Reading critically – Analytical reading

By Roger McCoy, UofU Geography Department, retired

Used with permission

 

Ref: R.B. Axelrod and C.R. Cooper, 1987, Reading Critically, Writing Well, New York: St. Martins Press, 653 p.

 

I.  Introduction

Critical reading is a rigorous process designed to test your patience and stretch your intellect. Readers should have in mind a strategy for critical reading that involves more than underlining or highlighting. Critical reading is an active process, and requires a pencil in hand with specific operations to perform while reading. Everyone should make an effort to learn and practice critical reading skills. Practice of critical reading will necessarily slow your rate of reading, but you will gain in the ability to evaluate the significance and quality of what you read. This will save you time in the long run.

 

Textbooks are designed to give you obvious clues about what topics and concepts are mot important. Most other writing requires you to find for yourself the cues that indicate important topics and statements. The best strategy for finding these cues is to adopt an attitude of active involvement with the author. Rather than passively listening to the author’s monologue, you should regard your reading as an active dialogue with the author and with other readers, i.e. other members of the class.

 

II.  Consider this six-point strategy for learning and practicing critical reading:

  1. PREVIEWING. Before reading, consider these basic questions.
    1. What do I know about the author? Experience? Reliability?
    2. What does the title tell me? Insight to content and conclusions?
    3. What type of article is it? Report? Position? Rebuttal? Have you read others of similar type?
    4. What can be learned by skimming the text? Organization? First sentences? Impressions?
  2. ANNOTATING. This is the most important step in critical reading.
    1. What annotations to make?

1)      Underline key words, phrases, and sentences and make a summarizing comment, word, or question in the margin.

2)      Bracket [   ] important sections of text, and connect related ideas with arrows. Number related points in sequence.

3)      Circle names or dates that you want to find quickly again.

4)      Make a running outline of key ideas in the article in the margin.

5)      Margin annotations, therefore, should include your reactions, comments, definitions, questions, and an outline.

    1. Annotations produce a comprehensive record that you can use in class discussions, presentations and paper writing.
  1. OUTLINING. Outlining is included above as part of the annotation, but it may be a separate step on another sheet of paper. Particularly if the article is long and complex, separate outlining is helpful. By outlining, the organization along with the key ideas of the article become apparent.
  2. SUMMARIZING. Annotating immerses you fully in the article, and outlining gives you an overview. Now summarizing gives you a chance to digest the content and say the essence of the article in you own words. You now can handle the ideas on your own terms rather than as the author did.
  3. TAKING INVENTORY. An inventory is a list. You can make an inventory of your annotations to look for patterns. Do you see recurring ideas, descriptions, examples, opposing ideas, or writing style?
  4. ANALYSING AN ARGUMENT. An argument is a group of statements that have a sequential relationship.
    1. For example: a claim followed by reasons, evidence, or assumptions. In order to evaluate an argument you must first identify the claim and the supporting evidence.
    2. Evaluating an argument. A successful argument appeals to the readers’ sense of logic, their emotions, or their sense of the author’s credibility.
    3. You must decide how convincing or how effective the appeals are.

1)      Is the evidence reliable? Facts? Statistics? Examples?

2)      Is the evidence appropriate? The right facts, statistics, examples, etc.?

3)      Is the evidence consistent? All evidence should work together without self-contradictions.

 

III.  Some critical reading questions to hold in your mind while reading.

  1. What are the subject and main point?
  2. Are difficult ideas explained clearly? Are they subject to various interpretations?
  3. Are illustrations, evidence and examples effective?
  4. Can you identify an argument in the article?
  5. Is the argument convincing? Logical? Authoritative?
  6. How does this article fit relative to other authors on the subject?
  7. Is this article describing a new event or thing, or is it another example of something familiar?