Critical Reading Essays

Critical Reading Essays Critical Reading Essay Critical Reading Essay I. Introduction The original proprietor had highlighted the full book? literally. Every line on every page had been drawn through with a bright green Magic Marker. It was a terrific illustration of a head that had lost all power of favoritism. -Florence King Being a pupil requires reading? and a batch of it. Some love it. some hatred it. However. we can’t get away it. Reading is portion of a student’s life. and the length of clip spent on it defines the sort of pupil one is. It is a challenge to even get down traveling through the first page. all the more to complete it until the terminal. And yet. to understand is wholly a different narrative. Reading has been described as a gateway to research new universes. a key to unlock the hoarded wealth of infinite cognition. or an escape door from world. The manner you describe it reflects your value for it. It needs to exceed the sense of sight in order to perforate the encephalon. Wordss read with the eyes do non intend the same as to words read with the head. And as a pupil steps higher in the ladder of instruction. reading comprehension matures with the addition in the degree of critical thought. Students are exposed to different reading stuffs. At present. the cyberspace has become the most popular beginning of information due to its handiness and easiness of usage. With merely a individual chink. one is exposed to a broad array of information. Scholarly diaries are considered to be the most dependable beginning of research-based information because articles are editor and peer-reviewed by faculty members in their field ( Trembay Jr. . 5 ) . This is rarely used. nevertheless. really utile. Books. on the other manus. are the reading stuff that pupils are most open to. Since every class or capable they enrol in has a mention text edition. it is non a surprise that after acquiring a college sheepskin. he/she has already come across at least 100 text editions. This paper focuses on how a pupil could be a critical reader when analyzing textbooks. It recognizes the procedure pupils go through in line with their reading assignment? get downing to read. reading the text edition per Se. and measuring the information delivered in order to interpret the information read into meaningful spots of cognition for the pupil. II. Strategies/ Skills A. Fixing to Study. Before even get downing to get down a reading assignment. a pupil should be ready or at least be cognizant of how he/she would efficaciously absorb what he/she would be reading. There are a figure of thoughts and tips to acquire the ball turn overing on analyzing. Some might wish to analyze entirely in a quiet topographic point ; some do it while listening to music ; while others study in forepart of the telecasting. Although people have different ways of analyzing. it is of import that they become perceptive to assorted techniques that are available for them to perchance better their academic public presentation. Knowing more about how you learn will assist you understand more from your text edition reading ( Rasool. 33 ) . For what is effectual for one might non be for another. it is of import to detect for yourself your ain expression for larning. First of wholly. we need to excite ourselves for the information rush in a mode that sufficient clip has been allocated for analyzing and a contributing survey topographic point is achieved for all academic-related activities. For everything that you read. be certain to hold a intent on it? whether it is merely to hold a hint on what the pages are approximately. to memorise in readying for a quiz. to knock the points given in a text. or others. Definition of the intent would assist in your choice to where you should concentrate your attending and to those that you could acquire through without. For pupils. this is a really noteworthy advice. Often. reading assignments cover one chapter of a book or a more than 3-paged short narrative. In connexion with that. here’s a surprise lesson in reading: Don’t ever read everything? skim. scan. glimpse and skip ( Johnson. 447 ) . Yes. this is true. Believe it. Now before instructors and professors begin to raise their supercilium and before pupils get uncontrollably joyful. there is some advice of cautiousness that follows. The four techniques mentioned doubtless reduces the length of clip you spend on reading. but you’ve got to cognize when to utilize it and when non to. Planing involves turn uping the chief thought of a text. Once located. this chief thought would give you an overview for the back uping statements that you would hold to read afterwards. Remember that planing is used merely when your intent for reading allows you to read for general constructs instead than specific information ( McWhorter. 453 ) . If you already know the text that you are about to read. so use scanning. Aside from traveling straight to what you need. other words that pass through your scanning fingertips would somehow brassy to your encephalon. Therefore. you are exposed to the other information of the text. Glancing may be used to observe organisational form of a text as you fundamentally go over the text in no peculiar order. Last. you could jump some parts of a text because either you feel that it is non excessively relevant or you already know the inside informations of what is being discussed. There are two things that we need to possess to acquire things traveling: motive and self-denial. Motivation gives you the thrust to prosecute what is needed to be done. It eliminates negative ideas that hinder the fulfillment of your ends. Self-discipline. on the other manus. is the commanding factor to your pursued nonsubjective. If motive gives you the head start. self-denial helps you continue what you have started. Remember. these two do non vouch success in accomplishing high classs. but it is decidedly one measure closer to that end in head. B. System for reading textbooks A reading-study system is a bit-by-bit method for placing. reading. analyzing. retaining. and remembering the most of import information in a text edition chapter ( Johnson. 450 ) . There are many reading-study systems and among those identified in the book Stiring up Thinking are the undermentioned: SQ3RSurvey? Question? Read? Recite? Review SQ4RSurvey? Question? Read? Recite? Rite ? Review POINTPurpose? Overview? Interpret? Note? Test OK4ROverview? Key Ideas? Read? Recite? Review? Reflect OK5ROverview? Key Ideas? Read? Record? Recite? Review? Reflect PQRSTPreview? Question? Read? Summarize? Test RSVPReview? Study? Verbalize? Preview OARWETOverview? Ask? Read? Write? Evaluate? Test PANORAMAPurpose? Adaptability? Need to oppugn? Overview? Read? Annotate? Memorize? Assess There is really nil theoretically better than the remainder of the systems. It truly depends on the individual reading which survey system would work good in her personality and behaviour. These aid you understand and pay more attending to of import inside informations. C. Assessing what you read After reading a text edition. dispute the information that you’ve learned and measure the text more carefully. This activity would divide the critical readers from those who are merely reading for the interest of fulfilling demands. As readers already in higher instruction. it is expected that we dig deeper than groking the words that appear before our eyes. Higher degree of believing suggests that we should non accept everything as it is. Remember. non everything that we see in print is true or is acceptable. Skills should be developed in order to provide to this sort of mental activity. Acknowledging fact from sentiment Author of text editions do non ever show the facts blunt. The author besides injects his ain ideas or sentiments about the topic which he could utilize as support for a point that he/she wants to turn out. Acknowledging that the statement is an sentiment gives you the thought that you may or may non hold with what is written before you. Bear in head though that sentiments reflect the individual’s personal responses to people. events. and thoughts. so you can non turn out them true or false. accurate or inaccurate. right or incorrect ( Flemming. 203 ) . Bing an sentiment. be cognizant that you need to measure the text in order to hold with the sentiment of the writer or disagree and explicate your ain. Opinions are statements that express feelings. attitudes or beliefs and are neither true nor false ( McWhorter. 392 ) . To turn up sentiment in a text. be guided by the undermentioned words that suggest that what is written is simply an sentiment and non a fact: seems. appears. presumptively. likely. arguably. in my position. this suggests. and others. Facts. on the other manus. are statements that can be verified? that is. proven to be true or false ( McWhorter. 392 ) . Once they are verified by background or old cognition and if they are presented with a dependable beginning. so it could be regarded as true. Otherwise. there is once more a demand to verify what you’ve read through other agencies like farther reading about the topic or inquiring your professors or people who have more cognition about the subject. Understanding Tone and Aim The tone contributes to the impact that the text would do to the reader. Similar to unwritten address wherein you are really much aware of the speaker’s tone. text editions besides mirror tone that would appeal best to the author’s audience. intent. or capable affair. Acknowledging the manner that the author presents statements in a book helps you to be more nonsubjective. For illustration. the text discusses drug dependence. If the writer writes something like – Drug dependence has been a major job in any given topographic point and it is but right that constabulary functionaries start to beef up their run on illegal drugs to protect the community against offenses. Illegal drugs should be solved every bit shortly as possible – and you realize that the author uses an important tone. it will be of aid to you as a reader to cognize what the general feeling of the author is. In the terminal. you would be able to experience the sentiments of the author and at the same clip you could measure the text more for your ain apprehension. The intent of the writer reflects his/her purpose for composing. There are many different grounds why writers write? to knock. describe. explain. turn out. celebrate. expose. and so on? most of those grounds or intents fall under two general headers: composing meant to inform or explicate. and composing meant to carry or convert ( Flemming. 237 ) . The intent of the writer for authorship is evidenced by the tone elicited by the text. Designation of the intent of the author is of import because this would steer you in seting how critical you have to be. For illustration. an writer who writes to depict implies less critical thought than an writer who writes to carry. It is of import to cognize the degree of critical thought to be applied because this is your footing into by how far you have to look into the text as it is presented by the writer. Acknowledging and measuring prejudice Readers are human. and therefore capable to assorted biass? to state nil of credulousness. ignorance and emotionality ( Kurland. 163 ) . Bias does non needfully hold to be bad. In fact. this serves as usher for the reader to indicate out which parts of the text are debatable or which needs to be farther evaluated. Biass provide the reader a point of bound as to how far the writer has gone with such prejudice. whether or non the prejudice is still justifiable or when it has already affected the writer’s position in every bit far as it becomes a hinderance for the author to give accurate appraisal over something. Textbooks are chiefly enlightening. and authors in this type of book by and large maintain their prejudices among themselves. Biass don’t appear every bit apparent as it would be as in to that of persuasive text. but somehow writers write in away that reflect their prejudice. For case. an writer who does non like the president could depict the president in a manner that the writer would name many inside informations sing the jobs that the disposal faced during the president’s clip. and would restrict the information about the successful undertakings that were implemented. In here. the reader should be alert so as non merely to sit along and merely absorb the given information of the writer. Using your background cognition To cognize which information you should farther brood into. look into if the statements provided in the text edition coincide with your old or background cognition. Background cognition is the footing for the decisions that you will do after reading the text. The impression of anterior cognition encompasses factual cognition because anterior cognition includes understanding based on experiences every bit good as premises about society and cultural values ( Kurland. 37 ) . Therefore. any statement that clashes with what you antecedently know is worth the clip to chew over upon. It could be that what you antecedently cognize might be incorrect or the statement given in the book is false. This sort of comparing would assist you go more open-minded and more effectual in doing determinations that are connected with the information that you learn. III. Application/Case survey ( mention to Appendix for the complete instance ) After being motivated for your reading assignment. holding a system for larning and being cognizant of the accomplishments necessary in understanding a text. let’s take a expression at the instance of this school miss. Yamillet who does non execute good in one of her reading topics. Yamillet is a pupil who is non interested in reading. Her reading comprehension demands betterment because she finds it difficult to retrieve the chief thoughts and inside informations of a text that she has read. She besides has problem with respects to understanding texts read independently. However. when texts are read aloud. her comprehension improves. The first thing that I would urge to Yamillet is sing her attitude on reading. She needs to be able to be motivated on reading. I know that it is non easy to get down wishing reading. but holding a positive attitude on it will certainly assist. For a start. she should be asked to read texts that are of her involvement. Harmonizing to her. she invariably reads the athleticss subdivision of the newspaper and action and chilling books appeal to her. The usage of reading stuffs of this sort to assist her in her reading comprehension would be really utile. Using these stuffs. she could hold exercisings on placing the chief thoughts and the inside informations of a given text. Reading of the stuffs that involvement her should shortly be followed by incorporating other reading stuffs that she is non excessively fond of. Reading assignments are non ever about subjects that involvement you. so Yamillet has to develop a positive attitude on reading. There would be more reading that she would encounter as she gets into the following degree of her instruction. Since Yamillet finds it difficult to grok texts read mutely. she could develop a survey system that would work for her. There are many reading-study systems already formulated. and she merely needs to happen the right method for her to better in independent reading assignments. The reading-study system that I would urge to her is OK4R ( Overview? Key Ideas? Read? Recite? Review? Reflect ) . I believe that this system would work for her because first of all. she needs to develop her acknowledgment of the chief thoughts and back uping inside informations. She would make this in the overview and cardinal thoughts portion of the OK4R. Next. of class is the existent reading itself. And since she finds it difficult to grok during independent readings. she has to declaim what she has learned. Subsequently. she has to reexamine back what she has read and compare it to what she had recited. Finally. Yamillet demands to reflect on the lessons and information that she has gained and associate it to her life or to events that she is familiar of to retain the information she got.