READING AND WRITING

• Critical reading


  Evaluating the arguments in the text, distinguishing fact from opinion, looking at arguments given for and against the various claims, being aware of your own opinions and assumptions, being aware of the writer's background, assumptions and purposes
• Critical reading goes beyond recognition of the text's meaning and restating it in your own words
• A critical reader does not merely skim the text at hand
• To reach a solid interpretation of a text, the critical reader must dwell on what the text does by making such remarks beyond what it says
• Critical reading studies the composition's every nook and cranny until you find the author's inconsistencies, oversights, limitations and other reasonable arguments that is often overlooked by a normal reader
• Fact


  A statement that can be verified through experimentation, personal observation or credible sources
• Opinion


  A statement that cannot be proved or checked, telling what someone thinks, feels or believes
• Facts often contain numbers, dates or ages and facts might include specific information about a person, place or thing
• Clue words for opinion statements are: think, believe, seem, always, never, most, least, worse, greatest
• • An author's purpose is his reason for or intent in writing. An author's purpose may be to amuse the reader, to persuade the reader or to inform him.
  • An author's purpose is reflected in his tone.
  • The tone reflects the author's attitude in approaching the topic.
  • Purpose is the reason an author writes about a topic. An author may have a more specific purpose in mind other than to inform, entertain or persuade him. To figure out the author's purpose, you as the reader, must consider the main idea, thought pattern and tone.
• • Purpose/Context-What does the fext aim to do? Does it mean to persuade or does it contribute to a discussion of an existing topic? What content does the text cover? What purpose does it serve its readers?Author/s-Who wrote the text? What are his qualifications for writing about the topic.
• • Topic and Position- Is the author's argument on the topic of hand supported by valid evidence? is the author's position clear? Is it presented as objective? is his/her stand based on other author's position or simply from personal observation/experience.
• Proof/Evidence


  What are the proofs/evidence presented by the author throughout the text?
• Organization - How are the information organized in the text? For what particular reason are they arranged in this particular way?
• Style -What can you infer from the author's choice of words? From what perspective did the author write the text?
• Drawing Conclusions - What does the author want to highlight Compare and contrast the text with other similar ones, Identify the similarities and differences in their approach of the same topic.
• Assertion is a stylistic approach or technique involving a strong declaration, a forceful or confident and positive statement regarding a belief or a fact. Often, it is without proof or any support.
• Assertion is an honest and appropriate expression of one's feelings, opinions, and needs. A way to convince a critical reader to accept the writer's claim is to formulate assertions. Assertions, as defined by Tiongson (2016), are "declarative sentences that claim something is true about something else." These sentences may either be statements of truths or opinions. There are four common types of assertion enumerated by Tiongson.
• Statement of Fact- This is a statement that can be proven objectively by direct experience, testimonies of witnesses, verified observations, or the results of research.
• Statement of Opinion- Opinions are based on facts, but are difficult to objectively verify because of the uncertainty of producing satisfactory proofs of soundness.
• Counterclaims are claims made to rebut a previous claim. They have a contrasting perspective to the main argument.
• Counterclaims - answer the question "What are other credible possibilities?

  
• Author/s-Who wrote the text? What are his qualifications for writing about the topic.
• Research/Sources - Do previous research have a role in supporting the author's argument? Which of the references elicits further discussion?
• Audience -What is its target audience? Where is the text found? What does the author expect the reader to get from his/her composition? Are you a part of the author'saudience?