Reading Critically 2

8/6/2019 Reading Critically 2

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Effective LearningProgramme

Reading Critically

Materials by Gill Burgess(slightly adapted)



Critical Reading

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A critical reader

attempts to understand and analyse the

reasoning in the textevaluates the evidence offeredrecognises assumptions

takes a challenging and questioning attitudetowards the text



A critical reader doesn ¶t

accept the authority of the text without

questiontake a passive and purely receptive roletowards the textµ write off ¶ the text immediately if the writer ¶ smeaning is not immediately clear quickly dismiss the text because the views donot match his/her own



T o what extent do these everyday

reading tasks require a critical readingapproach?

reading the instructions to set the thermostat on your heating boiler reading a local newspaper report about an attack on an

Asian shopkeeper reading a primary school prospectus for your childreading a course outline

reading descriptions of 2 sofas in different furniturecataloguesfinding out the train times on a website



Critical Reading

S o all texts, to a certain extent, require critical

reading. It is not about criticising everythingyou read - it ¶ s about asking questions aboutthe text: its purpose, the claims made and theevidence presented.



S ome general questions to think about

C an I believe everything I read?

Are experts always right?What makes me take more notice of oneacademic writer and less of another?What makes a scholarly, rigorous piece of research, and what makes research findingsweak or strong?



S ome questions to think about whensurveying a text

Who is the writer writing for?

Who is the publisher?Is it in the interests of the author/publisher to make aparticular claim?Which sources has the writer cited?What sort of adjectives are used?How does the writer rely on authority?What does the writer present as fact?How does the writer select evidence?



S ome questions you can use tointerrogate the text «

Does this follow? How do you know?Where is your evidence?

Who exactly said this and when?Is this a fact or an opinion?Why? Why not? What exactly?

Are you assuming x is true here?Where can I check this out?What¶s been missed out?



A pplying critical reading strategies

Before you read the short extract entitled µ T he

Nuclear S olution¶

by T ony Ryan, brieflydiscuss your own views on the topic with theperson next to you.

Now read the extract and interrogate the text



T he Nuclear S olution by T ony Ryan

³ Nuclear energy is the bridging solution between a fossil poweredpast and a solar future. T he French generate 80 per cent of their

electricity from nuclear power, but are now running it down due topublic pressure. However, world famous ecologist, James Lovelock,says that nuclear power is the most environmentally friendly option. Ithas zero emissions and a minimal waste problem. For example, ateraWatt hour of electricity yields 20 tonnes of nuclear waste asopposed to 10 million tonnes of CO

2 from fossil fuels. T he one real

fear with nuclear energy is the potential for terrorist intervention. T omitigate that we need better security and a means to localise anyrelease.´

S ource: T ony Ryan (2005) µ T he nuclear solution¶ in Chemistry World Royal C hemistry S ociety Available onlinefrom: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2005/February/ T henuclearsolution.asp Accessed May 17 th 2010



Interacting with the text

Y ou don ¶ t have to fully agree or disagree with

what the writer is saying but you can raisequestions about the claims that s/he makesbased on the evidence there is to support you.

Examine the following statements thatProfessor Ryan makes:



H ow did you react to these?

µ Nuclear energy is the the bridging solution «¶

µ It has zero emissions and a minimal wasteproblem. ¶

µ T he one real fear with nuclear energy is thepotential for terrorist intervention. ¶



Reading Critically

In what ways has thisshort readingexercise been similar or different to theway you have readacademic texts inthe past?



F urther Reading

Critical T hinking: An Introduction. Alec Fisher CU P 2001 ± an easy- to-read overview

Critical Reading Checklist: http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/critical/2b.htmlfrom the U nilearning site (an Australian website on academic skills) ± a useful list of questionsG eneral advice on reading academic texts, including questioning:http://www.lancs.ac.uk/celt/sldc/materials/reading/reading.htmReading A cademically : U niversity of S outhampton 2003 S ection 5 Being a C riticalReader: Find the link on this page:www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/ reading _skills.htm

Reading Critically 2

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