ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY VIRTIUAL WRITING CENTER
CRITICAL READING EXERCISES
Have you ever experienced the situation of having read something
but for some reason you cannot remember what the passage related? We
all have. Why does that happen? Too many times we read as passive
readers expecting the act of reading to suffice. Unfortunately, it’s not that
simple. Even highlighting can’t do everything for us; in fact, you’ll learn that
highlighting is completely superficial coloring of a text. The following 3
strategies support active participation as readers and thus retention of
your reading.
Strategy #1: Question while Reading
“Can it be, Ischomachus, that asking questions is teaching? I am just
beginning to see what is behind all your questions. You lead me on by means
of things I know, point to things that resemble them, and persuade me that I
know things I thought I had no knowledge of.” Socrates
Research indicates that students who struggle with reading do not
ask questions as they read—before, during, or after. In fact, even
successful readers avoid questioning a text unless it's teacher-driven.
While the academy is a place for active debate, most of us read materials
given to us as passive voyeurs of a text. Of course, this is saying something
about the power dynamic implicit/explicit between the faculty member
and the student. Do we read to highlight what we think the faculty
member wants us to read? Or do we read to wrestle with ideas. Frankly,
given the reality that most of us read multiple texts in each week, we’re
lucky if we digest even one text. The fact that most of us read – or submit
to a text— seldom questioning its content, style, or the intent of the
author, disempowers us in the academic enterprise.
So, active reading is essential in bringing the reader into the
discourse. Since there are deep and multiple connections between
