CRITICAL READING AS WAYS

OF THINKING
LC: Explains critical reading as looking for ways of thinking.
EN11/12RWS-IIIij-5
Share your understanding on the quotation below.

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”

-Fran Lebowitz, The Fran Lebowitz Reader
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BELOW.

1.How does the connection of reading and

thinking work?
2.What could be the consequences of not reading
enough? Of not thinking before you speak?
3.Are you fond of reading? What do you usually
read?
 SIMPLE READING

Involves identifying and recognizing meaning of

the text.
CRITICAL READING

Involves judgment or analysis of the text.

Systematic, methodological, and orderly manner of reading
of any form of text plus.
Significantly figure out both the explicit and implicit
information.
Entails looking at what the text says, and describing and
considering the significance or importance of any impact it
may or may not have
SIMPLE READING VERSUS CRITICAL READING

SIMPLE READING CRITICAL READING

It gives the basic definition of the text. It reflects on what the text does by making a
judgment.

Its central idea is the message being imparted. Its certain goal is to recognize the author’s purpose in
writing the material, understand the tone and
persuasive elements in it, and to recognize bias in the
text.

It recognizes what a text says. It recognizes what a text says, reflects on what the
text does, and infers on what the text means.

The reader absorbs and understands The reader actively recognizes and analyzes evidence
in the text.
 EXAMPLE

Interpretation of the lyrics: “…I don’t need a whole lot of anything. I just need a little
bit of everything.”
In simple reading, this means that the person does not have much to ask because he
just needs a few things in life. The level of understanding is premised in the literal
interpretation only.
In critical reading, the lyrics mean the person saying it is satisfied with what he has.
There is nothing in this world that would make him happier tha where he is now. There
are no problems besetting him. Then the passage leaves some words hanging, which
may refer to something or someone. The lyrics of the song and the circumstances that
surround it may lead the reader to find out more about the theme of the composition.
The reader can reflect and connect his own experiences to the song, and may agree or
disagree with the passage, finding some new ideas along the way.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF CRITICAL READING

Makes the reader understand the context

of a difficult text
The context may be implied in three ways:
in the text itself giving clues to its meaning,
in the reader’s context, or in the author’s
context
 THE WAY OF CRITICAL READING TO
CRITICAL THINKING

As you dig deeper in critical reading, your thinking

goes deeper too. You touch into reasoning and you
look at things in a different way. You can reflect on
the line of thought, follow the thread of reasoning,
and probe on the implications, assumptions, points of
view, goals, and objectives of the reading material.
You also give more thoughts on the arguments as
well as evidences to prove them.
COMPONENTS OF CRITICAL THINKING
 COMPONENTS OF CRITICAL THINKING

1.Getting the main idea.

2.Summarizing. Compact all pertinent information.
3.Inferring. Sense relationships among the ideas in the text. State the
implication, prediction, generalization and conclusion.
4.Draw conclusions. Base your conclusions on sound specific details
cited from the text.
5.Analyzing Sequence. The order of arrangement of events present in
the text must be chronologically followed by the critical reader.
Flashbacks must also be observed.
 COMPONENTS OF CRITICAL THINKING

6. Determining fact versus opinion. A fact contains actual occurrence or

existence. An opinion, on the other hand, is made of a point of view,
belief, or judgment. Facts do not differ while opinions differ. An
opinion may be supported by facts but cannot be proven while a fact
can be proven with supporting information. Thus, always determine the
reliability of a source.
7. Understanding cause and effect.
8. Comparing and contrasting
9. Identify the problem and solution. Discussing complex issues need
careful evaluation.
 “The better thought it takes in critical reading, the better
information one gets.”
-Maria Elisa Anacay, Marie Xeanne Rivera
 ACTIVITIES

A.Analyze a movie you recently viewed. Make a summary of it. Be guided by the 5W1H
questions.
B.Read the poem entitled “Dreams” by Langston Hughes and answer the following
questions below.
1. As a reader, what are your thoughts about the poem?
2. Who is the writer of the poem?
a. Find out the circumstances that were surrounding the writer before he wrote the
poem and while he was writing it.
b. Say something about his background that are evident in his writing.
c. What were the types of problems besetting him?
 ACTIVITIES

B. Read the poem entitled “Dreams” by Langston Hughes and

answer the following questions below.
3. What is special about the poem?
4. What does “frozen with snow” mean as used in the
poem?