Cornell Notes

Topic

Critical Reading Skills (Part 2)

Question Notes

Asking Ask yourself questions like, How important is this?

Questions Helps How does this event relate to others? Why did the
character do that? You can combine the skill of
You Make Sense asking questions in activating prior knowledge by
Of What You Are using KWL.
Reading

KWL K means no. Remember what you already know

about the topic at hand.
W means what you want to know. Ask yourself
what you want to know about the topic you are
reading about.
L is learned. Specify what you learned about the
topic when you read the text.

Comparing And Comparing is determining how two things are

Contrasting similar. Contrasting is determining how two things
are different. When you read a text, you can
compare and contrast ideas, characters, events,
settings, and other details. Comparing and
contrasting is especially important in reading
expository and persuasive texts.
 Cornell Notes
Topic

Part Two Of Critical Reading Skills

Question Notes

A common way of comparing and contrasting is

using two intersecting circles called a Venn
diagram. In the intersection, you write the
similarities on the sides. You write their
differences. You can pick out specific comparisons
by paying attention to expressions that signal
comparison such as like X, Y is also such and such,
or X is similar to Y in that. Such and such or X and Y
are both like this. You can also identify contrast
when you see expressions like, Unlike X, why is this
and that, or X is different from Y in this or that way.
There are other compare or contrast expressions.

Drawing Drawing conclusions is especially important in

reading expository and persuasive texts, but they
Conclusions
are also important in reading narrative texts. In
narrative writing, writers do not always tell you
everything about the characters and events in a
story. Instead, they give you clues or hints. You can
use these clues to draw conclusions from details in
the text. In other forms of writing, such as
expository and persuasive texts, a writer may not
provide you with all the conclusions that may come
from their ideas. In drawing conclusions, you
combine what the text said with your own
knowledge of how the world works. Based on that
and with proper logical reasoning, you draw your
conclusions.
 Cornell Notes
Topic

Part Two Of Critical Reading Skills

Summary

You may contrast and compare concepts,

people, events, places, and other elements as
you read. Reading expository and persuasive
writings calls for careful comparing and
contrasting. By paying attention to phrases
such as X is also such and such, or X is
comparable to Y in that, you may identify
particular analogies. Concluding while reading
expository and persuasive materials, as well as
narrative literature, is particularly crucial. You
mix the information from the book with your
understanding of how the world functions to
arrive at your findings. You form your
judgments in light of that and use sound logic.