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Critical Reading Practice TASKS
Academic Reading – Critical Reading
Task 1: Note-taking
a) What problems do you have when note-taking from books/articles?
b) How might note-taking be different when using written texts
compared to when listening to lectures/talks?
c) What tips do you have for effective note-taking?
Note-taking tips I like:
Get into the habit of making notes – they are a record of what you’ve
learnt
Reading texts critically is an important skill which can also be
applied to your own chosen texts. This document takes you
through the process of critical reading on your chosen document.
You should share your results with an ASK Tutor.
Task 2 Critical Reading – Finding the argument and questioning the text
Take the text you would like to work on. Skim the text to get a general idea then re-read using the questions below. Jump forwards and backwards as necessary and fill in the table below.
My text title:…………………………………………………………………………………………..
- What does the title, author’s name and date of publication tell me about the text?
2 What is the writer’s main argument (what does the writer want me to believe)?
- What supporting reasons does he/she give? Do the reasons seem credible?
- Does anything the writer say agree/disagree with something you have already read? How?
- What does the language, tone and approach of the text tell me about the writer?
Here you are examining information and breaking it down into parts, identifying what it is:
Here you are making judgements about the value of information
Here you are
giving your opinion / your argument / your conclusion
e.g.
identifying conclusions or arguments identifying causes and effects / comparisons and contrasts distinguishing between facts and opinions identifying evidence and examples as support
e.g.
investigating to what extent something is true investigating how important something is
- a main or minor cause / a main or minor argument assessing the reliability of information interpreting and justifying
e.g.
presenting your conclusion, providing reasoned evidence to support your viewpoint dealing with others’ viewpoints
PROMPTS
ANALYSIS
Once you have identified the main points from your reading of the article and note-taking,
consider:
What support is offered for each point; how much of it is fact, and how much opinion? What is the overall conclusion of the author of the article?
EVALUATION
Do you agree or disagree with the author’s argument? Is your judgement influenced by your own country / cultural background? Do you have your own examples / evidence?
PRESENTING YOUR POINT OF VIEW
This follows naturally from your evaluation. Make sure you share your ideas with your ASK Tutor.
Do you agree with the conclusion of the article? What would your conclusion be? Is your answer influenced by your own country / cultural background? This will give your writing a particular perspective. Do you have some additional arguments / evidence not mentioned in the article?
