Download - Lecture 1 - Critical Reading Skills I - Student Copy

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  • FHEL 1012English for Academic Study

    Lecture 1Critical Reading Skills*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Topics to be covered today:Barriers to Critical ThinkingMaking inferences and drawing conclusionsIdentifying themes and main ideas of texts

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Aims of Lecture 1The main goal is to develop in students the skills and the confidence to approach a piece of academic text, read it efficiently and critically, and extract main ideas and key details.

    But the goal of academic reading is more than just retrieve information. It is also the development of academic writing.*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Assessment for EAS*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Assignment 1 (Written)20%Assignment 2 (Presentation)15%Mid Term15%Final Exam50%

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Barriers to Critical Thinking*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Barriers to Critical Thinking*(Why do people find Critical Thinking so difficult? What prevents people from thinking critically?)1. Egocentrism2. Sociocentrism3. Unwarranted Assumptions and Stereotyping4. Relativistic Thinking5. Wishful ThinkingLecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • 1. Egocentrism inability to see other peoples viewpoint focus on self: I, ME, MYSELF selfish*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Two common forms of Egocentrismare: Self-interested Thinking - To accept and defend beliefs that serves your own interest / benefit / convenience Eg. In UTAR: car park vs. poor bus serviceCritical Thinker Objective Self-serving Bias - To think you are better than others - Overrating yourself (view yourself better than you actually are) show off Eg. I can do this, I can do that Critical Thinker Honest

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • 2. SociocentrismTwo common forms of sociocentrism: Group Bias / Ethnocentrism - To think your own group (race, religion, culture, country, etc.) as being inherently better than others - People absorb this unconsciously, usually from childhood

    Conformism - Tendency to follow the crowd - The desire to be a part of the in-group- group-centered thinking: focus on group (family, friends, community, society)*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • AssumptionAn assumption is something we belief to be true without absolute proof or evidence Eg. taking an umbrella when you go out in the evening assume it may rain

    Unwarranted AssumptionAn unwarranted assumption is unreasonable. Something taken for granted without good reason Eg. just because you are attracted to someone, you assume that person is likewise attracted to you *3. Unwarranted Assumptions and Stereotypes *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Assumptions*StereotypingLEADS TOLecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Stereotype

    - assuming that all people within a group share all the same qualities; So a particular individual who belongs to this group has the same qualities Stereotypes are arrived at through the process of generalization, i.e. drawing conclusions about a large group from a small sample. **Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • 4. Relativistic Thinking (or relativism)- viewing truth as a matter of opinion*Two forms of relativism:- Subjectivism - the view that truth is a matter of individual opinion; what one thinks is true, is true for that person Cultural Relativism - the view that truth is a matter of cultural opinion; what is true for person A is what person As culture or society believes to be true.

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Relativism in some important domains*Moral Subjectivism: The view that what is morally right for person A is what person A thinks is morally right. Eg. abortion, pre-marital sex

    Cultural Moral Relativism: The view that what a culture thinks is morally right to do, is morally right to do, in that culture.Eg. drinking alcoholLecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • 5. Wishful Thinking - believe in what we want to be true (despite contradicting evidence)

    A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

    - Paul Simon (American musician, singer & songwriter of Simon & Garfunkel)*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Other barriers to Critical ThinkingLack of relevant background informationPoor reading skillsSuperstitionPeer pressureNarrow-mindednessClosed-mindednessDistrust in reasonScapegoatingRationalisation

    DenialShort-term thinkingSelective perceptionSelective memoryOverpowering emotionsSelf-deceptionFace-savingFear of change*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Inferencing and Drawing conclusionsAn inference is a claim that can be made on the strength of some information or evidence. To infer means to draw a conclusion.The word infer means (a) to derive by reasoning (b) to conclude (c) to guess intelligently.When we infer we use imagination or reasoning to provide explanations for situations in which all the facts are not yet determined.*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Read the text below. Identify facts and based on these facts, draw some inferencesDoctors investigating an outbreak of food poisoning discovered that all the people who were affected had eaten fish at the Bayside fish restaurant the day before reporting sick. There is a legal obligation on any establishment that may be linked to cases of food-related sickness to close while it is being investigated, and not to open again until it has been given a certificate of fitness from hygiene inspectors (Butterworth, p45)*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Ask yourself these questions.Did they only eat at Bayside restaurant and no where else?.What does all mean? Three, four, a large number?Were they people who did not report sick?Is there enough evidence to say fish was the cause? Restaurants serve other things beside fish.Were the people exposed to other sources like contaminated water, lack of hygiene in the restaurant kitchen, surroundings outside the restaurant?*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • What conclusion can you draw from the inferences?1. There is just suspicion that the Bayside Restaurant may have caused the food poisoning. You need other evidence. Will you eat at the Bayside Restaurant? Yes / No. Why?*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Exercise

    Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Read the passage below and draw inferences and conclusions from the short texts.When the Barbie doll first appeared in pre-feminist 1959, she had large breasts, a tiny waist, rounded lips, shapely legs, and her little feet were shod in high-heeled shoes. Barbie wore heavy make-up and her gaze was shy and downcast. She was available in only two options: airline stewardess or nurse. .*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • *1. What do you think is meant by feminist?2. Why did Barbie doll take such a physical form?3. Why was her gaze made to be shy and downcast? Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • In 1960, Barbie had her own car and house. A Barbie Goes to College play set was also available. In 1967, Barbies face was updated to sport a more youthful, model-like appearance with a direct and fearless gaze. .

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • 1. In what way did Barbies physical appearance change?2. What does this tell you about the social environment of that time?

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    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • By the 1970s, Barbies career options had expanded to include doctor and Olympic medalist. She also got another facelift that left her with a softer, friendlier look. She now had a wide smile and bright eyes. .

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • 1. When were women allowed to take part in the Olympics?2. What do you think led to the change in the physical countenance of Barbie?

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • During the 1980s and 1990s, when girls were encouraged to grow up to be independent wage earners, Barbies options increased even more to include professions such as business executive, aerobics instructor and firefighter. Today, Barbie has a thicker waist, slimmer hips, and smaller breasts and she comes in black, Asian and Latina versions.

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • What does this passage reflect about the social and educational environment of America in the 1990s?Why was Barbie doll introduced in other coloured versions?

    *Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Identifying Themes and Main Ideas of paragraphs

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    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Identifying Themes and Main Ideas of paragraphsIn order to understand a paragraph, whether easy or hard, a reader must be able to identify first the topic or the central theme.

    In an easy paragraph the theme would be easily identified. However, in a more challenging paragraph a reader may have to analyze the paragraph to identify the theme.*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • The theme is usually a broad idea of a paragraph. To figure out the theme, ask yourself this question: What is the paragraph about?

    The main idea is the point of the paragraph. The most important thought about the topic. To figure out the main idea, ask yourself this question: What is being said about the person, thing, or idea (the topic)?*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • Example Crabs may have either a hard shell or a soft shell. The soft shell-crabs are those who shed their shells now and then. Their skins do not have a chance to become hard. As they grow older, some do not shed for three to four years. Their shells become very hard.

    1. Identify the theme and main idea of the paragraph?*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • ExerciseRefer to Worksheet for exercises on Identifying Themes and Main Points.*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

  • MAIN TEXTSCooper, S & Patton, R.(2012). Writing Logically, Thinking Critically. (7th ed.). London: Pearson.

    Basham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H. & Wallace, JM. (2008). Critical Thinking: A Students Introduction. (4th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.Epstein, RL.

    Cox, K. & Hill, D. (2011). EAP Now! English for Academic Purposes. (2nd ed.). Australia: Pearson Longman.

    Jordan, R.R. (1999) Academic Writing Course: Study Skills in English. (3rd ed.). London: Pearson Longman.*Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

    Lecture Notes: Updated Semester 201505

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