Critical Reading Lecture

First Year Academic Literacy &
Standards Week
CRITICAL THINKING,
CRITICAL READING
DR MILISSA DEITZ
BB, ROOM 1.38
\
Week 3: Academic Standards and Literacy
Objective:
to improve students’ understanding of academic literacy
and expected standards (includes presentation and
professional communication, academic writing,
conditions of originality,
and the subject of this lecture,
critical thinking and critical reading).
AIMS
1. Todemonstrate the importance of critical thinking

and critical reading, and to encourage you to take
responsibility for the sharpening of your ‘critical
toolbox’.
2. To
introduce key terms and modes of practice for
approaching reading actively/critically.
3. Tointroduce you to some techniques and strategies

for approaching academic literature.
Some questions to consider
1.  What is critical thinking? (And why does it matter?)
2.  What is the relationship between critical thinking

and academic reading?
3.  What does it mean to read critically (actively)?
4.  How can I develop my critical reading skills?

questions to consider cont’
6. How should I approach reading materials at

University? Both the set readings and the ones I seek
out for assignments?
7. Howam I supposed to get through all of my

readings every week?
WHAT IS THEORY?
¢ Theory is a way of thinking that

is more structured, systematic
and sophisticated than everyday
thinking.
OBESITY AS AN ISSUE
¢  In
terms of everyday thinking, you might say to
yourself, why is obesity becoming such a problem
in Australia?
¢  Thetheorist/university student in you might ask,

How does the rising obesity rate in Australia
reflect our social and cultural values? Is it truly
as significant a problem as we’re hearing? If so,
what might be the consequences of these rates in
five years time? What alternative ways can we
think of to combat resulting health issues?
¢ Good theory is like a good defence in
court.
¢  In terms of using theory to argue,
the key lies in presenting practical
evidence to support the theories
you are using.
¢ Evidence provides the bridge
between theory and practice.
1. What is critical thinking?
(And why does it matter?)
“When you are thinking critically, you are not
just thinking passively and accepting everything
you see and hear. You are thinking actively. You
are asking questions about what you see and
hear, evaluating, categorising, and finding
relationships.”
(University of Canberra, Academic Skills Centre)

Some of the activities involved in critical
thinking
Interpreting according to a Predicting

framework
Relating theory to practice Describing
Making a claim and supporting it Analysing
Using appropriate evidence Synthesising
Making links between ideas Categorising
Asking questions Establishing cause and effect
Evaluating Identifying problems and
solutions
(University of Canberra, Academic Skills

Centre)
2. What is the relationship between critical
thinking and academic reading?
Reading critically means drawing on your critical
faculties in order to weigh things up and think
about the implications and conclusions of what is
being said. It means forming an opinion of your own
about the subject after analysing and assessing the
evidence base within the material.
TO BE A CRITICAL THINKER YOU NEED TO:
¢ Ask questions
¢ Be persistent (you may not find the
answer quickly!)
¢ Be committed to accuracy and
clarity.
¢  Think: relevance, depth,
consistency, be open-minded, be
curious, be willing to doubt...
What does it mean to read
critically?
And why do we do it?

Critical reading is
ACTIVE reading.
Reading critically is closely

connected to an ability to
analyse and evaluate the
material you read.
To non-critical readers, texts provide facts.
Readers will gain knowledge by just
memorising the statements provided.
Critical readers will recognise that any

single text offers only one portrayal of the
facts. It is one or maybe a few people’s
interpretation of an issue.
Critical readers seek to understand the

perspective or point of view being offered.
This means focusing not just on the ‘what’ of
a text, but the how of it.
Goals of critical reading
¢ To identify the argument, the ‘what’s at stake?’
¢ To recognise an author’s purpose and intent
¢ To
understand the author’s tone and persuasive
and rhetorical elements
¢ To identify bias
¢ To
develop an informed response to the reading
based on your assessment of the author’s
argument, evidence, analysis of key issues,
methods and conclusion
BUT this won’t happen just by reading the words
on the page.
To meet these goals you need to decode

the material:
¢  Learn how academic texts are structured
¢  Recognise
that academic writing is typically
founded on a set of genre conventions
¢  Recognise that academic writing is a genre
¢  Developa ‘tool box’ for decoding the

literature/readings
¢  Research critical reading and thinking
¢  Practise! Apply your skills. And then reflect

Academic discourse is usually quite formal in structure
and style. These styles and forms differ according to
disciplines. A lot of academic writing, however,
includes the following structural conventions:
¢ An abstract / overview/ dust jacket blurb
¢ An introduction
¢ A methods section
¢ A results section
¢ A discussion section
¢ A conclusion
5. How should I approach reading
materials at University? Both the set
readings and the ones I seek out for
assignments?
When you approach a text for the first time don’t treat it like
a novel. Instead approach it as a case of forensics:
Predict content From title, illustration, layout, graphs
Scan To locate specific information from chapter headings and

subheadings
Skim To find main ideas – from first and last paragraphs, from
topic sentences
‘Power’ read To get an overall, general understanding. Try to read

through the article once without stopping. Highlight
unknown words
Read intensely For details, for a close understanding. Use the context as
much as possible to work out the meanings of unknown
words
Make notes At this intensive reading stage
Question Your understandings and the authors views and attitudes
Review What you can recall as you read through your notes
(Australian Catholic University: Reading at University)

Some questions for framing your reading
¢ What is the issue/main argument?
¢ Where has this text comes from (what is the source

– is it a journal article, a scientific work, a newspaper
clipping, an extract from a blog?)
¢ Is it an authoritative source? (Do I trust it? Why?)
¢ What is the author’s main point, argument or

thesis? (What’s at stake?)
Some questions for framing your reading (cont)
¢ What evidence is used to support this?
¢ How valid is that evidence? What is it based on –

statistics, research data, the views of other scholars,
personal opinion? Do I trust it? Why, why not?
¢ Why is the writer presenting this point of view?
¢ How is the argument presented?
¢ Is
the writer using emotional or persuasive
language?
Some questions for framing your reading (cont)
¢ Do other writers agree with these ideas?
¢ Do I agree with these ideas? (Why or why not?)
(Adapted from the ACU Academic Skills Uni Resources)

CREDIBLE SOURCES
¢  1. Does the author have some authority in the field about
which she or he is providing information?
¢  2. Does the author have articles published in peer reviewed

(scholarly and professional) publications?
¢  3. Are there clues that the author/s are biased? For
example, is he/she selling or promoting a product? Bias is
not necessarily "bad," but the connections should be clear.
¢  4. Is the information current? Old information may be

useful for background material but in, for example, science
and technology changes are rapid and information rapidly
becomes out of date.
¢  5.
Does the information have a complete list of
works cited, which reference credible,
authoritative sources?
¢  6.In what kind of publication site does the

information appear? (The journal, publisher, etc.,
can give you clues about the credibility of the
source. )
CREDIBLE SOURCES - ONLINE
¢  Developing a keen sense of the credibility of
sources, based on such clues as connection of
author to the subject, audience, source of
publication, and documentation of supporting
evidence, can also help you evaluate print and
other types of sources.
¢  1. Is there any evidence that the author of the
Web information has some authority in the field
about which she or he is providing information?
¢  2.
With what organisation or institution is the
author associated?
¢  3. Does the author have publications in peer reviewed (scholarly
and professional) publications, on the Web or in hard copy?
¢  4. Are there clues that the author/s are biased?
¢  5. Is the Web information current? If there are a number of out-of-
date links that do not work or old news, what does this say about
the credibility of the information?
¢  6. Does the information have a complete list of works cited, which
reference credible, authoritative sources?
¢  7. Can the subject you are researching be fully covered with
WWW sources or should print sources provide balance? Much
scholarly research is still only available in traditional print form.
It is safe to assume that if you have limited background in a topic
and have a limited amount of time to do your research, you may
not be able to get the most representative material on the subject
¢  8. On what kind of site does the information appear? The site can
give you clues about the credibility of the source.
( From http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-
sites.htm)
Take advice from this University of Canberra
academic skills site which says:
Academic material is not meant to be read. It is meant to

be ransacked and pillaged for essential content.
• Be selective.
• Set a realistic time frame for any reading task.
• Never read without specific questions you want the text
to answer.
• Never start reading at page 1 of the text, but look for the
summary, conclusion, subheadings, etc.
Always keep in mind what you need, what is relevant to
the question you are asking the text.
See: http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/learning/reading
In sum:
What do critical readers do?
¢ Theyapproach a text with curiosity – they ask

questions as they read
¢ Theydo not accept at face value the idea under

discussion – either its accuracy or that it’s the only
way to think about the topic
¢ They
identify the positive (useful) components of
an argument & the negative (weak, flawed) sections
¢ Theyanalyse & identify the evidence base provided

for an argument in order to understand the author’s
rationale & position
What do critical readers do? (cont)
¢ Theyidentify component parts of an argument –

content (basic facts), themes (overall ideas or
claims), ‘evidence’ (supporting material) and they
use this to raise issues about a text’s application,
potential, usability
¢ Theythink about the relationship between the

text and other texts and authors. They see the
text as part of a conversation.
¢ Theyform opinions about what they read – and

they back it up through a compilation of the
above
Adapted from: http://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/Reading+critically
Preparation for in-class task
¢  Bring copies of assigned readings to class (you will

need to be familiar with the readings for your in-class
task)
¢  Read the material included in the Week 3 folder on

vUWS (via this subject’s own vUWS homepage)
¢  Do your own research on critical reading and

thinking
Speed reading quiz
http://skills.library.leeds.ac.uk/reading/articulate/
speed_reading/quiz.html
Further research
¢  Investigate what the terms ontology, epistemology

and methodology mean (they are crucial to higher
level research and critical thinking– both the making
and the reading )
¢  Start to develop your own understanding of what you

think constitutes ‘knowledge’
¢  Do some preliminary research on the terms discipline

and discourse (both play a part in the kinds of
research you’ll be reading over the next 3+ years)
Further Reading
The Notebook as a Tool for Thinking

http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/
writerscomplex.nsf/wholeshortlinks2/
The+Notebook?opendocument
UWS Online Study Resources

http://www.uws.edu.au/
currentstudents/current_students/
getting_help/online_study_resources2
Further Reading
Unilearning
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/
main.html
The Critical Reading Checklist

http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/reading/
2b.pdf
How to Study
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/
howtostudy.html
Further Reading
UWS Student Learning Unit Workshop

Schedule
http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/
current_students/getting_help/
study_and_life_skills_workshops/
academic_skills_workshops_schedule#4
UWS Online Study Resources

http://www.uws.edu.au/currentstudents/
current_students/getting_help/
online_study_resources2
References
Image # 1:
http://michelle5922.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/critical-reading-and-
critical-thinking/
Australian Catholic University

http://www.acu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/273165/
Reading_Critically.pdf
University of Canberra Academic Skills Centre, http://

www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/learning/critical

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First Year Academic Literacy &

1. Todemonstrate the importance of critical thinking

3. Tointroduce you to some techniques and strategies

1. What is critical thinking? (And why does it matter?)

2. What is the relationship between critical thinking

3. What does it mean to read critically (actively)?

4. How can I develop my critical reading skills?

6. How should I approach reading materials at

7. Howam I supposed to get through all of my

¢ Theory is a way of thinking that

¢ Thetheorist/university student in you might ask,

(University of Canberra, Academic Skills Centre)

Interpreting according to a Predicting

(University of Canberra, Academic Skills

And why do we do it?

Reading critically is closely

Critical readers will recognise that any

Critical readers seek to understand the

¢ To identify the argument, the ‘what’s at stake?’

¢ To recognise an author’s purpose and intent

¢ To identify bias

To meet these goals you need to decode

¢ Recognise that academic writing is a genre

¢ Developa ‘tool box’ for decoding the

¢ Research critical reading and thinking

¢ Practise! Apply your skills. And then reflect

¢ An abstract / overview/ dust jacket blurb

¢ A methods section

¢ A results section

¢ A discussion section

Predict content From title, illustration, layout, graphs

Scan To locate specific information from chapter headings and

‘Power’ read To get an overall, general understanding. Try to read

Question Your understandings and the authors views and attitudes

(Australian Catholic University: Reading at University)

¢ What is the issue/main argument?

¢ Where has this text comes from (what is the source

¢ Is it an authoritative source? (Do I trust it? Why?)

¢ What is the author’s main point, argument or

¢ What evidence is used to support this?

¢ How valid is that evidence? What is it based on –

¢ Why is the writer presenting this point of view?

¢ How is the argument presented?

¢ Do other writers agree with these ideas?

¢ Do I agree with these ideas? (Why or why not?)

(Adapted from the ACU Academic Skills Uni Resources)

¢ 2. Does the author have articles published in peer reviewed

¢ 4. Is the information current? Old information may be

¢ 6.In what kind of publication site does the

Academic material is not meant to be read. It is meant to

¢ Theyapproach a text with curiosity – they ask

¢ Theydo not accept at face value the idea under

¢ Theyanalyse & identify the evidence base provided

¢ Theyidentify component parts of an argument –

¢ Theythink about the relationship between the

¢ Theyform opinions about what they read – and

¢ Bring copies of assigned readings to class (you will

¢ Read the material included in the Week 3 folder on

¢ Do your own research on critical reading and

1. Todemonstrate the importance of critical thinking

3. Tointroduce you to some techniques and strategies

1.  What is critical thinking? (And why does it matter?)

2.  What is the relationship between critical thinking

3.  What does it mean to read critically (actively)?

4.  How can I develop my critical reading skills?

6. How should I approach reading materials at

7. Howam I supposed to get through all of my

¢ Theory is a way of thinking that

¢  Thetheorist/university student in you might ask,

¢ To identify the argument, the ‘what’s at stake?’

¢ To recognise an author’s purpose and intent

¢ To identify bias

¢  Recognise that academic writing is a genre

¢  Developa ‘tool box’ for decoding the

¢  Research critical reading and thinking

¢  Practise! Apply your skills. And then reflect

¢ An abstract / overview/ dust jacket blurb

¢ A methods section

¢ A results section

¢ A discussion section

¢ What is the issue/main argument?

¢ Where has this text comes from (what is the source

¢ Is it an authoritative source? (Do I trust it? Why?)

¢ What is the author’s main point, argument or

¢ What evidence is used to support this?

¢ How valid is that evidence? What is it based on –

¢ Why is the writer presenting this point of view?

¢ How is the argument presented?

¢ Do other writers agree with these ideas?

¢ Do I agree with these ideas? (Why or why not?)

¢  2. Does the author have articles published in peer reviewed

¢  4. Is the information current? Old information may be

¢  6.In what kind of publication site does the

¢ Theyapproach a text with curiosity – they ask

¢ Theydo not accept at face value the idea under

¢ Theyanalyse & identify the evidence base provided

¢ Theyidentify component parts of an argument –

¢ Theythink about the relationship between the

¢ Theyform opinions about what they read – and

¢  Bring copies of assigned readings to class (you will

¢  Read the material included in the Week 3 folder on

¢  Do your own research on critical reading and

¢  Investigate what the terms ontology, epistemology

¢  Start to develop your own understanding of what you

¢  Do some preliminary research on the terms discipline