CRWT 111

CRITICAL READING,
WRITING, AND
THINKING
WEEK 5
Reading Strategies for Critical Thinking
 • Reading Strategies for Critical Thinking
✓ Previewing
✓ Skimming and Scanning

Agenda: ✓
✓
Defining Terms & Concepts
Note-taking
✓ Outlining, Summarizing and
Paraphrasing
✓ Contextualizing
 Some books are to be tasted, others
to be swallowed, and some few to be
chewed and digested.

— FRANCIS BACON
PREVIEWING
• a reading strategy that allows you to
use prior knowledge

It requires readers to skim the text to get

the main idea before reading it in detail.
PREVIEWING
• evaluate and identify the following
▪ the author
▪ the place of publication
▪ the genre, or type of writing
▪ the table of contents
▪ headnotes or an abstract (if available)
PREVIEWING
• evaluate and identify the following

▪ the title and subtitles

▪ section headings
▪ other information that stands out (such as
images, graphs, and tables)
PREVIEWING
AUTHOR
• may reveal something about the
subject of the text and its style
• the possible assumptions and biases
PREVIEWING
AUTHOR
Examples of predictions made about the text:
Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The text will probably
deal with civil rights.
• The text will be
serious and eloquent.
• Topic may be about
the social conditions
of the 1950s and
1960s
Stephen King
• The text may be about
fear, the craft of writing,
or King’s experiences as
a horror novelist.
• May use a language
accessible to the
general audience
PREVIEWING

PLACE OF PUBLICATION

• may reveal something about the text

subject, style, and approach
PREVIEWING

PLACE OF PUBLICATION
How do the following news websites usually address a news story?
PREVIEWING

PLACE OF PUBLICATION
What kind of articles are often found on these publications?
PREVIEWING
TITLE
• may give an idea of what subject to
expect
• it can also reveal the thesis of the text
• reading subtitles, section headings,
and subheadings can be useful too
PREVIEWING
TITLE
SKIMMING & SCANNING

• used to get the overall view, gist or

impression of the content

• used to look for a particular word,

phrase, or detail from a text
THE “FIRST AND LAST” RULE
• read the FIRST and LAST paragraphs of
the essay for important information.
• FIRST PARAGRAPH – central thesis
• LAST PARAGRAPH – conclusive statements
THE “FIRST AND LAST” RULE

• this rule also applies to individual

paragraphs
• main points can also be found in the first
and last sentence of each paragraph
NOTE-TAKING
 UNDERLINING & HIGHLIGHTING

encourages active reading by

interacting with the text.
Highlighting keywords or phrases will help you:
• Make it easier to see key points when re-
reading the text.
 UNDERLINING & HIGHLIGHTING

encourages active reading by

interacting with the text.
Highlighting keywords or phrases will help you:
• Think more carefully about the key concepts and
ideas in the text, the bits that are worth highlighting.
MAKE WRITTEN NOTES
Elements that you must include
in your written notes:
a) The content of your reading, through summaries,
paraphrasing, and quoting important phrases.
b) Your reaction to the content, which includes
emotional reactions and questions.
MAKE WRITTEN NOTES

LINEAR
note-taking in
logical order, using
headings and
subheadings
MAKE WRITTEN NOTES

DIAGRAMMATIC
uses boxes,
flowcharts and
mind-mapping
MAKE WRITTEN NOTES

ANNOTATIONS
are critical or
explanatory notes
in the text
“Annotate to appreciate; annotate
to understand… It builds reading
confidence; it helps us understand
how literature —because it puts
us there among the phrases.”
- Nick Ripatrazone
DEFINING TERMS AND
CONCEPTS
Writers will attempt to provide
provisional definition of
important terms and concepts
to advance their arguments.
DEFINING TERMS AND
CONCEPTS
Readers may accept the
definitions or argue against it
by offering their own definition
TERM vs CONCEPT
• a concrete and fixed definition used to represent
or refer to concepts. (legal term, medical term, etc.)
“According to the legal definition, the term ‘exploitation’ means A, B, and C.”

• an abstract or general idea that represents a

category, class, or notion.
“For the purpose of this argument, let’s define ‘exploitation’ as a moral
concept that involves A, B, and C.”
 MILK or not MILK?

The word ‘milk’ is a term with a technical definition: a high-fat,

high-protein liquid secreted by female animals to nourish their young.
 MILK or not MILK?

The word “milk” can also be conceptually defined as any kind of

white-ish liquid.
OUTLINING, SUMMARIZING, &
PARAPHRASING
a reading strategy that
organizes ideas and the
main points of the text.
OUTLINING
an outline is the skeleton of the text
pinpointing the main ideas of the text

• Outlining the text will allow you to see the

relationships among ideas.
SUMMARIZING
a brief account of the important
points of a text.

• Summarizing will help you prepare for

writing by providing a snapshot of the
arguments.
PARAPHRASING
a restatement of a text in your own
words and understanding

• A paraphrase can be as long as the original

or even longer, while a summary is much
shorter.
Why SUMMARIZE &
PARAPHRASE?
It can help you…
• validate the basis of your ideas
• support your argument
• clarify in simple terms the complex ideas contained
in a text
• build new ideas from existing ideas on the topic
 CONTEXTUALIZING
Texts are not written in isolation
One needs to place the text in their
context, and how it can be influenced by
the following…
 CONTEXTUALIZING
Texts are not written in isolation
One needs to place the text in their context, and
how it can be influenced by the
• author’s biases and personal agenda; and
• social, political, historical, and cultural
circumstances
CONTEXTUALIZING
One also needs to see how the text fits
in with other texts on the same subject:
whether it supports previously published
material or whether it presents a new
perspective.
CONTEXTUALIZING
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Academic authors will align
themselves with a particular
school of thought within a field of
discipline.
CONTEXTUALIZING
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Each school of thought will offer distinct
perspectives and interpretations of topics
and issues.

Identify if the work you are reading is

representative of a particular school of thought
Examples:
The following statements offer
different theories that explain why
the world’s poorest countries are in
this situation.
 Human Geography
Field of study:
School of thought: geographical determinism

The poorest parts of the world often have difficult

terrain, geographical factors, together with a lack of
infrastructure in the form of extensive transportation
networks, have meant that these regions have not
developed trade relationships and have been isolated
from outside influences. Consequently, they have not
developed as rapidly as other parts of the world.
 Political Science, Cultural Studies
Field of study:
School of thought: postcolonialism

The legacy of colonization is still hurting the world’s

poorer nations. For years, large parts of the world
were ruled by colonizing powers and used only as a
source of raw materials and, in some cases, slave
labor. Even today, large amounts of land are still in the
hands of descendants of European colonizers; the local
population does not have sufficient control over its
own resources.
Field of study: Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science
School of thought: peace and conflict studies
There is too much fragmentation within
societies of poorer nations. There may be many
tribes, many languages and many religions. There
is often fighting among these groups. In some
nations, financial resources are being used for
waging civil war, not for developing health or
education programs.
CONTEXTUALIZING
THE READER
Text The reading process involves
the text, the author, and the
reader

As a reader, you must bring your

own opinions and experiences to
the text.
Reader Author
CONTEXTUALIZING
THE READER
As a reader, you must bring your own opinions and
experiences to the text.

• Does this text match my own experiences with the topic?

• If so, how does the text contribute to my understanding of
the topic? What can I learn from it?
• If not, what are the differences?
CONTEXTUALIZING
THE READER
As a reader, you must bring your own opinions and
experiences to the text.

• What might cause any differences?

o Is the text current or dated?
o Is the author qualified?
o Is the author biased?
o Are the evidences used come from unreliable
sources?
IN SUMMARY:
• These reading strategies will allow readers
to actively engage with the text and
identify how the text works.
• Critical Thinking in reading encourages
readers to form rational decisions based on
the text.
QUESTIONS?
PREPARED BY:
• Mr. Rone Harold Cruz, LPT