Critical

Reading
 CRITICAL READING

 Is an active process of discovery.

 Involves scrutinizing any
information that you read or
hear.
 Means not easily believing
information offered to you by a
text.
“Read not to contradict
and confute; nor to
believe and take for
granted; nor to find talk
and discourse; but to
weigh and consider.”
–Francis Bacon
 Sample Statements

- Girls most likely do well in

academics during high school years
but boys get ahead of them in
college.
- Female teenagers are more
concerned with their physical
appearance than male teenagers.
 It is an active process of discovery - you are not just
receiving information but also making an interaction
with the writer.
 Interaction begins when you question the writer’s
claims and assertions and when you comment on the
writers idea.
 Requirements in Critical Thinking
(Ramage, Bean & Johnson)

1. Ability to pose problematic

questions.
2. Ability to analyze a problem in all
its dimensions.
3. Ability to find, gather and
interpret data, facts and other
information relevant to the problem.
5. The ability to imagine alternative
solutions to the problem, to see different
ways in which the question might be
answered and different perspectives for
viewing it.
6. The ability to analyze competing
approaches and answers, to construct
arguments for and against alternatives
and to choose the best solution in the
light of values, objectives and other
criteria that you determine and articulate.
7. The ability to write an effective argument justifying
your choice while acknowledging counter arguments.
 WAYS TO BECOME A CRITICAL
READER

1. Annotate what you read.

2. Outline the text.
3. Summarize the text.
4. Evaluate the text.