ENG Q1 Lesson 5: Critical Reading as Looking for Ways of Thinking and Reasoning

Text

-A large unit of written language

-Consists of ideas put together to make one central idea

-Has a structure which requires the ideas in the discourse to be relevant to each other

-Easily comprehended

-Not easily comprehended

1. Text

2. Author's Context

3. Reader's Context

The meaning of words may

be implied in three ways:

Simple Reading

Involves identifying and recognizing the meaning of a text

Critical Reading

-Analyzing and interpreting the material to know if it presents logical ideas and connection of ideas

-A more advanced form and a higher level of reading

-Allows you to make reasoned judgments, assess the way you think, and solve problems effectively

✓What is the writer's perspective?

✓Do you agree with the writer?

✓Is the writer objective and accurate?

✓How would you describe the tone of the writer?

✓Does the text test your own values and beliefs?

✓Does the text contain fallacies?

✓Are there assumptions made by writer?

✓Does the writer oversimplify complex ideas?

Guide Questions for Critical Reading

Reasoning

The act of giving statements for justification and explanation.

1. What a text says - Restatement

2. What a text does - Description

3. What a text means - Interpretation

Three steps of analysis

Restatement

What a text says

Description

What a text does

Interpretation

What a text means

-Accurately summarize arguments from the text.

-Identify claims

-Discover stated or implied assumptions

A critical reader has the ability to:

-distinguish between fact and opinion

-identify the author's purpose

-make inferences

-recognize the author's tone

-recognize persuasive techniques

Critical Reading Skills

1. Getting the Main Idea

2. Summarizing

3. Inferring

4. Drawing Conclusions

5. Analyzing Sequence

6. Determining Fact from Opinion

Opinion

7. Comparing and Contrasting

Contrasting

8. Understanding Cause and Effect

9. Identifying the Problem and

Solution

Components of Critical Reading

Getting the Main Idea

-Involves identifying the general idea in

a text which may be explicitly or

implicitly stated

-Usually found in the beginning, middle,

or end of the text

Summarizing

-Includes recalling all pertinent

information and thinking how to

compact them all in a summary

-Incorporate all important ideas and be

guided by the WH- questions.

Inferring

-Done by combining the reader's

knowledge and background with

details and clues stated by the author

-A process used by a reader to

understand an idea that the author

does not state explicitly

Drawing Conclusions

-Usually done after reading the whole text

-Figuring out much more than what an author says directly

Analyzing Sequence

The order of arrangement of events present in the text

Determining Fact from Opinion

Opinion - is an unverified idea; it may

or may not prove to be true

Fact - is an idea that is already

proven or is obviously true

Opinion

It is an unverified idea; it may

or may not prove to be true

Fact

It is an idea that is already proven or is obviously true

Comparing and Contrasting

Contrasting - is determining how

things are different

Comparing - is determining how

things are the same

Contrasting

Is determining how

things are different

Comparing

Is determining how

things are the same

Understanding Cause and Effect

Involves identifying the event that causes another event

Identifying the Problem and

Solution

Involves discussing complex issues and identifying the solution