Text and Context

Connections
(Critical Reading)
Prepared by: Jovelyn L. Espino
Critical Reading
- is the process of reading that
goes beyond just understanding a
text. 
 Critical Reading
- Analytic activity
- Active approach to reading that involves
examination of text
- Draw inferences from the choice of language
observed
- Forms connections with prior knowledge and
experience
- Evaluate the evidence
- Understand and analyze text
 Make value judgment about
what the author is saying
- What’s the example used to support the key point?
What do we
do when we
read critically?
Critical reader will have questions while reading,
example: 
- What’s the main point ?
- Are these examples useful?
- Do you agree with them?
- Can you think of better ones? 
Analyzing and evaluating information in
order to decide whether to accept or to
decline.
•To be able to do a good job
of reading critically, you
need to analyze and evaluate
the argument of an author
and how an argument is put
together.
• An argument is a set of claim that is
supported by reasons or evidence.
• When an author tries to persuade the
reader that something is true or correct by
presenting supporting reasons or evidence,
an argument is being made.
• This means that an argument is different
from a statement.
 What is an argument?
An argument is a set of
claims; one of which is
supported by the others.
 Argument Analysis

• When you analyze an argument,

you break it down into its parts and
examine them by themselves and
in relation to the other parts of the
argument.
 Parts of an Argument
• ISSUE - problem or controversy about
which people disagree
• CLAIM - the position on the issue
• SUPPORT - reasons and evidence that
the claim is reasonable and should be
accepted
• REFUTATION - opposing viewpoints
 Types of Support
• REASON - a general statement that
supports a claim.
• EVIDENCE - consists of facts, statistics,
experiences, comparisons, and examples
that show why the claim is valid.
• EMOTIONAL APPEALS - ideas that are
targeted toward needs or values that readers
are likely to care about.
 Recognizing Arguments
Step 1: Count the claims
 Arguments must contain two or more claims.
Step 2: Look for reasons
 Arguments contain a claim that is supported by
the other(s).
Step 3: Identify the purpose
 Arguments offer proof that a claim is true.
 Explanations describe how or why a fact is true.
 Is it an argument?
1. Police are looking for a suspect who robbed a local gas
station two weeks ago. Video from the station’s security
camera shows a man walking into the store with a gun,
pointing it at the cashier, and exiting the store with cash
from the register. No injuries have been reported.

2. I was terrified because all I saw was this gun, and I really
thought that he was going to shoot me.

3. We believe that the suspect in this case is the same one

responsible for two other gas station robberies that
occurred earlier this month. The physical descriptions are
very similar, and the same kind of weapon was used in all
three incidents.
 Claims
A claim is a statement that has truth-value.
It is snowing.
Barack Obama is the 44 th President of the United
States.
Today is Saturday.
Buffy is a vampire slayer.
 Identifying Claims
Not all sentences are claims.
Where is Alaska located?
Please take me to Alaska.
Let’s go to Alaska.
Yea, Alaska!

Hint! Test using “ it is true that”

 Your turn!
List three of your own
examples of sentences
that are not claims.
 Descriptive vs. Evaluative Claims

Capital punishment is the lawful

infliction of death as a penalty for
committing a crime.
Capital punishment is immoral.

Note: Both are claims!

 Your turn!
Give an example of an
evaluative claim that
people in your family
disagree about.
 Counting Claims
A single claim can be expressed in
different sentences:
 Mike voted for McCain.
 He voted for McCain.
 McCain is the candidate Mike voted
for.
 Your turn!
Express the claim,
“Greg bought a new Honda car,”
by constructing a different
sentence with the same
meaning.
 Counting Claims
A single sentence can represent
different claims:
She went to the store.
Sarah went to Von’s.
Jane went to Macy’s.
 Counting Claims
A single sentence may contain more
than one claim:
 George owns a cat and Jones owns a dog.
 George owns a Siamese, which is a breed
of cat.
 George got a new cat because his other
one died.
 Your turn!
Identify the two claims expressed in
the sentence,
“Dr. Newberry’s class is held in
room 106, which is in the southern
side of Dorothy Donahoe Hall.”
 Counting Claims
Multiple claims can be combined in a
sentence to form a single claim:
 We can go to the park or we can stay home.
 If you complete all your homework, then
you will be prepared for class.
 Your turn!
Why does the sentence ,
“Sally owns a cat and Jim owns a
dog” express two claims, while
“Sally owns a cat or Jim owns a do
g” expresses only one?