently to writer's ideas.
Critical Reading
requires critical reading to develop because a huge part of you is influenced by what you read and hear. Up to 80% of knowledge is learned through the eyes, and reading plays the biggest role.
Critical thinking
· reader should be able to create his or her own examples based from the described key points and be able to compare them with other texts of the same topic
Descriptions in the text
What are the 4 main types of Academic Text?
Descriptive, analytical, persuasive, and critical
Keep in mind that the reading pace depends on the type of material you are reading and your goal. Proactively focus on 2-4 words at a time instead of fixating on a per word reading basis. Read with your eyes and mind Practice makes perfect. Force yourself to read at a faster rate for short periods of time. Go at a speed that is uncomfortable but you are still comprehending the material. Avoid rereading as much as possible You should never read at a rate that is slower than your average rate.
Improve Your Reading Speed
Learn at least three words a day and try using them in a sentence. Find opportunities to apply the learned words in actual conversations
Improve your vocabulary
Read a wide range of texts Have a dictionary at all times. Never assume the meaning of a word that you are unfamiliar with Keep a vocabulary journal where you write down all words that you learn on a daily or weekly basis.
Improve your vocabulary
means concluding based on knowledge and experience. Ability to understand implicit messages conveyed by a writer based on the reader's schema or background knowledge
Inference
· the reader should be able to objectively analyze the text in parts and in whole.
Interpretation of the text
If you answer yes to any of these, then skimming is a useful tool for you:
Is this material non-fiction? Do I have a lot to read and only a small amount of time? Do I already know something about this? Can any of the material be skipped?
ability to recognize words accurately, to identify topic, main ideas, and supporting details, understand the sequence of events, recognize cause and effect relationships, interpret directions, and to understand organizational patterns used in various types of reading.
Literal Reading
is a comprehension strategy used by proficient readers to "read between the lines," make connections, and draw conclusions about the text's meaning and purpose.
Making inferences
Try to recall and explain the key points on your own words after each section. Avoid reading at a slower pace just to compensate for your comprehension level. Use a line guide
Mind your reading comprehension skills
You should be aware of the words, phrases or sentences that you do not understand fully or confuse you. As you do, you need to challenge your comprehension for looking for context clues and inducing analytical thinking. Posing questions for you to answer does not fail in this sense.
Mind your reading comprehension skills
knowing more about the ... prepares you better in understanding the topic, following references, raising arguments, and flowing w/ the discussion
Nature of the text
Turn the subheadings into questions before proceeding to read Create questions from information printed in the margins. Create questions for each graph presented. Try writing out the questions
Question:
Start reading only when you can concentrate and commit to it You must locate the main idea of each paragraph. o Identify the topic. o Find the main idea. o Look for the supporting details o Underline the main idea
Read:
Take time to paraphrase what you read out loud while reading. Try to associate read material with life experience.
Recite:
Review starts with organization Review your notes and questions created for the daily lesson or chapter. Develop study aids like mnemonics for material you must memorize. Create an outline from your texts. Recite the information daily to ensure automatic recall and true learning. Check and recheck the information where you hesitate
Review:
Meant to identify specific details without understanding the main points Covers more than 1000 wpm
Scanning
Meant to identify main points without identifying the details Covers 700-1000 wpm
Skimming
help you locate the information quickly. It will also increase the amount of usable material you obtain for your research.
Skimming
the SQ3R Method
Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review
Scan over the table of contents of a new book to have a clear understanding of its content and plan your reading in advance. Survey the entire chapter before you start reading Look at the title and all subtitles to know what the chapter is about and how it is broken up into parts Look at the end of the chapter aids, such as questions, summaries, etc
Survey:
When is the right time to scan?
You scan when your aim is to find specific pieces of information. If you were doing the research for a report, you could scan the index of books, web sites, and reference materials.
written by experts, manuscript goes through series of editing, typesetting, and quality checking performed by other experts in a peer-review setting. With jargons, technical styles of wiritng
academic articles
Reading for ... should always be an active process which leads to development of the reader.
academic purposes
underline instructional words. ex: discuss, explain, identify, justify mark keywords / key phrases be mindful of organizational patterns (compare and contrast, cause and effect, spatial, list) evaluate validity and requirement of questions -write down all related info -link details that you know -determine knowledge gaps
analyze the critical reading components
... are well presented: names, credentials, and affiliations build the text's credibility and reputation
authors
mind is clear, body is most relaxed, concentration is easier
be a morning reader
quipping yourself with prior knowledge before reading the text can help you identify the ... of the author and possibly unintentional errors.
biases
summarize the text in preparation for writing your assignment. make another mind map make headings and note supporting evidence in dot points include your evaluation be creative: use color and arrows for easy visualization highlight ideas identify areas for further research
consolidate your knowledge
boxes and flow charts, help you move around the page.
diagrammatic
do not limit your reading to few minutes per day your writing skills also improve due to concepts, styles, vocabulary, and info
do not limit your reading habit
1. highlighting and emphasizing 2. making written notes 3. reviewing and revising 4. organizing your notes
effective steps for note-taking
does it present solutions based on evidence? are recommendations appropriate to the purpose? in what ways does the article / report advance our knowledge of a particular issue? what assumptions underlie the research? are they reasonable?
evaluate the text
strengths and weaknesses of the text has the article fulfilled its purpose? is the argument clearly asserted and supported by evidence? is the research valid (sufficient, appropriate, valid, methodology?) has the argument been developed logically?
evaluate the text
what are the strengths of the text? what are the weaknesses of the text?
evaluate the text
possess good value: golden knowledge and wisdom author's credibility, reputation of the publishing company, curation and endorsements start reading books that genuinely pique our curiosity or are aligned with your already existing hobbies, skills, interests, or field of specialization
find informative books of good value
designate your own reading spot, set up a mini-library where you can place all your books avoid stressful place have all your reading essentials prepared alongside your books jot down ideas from what you read and plan your next reading
have your reading habit planned
focus your attention think carefully about key concepts see whether you have already read pages / sections of text make a glossary on a separate sheet of paper
highlighting and emphasizing
When studying ... , they gather as much information as possible, stitch the different interpretations together and validate the ones that are supported by logical or scientific explanations.
history
Subjective reading clouds ...
judgment
In critical reading, you are encouraged to ... and ... , rather than absorb everything at face value.
learn meaning and identify value,
moving from one section --> next in a logical way (headings and sub-headings)
linear
is this text relevant to my research question? list questions about the content of the article or report
list down questions
relying on ... is not always helpful.
literal meaning
Take two or more details from the reading and see if you can draw a conclusion. When you are asked an inference question, go back over the reading and look for hints within the text,
making inferences
include: a. content of your reading through brief summaries / paraphrasing b. your reaction and questions that it raises
making written notes
.... is considered as the lowest form of intelligence.
memorization
test what you can recall from your reading. make headings of main ideas and note supporting evidence in dot points include your evaluation: strengths and weaknesses identify gaps in your memory
mind map from memory
creativity is favored over credibility, secondary sources, references should also come form academic articles
non-academic articles
not intended for an academic audience. They are written for a lay audience or the mass public.
non-academic text
ensure notes are organized
organizing your notes
mind maps
patterns
What are the 4 main types of non-academic text?
personal, impressionistic, emotional, and subjective
Who is the author/s ? - credentials - reputation - is writer known for bias? what is the nature of the text? - is it current? - is it authoritative? - is it purely subjective, purely objective, or a combination of both?
practice pre-reading activities
highlight main ideas and keywords -read title, synopsis, abstract, subheadings, graphical representations -reading introduction, first few paragraphs, and conclusion
practice pre-reading activities
Critical reading allows you to integrate valuable information to our own ... and ..., and to adopt the attitude necessary to keep yourself inspired in reading.
principles and values
alloting time-specific schedule makes hitting your goal more realistic. timetable to ensure progress
prioritize reading
place of ... may also prompt the author to slightly alter the content to fit in the culture of the target readers in a particular area
publication
the ... also influences the creative direction of the book, so the author might write things that he / she does not fully agree with, all the sake of marketability.
publisher
starts with the understanding of the letters, words, and symbols in the text.
reading
use headings / different sheets use bright pens / flags note where your opinions changed and why
reviewing and revising your notes
Does not require reading of entire texts May be limited to specific information and may not help the reader understand the general idea
scanning
Passing the vision speedily over a selection of text to find specific words or phrases Skipping over large portions of texts to find what you are looking form Speed ranges above 1000 words per minute Covers more area than skimming within the same amount of time
scanning
Use your hands when scanning. Use peripheral vision when scanning Keep the concept of key words in mind while scanning.
scanning
Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. At the end of each topic sentence, your eyes should drop down through the rest of the paragraph, looking for important pieces of information, Continue to read only topic sentences
skimming
Refreshes understanding of a text following detailed reading Speed reading at basic level Works best with non-fiction or factual texts Speed ranges from 700-1000 words per minut
skimming
speedy reading for general meaning Lets your eyes skip over sentences or phrases that contain details Allows you to concentrate on identifying the central or main points Pre-views a selection of text prior to detailed reading
skimming
this reading process takes place while reading and allows you to look for details in addition to the main ideas. Many people think that it is a haphazard process placing the eyes where ever they fall. However, to skim effectively, there has to be a structure but you don't read everything.
skimming
Read the introduction and/or first paragraph first. Read the last paragraph. Be mindful of the different terminologies used.
survey
-be concise and write on your own words -use bullet points -pay attention to citation and references -take note of the arguments raised -summarize major parts; introduction, body, conclusion -record quoted materials, page numbers -keywords
take down notes
true or false: The more we develop our reading capacity, the more proficient we become in accepting and rejecting what we read.
true
allows you to cover and finish books much faster w/o ascrificing comprehension target specific info within the text, apply reading patterns thru out pages, skip unnecessary parts remove distractions: television / phone stop mouthing words / speaking them in your head
try speed reading
