rws

• Critical reading


  Engaging yourself in a text or any material you are reading, focusing on what the author is trying to tell you, exercising your judgment about the text, the ability to think clearly and rationally by understanding the relation of ideas presented, questioning ideas and assumptions
• Critical reading strategies


  • Annotating
  • Contextual reading
  • Outlining
  • Summarizing
  • Paraphrasing
  • Evaluating an argument
  • Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values
  • Looking for patterns of opposition
  • Judging the writer's credibility
  • Exploring the figurative language
  • Recognizing emotional manipulation
• Annotating


  Underlining or highlighting the important ideas or points in a text like a thesis statement, topic sentence, supporting details, the body of the materials, and conclusion. Your notes may also be questions that would pop into your mind while reading the text.
• Contextual reading


  A reader studies the author of the text, the time period, when the author wrote it, and the important events that occurred during the time the text was written. The critical reader is able to get clues that will help interpret the work, and understand the how's and why's that made the author write the text.
• Outlining


  An overview of a document in which information and ideas are arranged according to the hierarchy, the main idea being at the top followed by the rest of the supporting ideas or subtopic.
• Summarizing


  Condensing or writing of a material in the reader's own word. It is shorter from the original text but contains important ideas.
• Paraphrasing


  Putting or writing a text in your own word but maintaining the original information as given by the author. Not to change what is said, but to change how it is said to make you understand better what you have read.
• Evaluating an argument


  A critical reader must not accept anything at face value; instead, she/he must evaluate whether the claim or the argument that the author is presenting is true and can be supported by evidence. Determine if the evidence is strong and valid, recognize any weak or negative points that there are in the evidence or argument.
• Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values


  Reading materials affect emotions: they may disturb, inspire, embarrass, challenge, or compare you. Identify and analyze which points or parts in the text have challenged your beliefs or values and reflect on them.
• Looking for patterns of opposition


  Some writers present opposing issues or hints and there are what critical readers or thinkers may use in his or her analysis of the text. These oppositions will be evident in the writers use of opposite words, phrases, or ideas like yes or no, black or white, happy or sad, etc.
• Judging the writer's credibility

  Check if the writer is knowledgeable about their subject, if they are building a common ground with the readers, and if they are fair in presenting the issues or rejecting/ignoring objections.
• Exploring the figurative language


  Figurative language is a language that uses words and expressions with a meaning different from the literal interpretation.
• Recognizing emotional manipulation


  Some writers may become emotionally manipulative if they want their readers to agree with them or to believe what they are saying and resort to false and exaggerated statements or appeals. As a reader, you have to be suspicious and cautious when the writer uses emotionally loaded words, writes very harsh and abusive things about or against someone or something, or maligns or insults another.
• Explicit


  A term which means fully revealed or expressed that there is no room for any confusion on the writer.
• Implicit


  The idea is not openly stated and is just suggested or implied.
• Inference


  A conclusion or opinion formed or based on both information (explicit and implicit) or evidence and reasoning.