Critical Reading Worksheet

Key Vocabulary
1. Stance:
2. Audience:
3. Purpose:
4. Academic:
5. Non-Academic:

Activity 1:
Read the following sentences and identify the author’s stance. What words reveal the author’s
position?
- Iran played a great game against Portugal in the World Cup on Monday, scoring a
fantastic penalty kick in the final minutes of the match. Iran tied with Portugal, who was
the heavy favorite, with a score of 1-1.

- Japan has a strong soccer team, and I think they will definitely beat Poland in their
upcoming match.

- Portugal’s game against Iran was crucial for their advancement into the next round of the
World Cup. A mistake by Portugal late in the game allowed Iran to score the game tying
goal in what should have been an easy win for the Portuguese.

- While the Japanese soccer team’s offense has been incredibly successful, Poland has the
advantage on the defensive end, which will prove to be a real challenge for their
opponents.

Activity 2:
The following passages are by the same author, about the same experience. Thinking about
audience, which passage would the author send to her school advisor? Which passage would she
send to her friend?
- Last Saturday, I volunteered at a local hospital. The visit was fun and rewarding. I even
learned how to do CPR. Unfortunately, I think I caught a cold from one of the patients.
This week, I will rest in bed and drink plenty of clear fluids. I hope I am well by next
Saturday to volunteer again.

- OMG! You won’t believe this! I was basically forced to do my community service hours
at this hospital all weekend! We learned CPR but we did it on dummies, not even real
people. And some kid sneezed on me and got me sick! I was so bored and sniffling all
weekend; I hope I don’t have to go back next week. I definitely do not want to miss the
basketball tournament.
Practice:
Imagine that you went to a World Cup game, and after the game you receive two emails asking
about your experience, one from your parents and one from your best friend. Take some time to
write a 3 to 4 sentence response to each, keeping in mind your audience.

Activity 3:
Read the following passages and identify the purpose of each. Why was each passage written?

- Javier Hernandez notched his 50th international goal in Mexico's 2-1 win over South
Korea on Saturday. With one more, he can become Mexico's all-time leading scorer in
World Cup play with five, breaking a tie with Luis Hernandez.

- Due to heightened political tensions between the UK and Russia, you should be aware of
the possibility of anti-British sentiment or harassment.

- When visiting Russia you should only tip in those places that have a menu, and your food
is brought by a waiter. The general amount for a tip is no more than 10% of the total bill.

- Not long ago, the volunteer movement in Russia was almost non-existent. In recent years,
however, and thanks to major international events, the country has learned the power and
value of volunteers. Visit www.welcome2018.com/volunteers to learn how you can join
the more than 17 thousand volunteers at the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Activity 4:
Read the following passages, and determine whether they are academic or non-academic texts.
Give reasons for your answers.

- Cardiovascular events occurring in patients in the greater Munich area were prospectively
assessed by emergency physicians during the World Cup. We compared those events
with events that occurred during the control period: May 1 to June 8 and July 10 to July
31, 2006, and May 1 to July 31 in 2003 and 2005. Acute cardiovascular events were
assessed in 4279 patients. On days of matches involving the German team, the incidence
of cardiac emergencies was 2.66 times that during the control period for men, and for
women, it was 1.82 times that during the control period.

- A college student, Jose Ramon Diaz has made some sacrifices to finance his first trip to
Russia, starting with leaving Mexico, where he lives with his father, to go to Los Angeles
(Diaz was born in the United States) and sleep in a homeless shelter for a month while
working two jobs to stockpile cash. In Russia, Diaz has been eating as infrequently as
possible. When he does, he aims to spend no more than 300 rubles, or about $4.75, per
meal. This has left him subsisting mostly on Subway sandwiches (“Give me the
cheapest,” was the first Russian phrase he learned) and baby food (“It’s cheap and
nutritious,” said Diaz, a 23-year-old adult man).