CRITICAL READING,

WRITING, AND
THINKING
WEEK 2
AGENDA
• Introduction to Critical Reading
Reading is a multifaceted process involving one’s sense
to recognize words and understand contexts. It
encompasses integration of fluency, vocabulary, and
motivation to decode meaning.
According to Day and Bamford (1998), reading is
meaning construction from a printed or written message.
Meaning construction involves the reader connecting
information from the written message with previous
knowledge to arrive at meaning and understanding.
As defined by Cline et al. (2006), reading is decoding
and understanding written texts. Decoding involves
translation of the symbols of writing system (including
Braille) into the spoken words that they represent.
Meanwhile, understanding is determined by factors such
as the reading purpose, the context, the nature of the text,
and the readers’ strategies and knowledge.
Importance of Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is the ability to process
text, understand its meaning, and to integrate with
what the reader already knows.
• Discover new things because reading comprehension allows us to educate
ourselves in any area of life that we are interested in and to independently do
our own research and thinking;

• Access and comprehend different reading materials such as textbooks,

general references, research, journals, history books, literature, etc.;

• Develop our mind and enhance our imagination and creativity;

• Improve our vocabulary and spelling, as well as our linguistic and

communicative competence on both written and spoken forms;

• Build a good self-image; and function necessarily at home, school,

workplace, community, thus, in today’s society.
• What is the title?
• Who is the author?
• Who are the people involved in the text?
• What are the names of the characters?
These are questions we can answer through merely reading a
text.
• What are the assumptions made in the text? Are they important? Are they possible? Are
they reasonable?
• What are the evidences stated that support the claim? Are they appropriate to the context?
Are they true today?
• Are the beliefs or values of the author explicit?
• Were there inconsistent statements?
• What could be the possible counterclaims for the text?
• Can you see any justification (direct or implied) for the research decisions? Do the
justifications seem reasonable?
• How does the development of information affect the purpose of the text?

These questions will require readers to go beyond reading.

Reading isn’t just
fundamental. It is critical.
Critical reading is an analytic activity. The reader rereads a
text to identify patterns of elements: information, values,
assumptions, and language usage, throughout the discussion.
These elements are tied together in an interpretation, an
assertion of an underlying meaning of the text as a whole.
Critical reading is an analytic activity.
Reading critically means reflecting on:
• Content of the text: the reader should be able to interpret and explain the
main points of the text on his or her own words
• Descriptions in the text: the reader should be able to create his or
her own examples based from the described key points and be able to
compare them with other texts of the same topic
• Interpretation of the text: the reader should be able to objectively
analyze the text in parts and in whole
The Difference Between READING and CRITICAL
READING
The difference between reading and critical reading:

  READING CRITICAL READING

 To recognize arguments
 To know the title
 To form judgments about
 To know who the author is
HOW a text works
 To search for specific
Purpose information
 To assess the strengths of
the text
 To get a basic grasp of the
 To evaluate evidences
text
 To generate questions
The difference between reading and critical reading:

  READING CRITICAL READING

 Memorizing  Analyzing
Activity  Absorbing  Interpreting
 Understanding  Evaluating
The difference between reading and critical reading:

  READING CRITICAL READING

 What is the text about?
 Who are the characters?
Questions  What is the setting?
 What is the main argument?
 How does the text work? How
is it argued?
 What kinds of reasoning and
evidences are used?

 What is the plot?  What are the underlying

assumptions?
 What is the theme?
 What does the text mean?
The difference between reading and critical reading:

  READING CRITICAL READING

 With and AGAINST the
text (questioning its
assumptions and
Directio  WITH the text (taking
arguments, interpreting
n for granted it is right)
meaning in context, and
connecting it to other
similar texts)
The difference between reading and critical reading:

  READING CRITICAL READING

 Description,
Respons  Restatement,
Interpretation, and
e Summary
Evaluation
Critical Reading as a Daily Routine
• Be consistently conscious of the nature and content of the
text, and everything that the author implies behind the text.

• Making reading a habit widens our horizons and allows us to

always look at the bigger picture from a vantage point.

• Absorb as much as you can, integrate the valuable ones to

your own principles and values, and adopt the attitude
necessary to keep yourself inspired in reading.
The Goal of Reading
• To be entertained
• To understand
• To be informed

• For academic purposes

Adopting a Healthy Attitude in Reading
• In critical reading, you are encouraged to learn meaning and
identify value rather than absorb everything at face value.

• In order to keep a positive attitude when reading, one has to

equip him or herself with tools that make learning more
convenient and less tiresome.

• Emotionally detaching yourself from the text. Advisably, one

has to maintain objectivity when reading as this allows a
person to analyze the text using logic and not feelings.