Critical Reading

Analyzing the information you read

What is critical reading?

Questioning the
Not taking the
credibility of the
information you
information you
read at face value
are reading
 • Credible information:
• can be proved
Checking reference • comes from relevant source
Let’s analyze this paragraph

Instruction: Read the paragraph below then pay attention to the bold parts. Their
credibility is questionable. What proof is needed to make them more credible?

Business is the most popular major in the US, and if you don’t already know this, a more
common credential tends to be less valuable than a less common credential. Business
majors who succeed tend to have very concrete skills, especially in quantitative analysis
areas. Economics and finance majors will, on average, do much better than marketing or
management or general business majors. Don’t avoid challenging courses, including
business calculus. Also, don’t jump to an MBA; it’s the most common graduate degree
grants, accounting for 1 in 4 master’s degrees, and with 200,000 given out each year,
there are 4 MBAs granted for each bachelor’s degree in computer science.
Practice 1

• Instruction: Read the question and the following answer below. Try to find the parts (in the
answer) that are not credible and need proof. What kind of proof does the writer need?

• Q: What is the best job for a business major?

• A: The business degree is one of the most popular and generic degrees you can get. You will
get exposed at the undergrad level to a little bit of management, economics, accounting,
probably some finance, marketing, project management, business law. So you will be a
specialist in nothing, but a generalist with the typical BS in Business. If you don’t have a passion
for anything specific, but know you want to work in corporate America this degree may be a
good fit for you. The reality is over 60% of people don’t work in their given field of study
within 5 years, so this degree works if you want to just dabble in different areas of business
and management.
• “business degree is one of the most popular and generic degrees
you can get.” (The writer should put data like survey, research, and
valid data about the most popular and generics degree in a lot of
university in that country or city to make sure the reader about the
text.)
• “The reality is over 60% of people don’t work in their given field of
study within 5 years” (The writer should put data that show where
the writer get that “60%” and 5 years”. If the writer doesn’t put any
data the reader will not believe with that data and think it may be an
opinion from the writer.)
Practice 2

• Instruction: Read the question and the following answer below. Try to find the parts (in
the answer) that are not credible and need proof. What kind of proof does the writer
need?

• Q: Why do college students want to graduate as soon as possible?

• A: It's hard to say how to develop this attitude. People who are motivated usually have a
clear goal and highly driven for the final result. I'm currently a PhD student. I have found
people with work experiences before coming to grad school in general more motivated
and more capable of getting work done on time. If you have been a student all along, it is
not surprising you lack the motivation to finish things on time because there is rarely hard
deadlines. Try an internship in a dynamic working environment, that might help.
• “I have found people with work experiences before coming to grad
school in general more motivated and more capable of getting work
done on time.” (Even the writer PhD student or the writer sources for
the text is from PhD student, the writer should go with valid data. The
reader need more valid data to checking more and to make sure that
is the fact. If the writer just wrtite the text just only like that, it’s
sounds like an opinion, even it from PhD student.
Practice 3

• Instruction: Read the question and the following answer below. Try to find the parts (in the
answer) that are not credible and need proof. What kind of proof does the writer need?

• Q: Why is college often stressful?

• A: In my opinion stress only comes when someone is doing something repeatedly which
he/she is not loving to do or have no idea what he/she is doing. So specially in India
everyone follows the flow. If someone has no idea what to do then do engineering or BA.
So now they come to college and start doing their work and then they realize that this is not
what they were meant for and they do not love doing this. However, they cannot drop out
because of what others might think and because they had paid a lot so they become
stressed.
• “stress only comes when someone is doing something repeatedly
which he/she is not loving to do or have no idea what he/she is
doing.” (The reader need valid data and credible sources to make sure
the statement is a fact, the writer opinion just not credible for reader.
• “So specially in India everyone follows the flow. If someone has no
idea what to do then do engineering or BA. ” (That’s a danger
statement that judge Indian without any valid data and credible
sources. The writer could be sued by Indian that write the text
because its like an judgement with no support data behind.