Academic Reading & Writing

(EA – 214) | Week 02

Course Instructor: Ms. Moomal Chandio

 Watch a Video
0 The video demonstrates the use of CRAAP method to evaluate
resources. Please watch the video and take notes of the
important points shared in it.
 What is Academic Reading?
You read everyday. In fact, you read more than you think you do
because you are probably reading on a phone, a tablet, a computer,
or other devices. So, what is “academic reading”? How is it
different from casual reading? Academic reading demands your
purposeful and intellectual engagement in the text. First of all, you
as a reader must understand what you are reading and why you are
reading it. At college, we read to build content knowledge because
this knowledge is crucial to building an argument, which is the key
to your academic career.
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 Developing Critical Approaches
What is meant
by the word
‘critical’?
Being Critical as an Academic Reader
0 Academic writing is generally much more benign. We do not normally
expect authors to be lying or trying to swindle us. But that does not
mean there are not hidden layers to an academic text.
0 A critical approach to the reading of a journal article or book is
therefore essential if we are to assess the value of the work it
reports.
0 Certain expectations underpin the way in which academic writing
operates. The most fundamental expectation is that any claim will be
backed up by reasons based on some form of evidence.
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Being Critical as an Academic Reader
0 So, the reader asks at every point: ‘Have you given me
sufficient grounds for accepting your claim?’ Such a question
need not imply that authors are untruthful.
0 In most fields of enquiry it is not a matter of truth, but of
viewpoints, interpretation and significance. As readers we are
attempting to find common ground between our own
understandings and beliefs, and those of the authors. That can
only be done by thinking about the extent to which the claims
and supporting evidence in a text – which satisfied the authors –
also satisfy us.
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Being Critical as an Academic Reader
0 In reading an academic article, we might keep in our mind these
clauses:
0 The authors mean to be honest, but may have been misled by the
evidence into saying something that I consider untrue.
0 The authors mean to be logical, but may have developed a line of
reasoning that contains a flaw.
0 The authors mean to be impartial, but may have incorporated into
the account some assumptions that I don’t share.
0 The authors mean to tell me something new, but may not have
taken into account other information that I possess.

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 Assessing Digital Resources Critically
0 Is this a reputable website, for example with .ac (= academic)
in the URL?
0 Is the name of the author given, and is he or she well known in
the field?
0 Is the language of the text in a suitable academic style?
0 Are there any obvious errors in the text (e.g. spelling mistakes,
which suggest a careless approach)?

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 Critical Thinking
0 Even when you feel that a text is reliable and that you can safely
use it as a source, it is still important to adopt a critical attitude
towards it.
0 This approach is perhaps easiest to learn when reading, but is
important for all other academic work (i.e. listening, discussing
and writing).
0 Critical thinking means not just passively accepting what you
hear or read, but instead actively questioning and assessing it.

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 Critical Thinking
0 As you read, you should ask yourself the following questions:
0 What are the key ideas in this?
0 Does the argument of the writer develop logically, step by step?
0 Are the examples given helpful? Would other examples be better?
0 Does the author have any bias (leaning to one side or the other)?
0 Does the evidence presented seem reliable, in my experience and using
common sense?
0 Do I agree with the writer’s views?
0 Read the following two articles critically.

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Article(a): Being Critical

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Article(b): Being Critical

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Task 01: Being Critical

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 Home Task: Evaluating Resources
0 Complete the ‘further practice’ activity given in Bailey (2015,
20).

0 Remember: the more your practice the more mastery you will
acquire over these skills.

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Task 02: Deciding Text Suitability for
Academic Use
Extracts
on pp.
10-11

(Bailey,
2015)

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 Task 02: Academic Texts
Text 1 Yes – it summarises some relevant research, and includes citations

Text 2 No – apparently an informal personal report

Text 3 Possibly – appears to be a newspaper article but includes relevant

information

Text 4 Yes – an academic article with citations

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Task 03: Identifying Features of
Academic Texts
 Task 03: Identifying Features of Academic Texts
Features Examples

1. Formal Vocabulary The marketing planning process un tourism marketing…

The extent of political-economic dependency…

2. Use of References (Buckley and Witt, 1990; Hall, 1991)

3. Impersonal Style it has long been recognized that . . .

. . . it is important to study the tourists’ attitude.
4. Long Complex Equally, from a political perspective, the nature of state involvement in and
Sentences policies for tourism is dependent on both the political- economic structures and
the prevailing political ideology in the
destination state, with comparisons typically made between market- led and
centrally planned economies.
Task 04: Evaluating Common
Academic Texts

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Task 04: Evaluating Common
Academic Texts

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