Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking
Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking
Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking
THINKING
LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL READING
What is Critical Reading?
Being a critical reader does not require you to be critical about everything you read. There is
no need to find fault and argue with the author on all things that you think are faulty, unconventional
and questionable. What does critical reading mean, then?
In hindsight, critical reading is explained as the manner of engaging yourself in what you read
by asking questions like, “what does the author mean?” “What message is being conveyed in the text”
or “what is the argument raised?” The process of critical reading involves raising a reasoned, logical
and balanced argument that analyzes and evaluated the text. Thus, being a critical reader means that
you have achieved a higher level of comprehension, have stayed open-minded all throughout, and have
continued to learn and embrace knowledge and wisdom outside your own standards and beliefs.
To critically read a text is to apply your discretion to what you are reading. You do not take
everything you read at face value. You will be faced with the writer’s insights and interpretations when
reading texts for academic purposes. Expectedly, different writers have their own points of view and
biases. For this reason, critically examining everything you read to check for intentional and
unintentional omissions, grounds for arguments, and inconsistencies is of utmost importance.
You will be expected to understand and interpret different viewpoints in the academe, which
are important in making your own judgments.
• Content of the text: the reader should be able to interpret and explain the main points of the text
on his or her own words
• Descriptions in the text: the 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
• Interpretation of the text: the reader should be able to objectively analyze the text in parts and in
whole
To summarize, critical reading allows a reader to understand the content of the text, the
descriptions contained, and the interpretation of the author in order to scrutinize the elements
involved, including the style, composition and language.
Reading takes a lot of time, especially in higher education where evaluation and analysis are
staple parts of the reading process. This fact makes reading tedious and cumbersome for most people,
which makes studying less motivating and effective.
However, reading for academic purposes need not be challenging. It is, and should always be,
an active process which leads to the development of the reader. This is bound to happen only when
the reader becomes consistently conscious of the nature and content of the text, and everything that
the author implies behind the text.
When we read, we read not only the text, but also the mind of the person who wrote it. We
learn more perspectives in life the more we read. Hence, making reading a habit widens our horizons
and allows us to always look at the bigger picture from a vantage point.
It is needless to say that making critical reading a habit does not only require you to read every
day but also to absorb as much as you can, to integrate the valuable ones to your own principles and
values, and to adopt the attitude necessary to keep yourself inspired in reading.
Naturally, reading starts with the understanding of the letters, words, and symbols used in the
text. Children read and understand at face value because they are in the process of familiarizing from
a linguistic point of view. As they grow older and their academic and intellectual levels go up, the
reading process becomes more complicated. They learn that reading is not just identifying letters,
words, and symbols, but also comprehending the meaning behind those words. Learning is no longer
done at the surface. Connotation is added to denotation. Figurative meaning is combined with literal
meaning. In a span of several years, reading becomes more worthwhile yet more challenging.
Eventually, we learn to add new words to our vocabulary on a daily basis, and use them in our
own sentences. We start challenging what textbook call “facts” as we adopt a skeptic attitude, which
leads to curiosity and later on, discovery. We start asking and start answering questions. Finally, we
learn to integrate reading and learning in the truest sense.
However, as we progress down the academic path and absorb more bits of knowledge and
perspectives, our principles, values and beliefs also start crumble, some of which are permanently
changed through the influence of other sources and people. The wide gamut of information available
to us makes thinking more complex as we have to consider more things than usual. Our accumulating
experience also adds challenge, although these inevitable factors are necessary for learning and
progression.
This process of transitioning from mere data gathering to a deeper level of consciousness that
involves analysis and evaluation is crucial for our own personal development and professional
advancement.
The more we develop our reading capacity, the more proficient we become in accepting and
rejecting what we read. This, by nature, is practicing critical reading to the best of our abilities.
People read every day for different purposes. Some have deeper purposes that root from
critical reasons, like when reading for academic and professional purposes. Some, on the other hand,
read to be entertained, to pass time, or simply to try to learn new things without pinpointing any
particular form of knowledge.
Most of the time, we read factual information, or at least, try to, amidst the world of fake news
and unverified information in the internet. We may also read fiction in order to be entertained;
depending upon the reader, a level of interpretation may be applied, and if reading fiction as part of
an English Literature degree, then analysis of the author’s writing style, motives, and other elements is
imperative.
A lot of people read newspapers in print or online. They do it to be informed. However, since
bias and partisan politics are widespread in mass media, opinions are sometimes delivered as factual
statements. This is damaging to learning as influence is sometimes brought not by value but by
popularity.
One example of this is the proliferation of fake news as told by some social media influencers
who click before they think. This is irresponsible but remains tolerated by many people until now. Thus,
the goal of reading should be to learn, not to be updated with what famous people are talking about.
When reading for academic purposes, students usually observe two main goals: first is to learn
and develop, and second is to pass the subject. Sadly, many students only aim to pass and not to learn
and develop, thinking that everything is fine for as long as they pass the subject. What they do not
realize is that this mindset and attitude may only be helpful to a certain degree when still studying, not
when venturing in the real world as a professional. Furthermore, this mindset is the reason why not all
students who graduate display competitiveness and efficiency at work.
Lastly, many students read to memorize, and not read to comprehend, analyze, and interpret
the text. There is memorization but with very minimal learning. The knowledge is forgotten when the
memorized words and sentences are also forgotten. This is the reason why memorization is considered
as the lowest form of intelligence.
Usually, we find unfamiliar topics, styles and languages hard to follow. This is expected even
for professionals. Consequentially, this can also be disappointing and demotivating. Who wants to
burden themselves anyway? Sooner or later, the person who experienced reading as a challenge may
quit the habit altogether. Development is then delayed or denied completely.
On this regard, critical reading is less challenging as there is no need to focus on the text
verbatim. There is no need to pay attention to all details as well as not every detail in a text possesses
value.
In critical reading, you are encouraged to learn meaning and identify value rather than absorb
everything at face value. Being able to follow the flow of the story and predict what’s bound to happen
by drawing conclusions and making inferences is given priority over being able to familiarize yourself
with the specific details.
In order to keep a positive attitude when reading, one has to equip him or herself with tools
that make learning more convenient and less tiresome. Make a quality dictionary available for access
at all times just in case you encounter unfamiliar terminologies that cannot be understood with context
clues alone. There are hundreds of printed dictionaries to choose from, although downloading updated
applications and accessing them online are now more convenient. One has to keep in mind, though,
that denotative and connotative meanings may be used in the same text by the same author. Hence,
relying on literal meaning is not always helpful.
Another way to maintain a healthy attitude in reading is by emotionally detaching yourself from
the text. Subjective reading clouds judgment. In fact, many authors try to influence readers by using
their own emotions against them. Advisably, one has to maintain objectivity when reading as this
allows a person to analyze the text using logic and not feelings.
For non-critical readers, a text is a source of facts. Texts are, then, memorized in order to absorb
these so-called facts.
When studying history, they believe the book that describes events the clearest.
For critical readers, on the other hand, a text only provides the author’s own interpretation of
facts. This interpretation may be considered valid or invalid. Hence, critical readers recognize not only
what the text says, but also how the text discusses the topic.
When studying history, they gather as much information as possible, stitch the different
interpretations together, and validate the ones that are supported by logical or scientific explanations.
They learn to link information from different sources to create a timeline where the past, present and
future connect with each other.
This information is often reflected on the cover, preface and table of content of the book. For
stories, the synopsis at the back can give you the information that you need.
Quipping yourself with prior knowledge before reading the text can help you identify the biases of
the authors, and possibly the unintentional errors.
It is possible that the text is no longer consistent with the author’s prior works or statements, so you
need to consider some information:
This information can help the reader understand the reason behind the inconsistency. The text may no
longer be updated or may be the updated one.
The place of publication may also prompt the author to slightly alter the content to fit in the culture of
the target readers in a particular area.
Sometimes, the publisher also influences the creative direction of the book, so the author might write
things that he or she does not fully agree with, all of the sake of marketability. This happens not only
in the publishing industry but also in the music industry where artistry is sacrificed for commercial
appeal.
Learning how to separate academic texts from non-academic texts is an imperative for students as this
knowledge is needed in researching, reviewing and passing assessments. But how do they differ from
each other exactly?
Academic articles are written by experts in a particular field. They are not self-published. Rather, the
manuscript goes through a series of editing, typesetting and quality checking performed by other
experts in a peer-review setting. The language used here is formal, sometimes containing jargons and
other technical stylistic choices.
The authors are well represented in academic articles as their names, credentials and affiliations build
the text’s credibility and reputation. The references are also compiled to support the veracity of all
information included in the text.
Lastly, academic articles are considered as primary sources as they have been scientifically and
systematically researched and written. They also undergo strict peer-review process, which sometimes
takes years.
Non-academic articles, on the other hand, are written for the mass public. They are published quickly
and can be written by anyone. Authorship is not limited to credentials, writing ability or substance, as
fame, with or without credibility, sometimes suffices as qualification for writing non-academic articles.
There are also times when creativity is favored over credibility.
Because these texts are non-scientific and non-systematic, references are not required and consistency
is a choice, not a requirement. Informality may be preferred over formality since these texts normally
target the masses and not the experts and professionals. A reference list is optional as well.
Non-academic articles are considered as secondary sources and should never be prioritized over
academic articles as references. Most of your references should also come from academic articles, not
non-academic articles to uphold credibility.
In order to make critical reading a habit, one needs to have the genuine desire to learn and discover
new things. There should be a compelling reason to stick with it as a habit, and that is to develop
oneself and achieve competitiveness in the future.
There are different practical strategies to develop critical reading as a habit. Anyone can practice them,
and with time and diligence, the transformation of the habit that you desire is bound to happen.
1. Prioritize reading
It is understandable for everyone to get busy at times, making reading a more
challenging task. However, putting reading atop your priority list by allotting a time specific
schedule makes hitting your goal more realistic. You can also create a timetable to ensure your
progress.
2. Find informative books of good value
Good books are not merely entertaining. They are worth reading for their substance
for the golden knowledge and wisdom they possess that can help you achieve your goals in
life, whether it is in school, at work or at home. Finding them can be challenging, though,
especially nowadays that choices abound, some of which showcase low quality due to
substandard editing or self-publication.
What you should do at this point is not just look at titles or topics, but on the author’s
credibility, the reputation of the publishing company, the curation and endorsements involved,
and to a certain extent, the marketability of the book in its niche. Favorites and bestsellers do
not spell quality all the time, but at least you can have an idea of the market’s reception
towards them.
To experience the best results, you may want to start reading books that genuinely
pique your curiosity or are aligned with your already existing hobbies, skills, interests, or field
of specialization. It is also recommended for readers to set a “reading schedule” every day,
which may last from 30 minutes to several hours.
You have to keep in mind, though, that you are reading because you have a goal and
not because you have a schedule to fill. Doing the latter might prove cumbersome and
counterproductive.
3. Have your reading habit planned
You basically add one more chore to your already busy day when you set a schedule
for reading on a daily basis. Hence, you also have to identify one or more time-wasting activities
that do not pose much value to your life. These unproductive, usually unhealthy activities,
should be removed from your routines until only the productive ones remain.
Designating your own reading spot in the house and setting up a mini-library where
you can place all of your books also help in developing the habit. Nonetheless, you should avoid
reading in stressful places, like the workplace, as you might subconsciously link stress with
reading later on.
If planning your reading habit in a time-bound manner seems impractical, you may
always set a quantity-based reading activity instead. This will require you to read a specific
number of pages on a daily basis regardless of the time allotment, which is ideal for people
who read slowly or are very time-conscious.
Lastly, have all your reading essentials prepared alongside your books. Markers, pens,
bookmarks, what have you, should be within reach when you need to take down notes, jot
down ideas from what you read and plan your next reading.
4. Do not limit your reading habit
Read as much as you can, as often as you want. Don’t limit your reading time to a few
minutes per day when you have more time to spare. Eventually, you might notice that your
writing skills also improve due to the new concepts, styles, vocabulary and information that
you constantly learn.
5. Be a morning reader
Experts recommend reading early in the morning because the mind is clearer and the
body is most relaxed at this time. This makes concentration easier, which improves your
learning capacity by miles. In fact, the effect would still be beneficial even if you try to wake up
earlier than usual. Anyway, waking up earlier is only bound to be challenging during the first
few days. Your biological clock will adjust automatically once you make this a habit.
6. Try speed reading
Speed reading allows you to cover and finish books much faster without sacrificing
comprehension. This does not mean reading every word and every sentence so quickly that
comprehension is no longer happening. What this means is you target specific information
within the text, apply reading patterns throughout the pages, and skip unnecessary parts to
make reading faster.
You will learn the different speed-reading strategies in the coming weeks, but you may
opt to practice practical steps for now.
Start by removing all the elements that distract you and turn off your computer or
television. Then pick a book, get a timer, start the timer, read 10 pages and record your results.
Take a quick look at the title, introduction, section headers and the conclusion. Do not read
every word, skip articles like “a”, “the” etc., stop mouthing words or speaking them in your
head, try to take in whole sentences and paragraphs and do not pause between paragraphs.
Use one of your fingers or a pen to guide your eyes and set your pace. The next stage is to set
20 minutes per day to practice speed reading.
• Read the title, synopsis for stories and abstract for research, section headings and subheadings,
and graphical representations.
• Read the introduction, the first few paragraphs, and the conclusion at the end.
Step 3: List down questions.
These notes will become your summary of the text, which you can use as reference when writing your
report or project later on.
Identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the text using these steps:
Make a rough mind map from memory: test what you can recall from your reading of the text.
• Make headings of the main ideas and note supporting evidence in dot points.
• Include your evaluation: the strengths and weaknesses.
• Identify gaps in your memory.
• Make another mind map drawing on your notes and your rough mind map.
• Make headings and note the supporting evidence in dot points.
• Include your evaluation.
• Be creative: use color and arrows; make it easy to visualize.
• Highlight the ideas you may want to use for your assignment.
• Identify areas for further research.
There is no magic formula to taking notes when reading. You simply have to find out what works best
for you. Your note-taking skills will develop with practice and as you realize the benefits. This section is
designed to help you get started.
• Focus your attention on what you are reading – and make it easy to see key points
when re-reading.
• Think more carefully about the key concepts and ideas in the text, the bits that are
worth highlighting.
• See immediately whether you have already read pages or sections of text.
Make a glossary on a separate sheet (or document) of notes, so you can easily refer and update
it as necessary. Write descriptions of the terms in your own words to further encourage
learning.
Question:
• Turn the subheadings into questions before proceeding to read so that your mind is
actively looking for answers rather than passively reading along. This habit also helps you
develop critical thinking skills in the process.
• Create questions from information printed in the margins. You may also highlight
keywords or key phrases for future references.
• Create questions for each graph presented. You might need to go back to these data once
you review. Also remember that teachers usually refer to graphs when creating tests or
when discussing.
• Try writing out the questions so that you can periodically look at the questions and stop
to see if you can recall the information. You can also use these questions when reviewing
in the future.
Read:
• Start reading only when you can concentrate and commit to it. It is advised to read while
sitting rather than lying down as the latter makes you very relaxed, sometimes sleepy or
languid.
• You must locate the main idea of each paragraph. Watching out for keywords, such as
proper nouns, numbers, italicized foreign terms, jargons, etc., might help you with this.
o Identify the topic.
o Find the main idea.
o Look for the supporting details
o Underline the main idea
Recite:
• Take time to paraphrase what you read out loud while reading. It helps you avoid
plagiarism and helps you remember the main idea at the same time.
• Try to associate read material with life experience. You can use mnemonic devices for this.
Review:
The more you review and recite, the better the recall. It actually makes your study time more
efficient when this process becomes a consistent study habit.
• Review starts with organization. Make sure that all notes and handouts are inserted in
date order.
• Review your notes and questions created for the daily lesson or chapter.
o Review the highlighted areas of your text.
o Review the comments you made in the text as you read.
o Recite the main points of each section of the chapter.
o Review your index card file.
• Develop study aids like mnemonics for material you must memorize. You can use
association, acrostics, acronyms or whatever you find comfortable with and easy to
remember.
• Create an outline from your texts. This will act as a study guide for the exam.
• Recite the information daily to ensure automatic recall and true learning. Recite the
information in your own words for better comprehension.
• Check and recheck the information where you hesitate or are not able to recall details.
5. Do Skimming
What is skimming?
✓ Speedy reading for general meaning
✓ Let’s 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
✓ 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 minute
This speed-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 will help you locate the information quickly. It will also increase the amount of usable
material you obtain for your research.
Suppose you have an exam in a few days. You need to review the material you learned, but you
don’t want to reread everything. By skimming, you can quickly locate the information you
haven’t mastered yet and study only that material.
What you read is more important than what you leave out. Let’s say you are doing research on
a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few paragraphs in detail, you will get a good
idea of what information will be discussed.
• Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first
sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea
of the paragraph. If you do not get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the
paragraph greatly interests you, then you may want to skim more.
• At the end of each topic sentence, your eyes should drop down through the rest of
the paragraph, looking for important pieces of information, such as names, dates, or
events.
• Continue to read only topic sentences until you are near the end.
• Stop skimming in the last few paragraphs as they may contain the conclusion or
summary.
• If you feel you are grasping the main ideas while skimming, then you are skimming
correctly. Remember that your overall comprehension will be lower than if you read
in detail.
Ask yourself these questions to decide if you want to use skimming. If you answer yes to any
of these, then skimming is a useful tool for you:
6. Do Scanning
What is 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
✓ Does not require reading of entire texts
✓ May be limited to specific information and may not help the reader understand the general
idea
Skimming
• Establishing your purpose, locating the appropriate material, and knowing how the
information is structured before you start scanning is essential. The material you scan is
typically arranged in the following ways: alphabetically, chronologically, non-alphabetically, by
category, or textually. Sometimes information is located within the written paragraphs of text,
also known as a textual sense, as in an encyclopedia entry.
• Use your hands when scanning. Using your hand or finger is extremely helpful in focusing your
attention and keeping your place while scanning a column of material.
• Use peripheral vision when scanning. When your hand moves down a list of names, you see
not only the name your finger is pointing to, but also the names above and below. Let your
eyes work for you when searching for information.
• Keep the concept of key words in mind while scanning. Your purpose will determine the key
words. Suppose you are looking for the time a train leaves from Pasay City for Quezon City. The
key words to keep in mind are “from Pasay City” and “to Quezon City.”
If you are looking for the cost of a computer printer with the code number L360, the key word to locate
in a list of many printers is “L360.”
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.
The most important benefit of scanning is its ability to help you become a more flexible reader.
Scanning adds another high gear to your reading. Because you may be used to reading every word and
may be uncomfortable leaving some words out, you need to give yourself permission to overlook some
words by skimming, scanning, and skipping material according to your reading purpose.
7. Make Inferences
Making inferences 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.
✓ Inference 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
• Take two or more details from the reading and see if you can draw a conclusion. Remember,
making an inference is not just making a wild guess. You need to make a judgment that can be
supported.
• When you are asked an inference question, go back over the reading and look for hints within
the text, such as words that are directly related to the question you may be asked or words
that indicate opinion