Reading and Thinking Critically

Arts & Humanities

Business

Education

Sciences

Social Sciences

Did you know?

The 2015 ACT’s High School Profile Report

noted only 46% of students who took the ACT were ready for college-level reading

requirements (ACT Profile Report - National)

What is Reading Critically?

• It is NOT arguing with every idea encountered

It is…

Commenting

Questioning

Analyzing

Assessing

Become an Active Reader

You must become a critical reader to be an effective

scholarly reader….The first step to becoming a critical reader is to engage with the reading by being an

active reader (Smith & Smith 59).

Preview

Highlight

Annotate

Read Closely

Engage

College-Level Reading• Read…

– to deepen what you already know– above your level of knowledge– what makes you uncomfortable (opposition)– against the grain (critically)– slowly– visually

• Annotate what you read

What is Thinking Critically?

• It is NOT just accepting ideas at face value

Questioning

Analyzing

Challenging assumptions

Forming independent judgments

It is…

Using Critical Thinking Skills

• Think in terms of claims and reasons• Think in terms of premises and assumptions• Think in terms of evidence• Anticipate objections• Avoid logical

fallacies (see the list in your textbook)

WRITING A CRITICAL

RESPONSE ESSAY

Putting it into Practice:

A Critical Response Essay…

• Asks you to read critically

• Asks you to respond to what you read with your own analysis of the text

The text can be…

Discursive:

• Knowledge obtained by reason and argument rather than by intuition (e.g. a scholarly essay, a journalistic story)

Non-discursive:

• Knowledge obtained by intuition rather than by reason and argument (e.g. a visual text, a commercial advertisement)

Journal: Critical Response Prewriting

• Read the text at least twice

• Annotate the text

• List the text’s main and underlying ideas

• List your ideas about the text

Critical Response Planning

• Provide a summary statement.

• Formulate some initial personal responses and jot down questions you may have about the text and its content.

• Does the text support (illustrate or exemplify) its thesis (theme or topic) effectively?

• Does the text persuade or not and why?

• Does the text show obvious biases, flawed logic, or false arguments and how so?

Critical Response Planning

Critical Response Planning• Write a position statement—your thesis

—that you can use to center your response.

• Make a list of arguments you consider (potentially) useful to make your point.

• Select your strongest arguments, and arrange them into a logical order.

Critical Response Drafting

Opening Paragraph(s):

• Include a brief summary of the text, your position statement, and the main points you plan to raise to make your case.

Critical Response Drafting

Body Paragraphs:

• Follow the order of the various arguments you have listed.

Critical Response Drafting

Concluding Paragraph:

• Include a reference to the text, a consolidation of the points you have raised, and the result of the reasoning you have applied.

Critical Response Revising

• Check to make sure that opening, body, and conclusion form a logical and coherent whole.

• Look out for transition problems.

• Read, revise, and edit again to take out grammar, mechanics, and stylistic errors. DONE!

Works Cited

“ACT Profile Report – National: Class of 2015.” ACT. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology, 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. Print.

Ruszkiewicz, John J. and Jay T. Dolmage. How to Write Anything: A Guide and Reference, 2nd ed. NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Print.

Smith, Trixie G. and Allison D. Smith. Building Bridges through Writing. Southlake (TX): Fountainhead Press, 2014. Print.