CRITICAL READING
Active, Not Passive
Critical
readers are active readers. As they read a text, they ask questions, annotate
passages, and take notes. They do not passively accept everything the author
has to say or believe that the meaning of a text rests in the words on the
page. Instead, they understand the role they must play as active interpreters
of the text.
Meaning-Making
Critical
readers understand that they must question and interpret what they read.
Passive, uncritical readers believe that the meaning of a text rests in the
words on the page. As readers, all they have to do is understand the literal
meaning of the words and their job is done. Critical readers understand that no
language is transparent--all language is interpreted. They make a conscious
effort to monitor how they are interpreting a text’s meaning, actively seeking
out other interpretations to better understand the material.
Interactive
Critical
readers interact actively with texts they read and with other readers. They
question the words on the page, look up definitions, draw connections between
readings, talk with others about the texts. In short, they recognize the
social, interactive nature of reading and knowledge.
Reflective
Critical
readers think about their own reading process. Before, as, and after they read
a text, they reflect on the activity itself. They try to understand how their
own knowledge, feelings, and beliefs can influence their reading of a text.
They try to identify effective and ineffective reading strategies. When they
encounter difficult texts, they draw on their repertoire of past reading
experiences to find a way to understand the material.
Analytical
Critical
readers analyze the texts they read and their own thinking. They take little on
face value.
Instead,
they carefully analyze what they read to identify the author’s assumptions,
biases, or logical fallacies. Through analysis, they come to a better
understanding of the text’s strengths and weaknesses, its faults and
limitations, its structure and intent.
Oppositional
Critical
readers like to play devil’s advocate. They know how to read like a believer,
but also read like a doubter. They ask tough questions about texts, even when
they essentially agree with the writer’s
position.
They have learned that through the critical, oppositional analysis of a text,
they come to a better understanding of both the reading and their own thoughts.
Time your current reading speed.
Not only
will timing help you to tell if you're improving, but it will also keep you
motivated.
You can break out a book and a stopwatch and either
time how long it takes you to read a certain number of words on a page or find
out how many words you read in a given amount of time.
An easier
way to time you is to take an online reading speed test. There are plenty of
these available: just enter "reading speed test" in your search
engine. Many of these have reading comprehension tests, as well, so you can see
how well you understand what you're reading.
Regardless of how you decide to time yourself, be
sure to read at your normal speed during the timing, and time yourself on a few
different pages - the average of your times should approximate your average
reading speed.
Get rid of distractions.
Even if
you think you read better when you have music playing or when you're in a
crowded coffee house, you can probably increase your speed if you reduce
distractions to a bare minimum. Try to find a solitary place to read, and turn
off the TV, radio and cell phone.
Even being in a room of people talking is
distracting. If no solitary place is available, try using earplugs to block out
any distractions around you.
Adjust reading speed depending on the material.
Often, we
must trade off comprehension for speed, so an important part of increasing
reading speed is deciding how thoroughly you need to comprehend a particular
piece of writing. So before you even start reading, decide how fast you intend
to go.
If you're
reading a newspaper article, chances are you just want to get the main ideas,
and you can skim through the passages quite rapidly.
If,
however, you're reading a mathematics textbook or a demanding philosophical
treatise - and you need to fully understand the material - you do not want to
rush.
Learn to separate the wheat from the chaff with
pre-reading.
No matter
what you are reading, there is frequently a lot of "filler" that you
can read quickly through or even skim over. With practice, you will be able to
identify the most important parts of a book as you skim through it. When you
get to such a passage, slow down.
Before you begin a chapter or book, look over the
entire piece very quickly. Try to find patterns of repeated words, key ideas,
bold print and other indicators of important concepts. Then, when you actually
do your reading you may be able to skim over large portions of the text,
slowing only when you come to something you know is important.
Train yourself not to reread.
Most
people frequently stop and skip back to words or sentences they just read to
try to make sure they understood the meaning. This is usually unnecessary, but
it can easily become a habit, and many times you will not even notice you're
doing it.
• One
exercise to help you avoid rereading is to take a sheet of paper or
index
card and drag it down the page as you read, covering each line once you've read
it. Try to drag the card in a steady motion; start slowly, and increase your
speed as you feel more comfortable.
Practice and push yourself.
While you
may see some gains in speed the moment you start using these tips, speed
reading is a skill that requires a lot of practice. Always push yourself to
your comfort level and beyond - if you end up having to reread a section, it's
not a big deal. Keep practicing regularly.
Have a clear purpose for reading.
Know what
you want to get from a book before you start reading. Are you reading for
pleasure (doing what pleases you) or for information?
•If
you're reading for information, set your purpose, which will either be
to find
specific information, or
to discover its message, what it's about.
Have a SMART purpose for your reading. In business,
people are often
told to set a 'SMART' goal or purpose. This applies
to reading too.
SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Real (WIIFM),
Time-bound (or timely)
SKIMMING READING
Skimming to get an overall impression.
Skimming
is useful when you want to survey a text to get a general idea of what it is
about. In skimming you ignore the details and look for the main ideas. Main
ideas are usually found in the first sentences of each paragraph and in the
first and last paragraphs. It is also useful to pay attention to the
organization of the text.
As
reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning
of the text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time
when you are reading. It is useful, therefore, if you need to read the text in
detail, before you start reading to activate the knowledge you have about the
topic of the text and to formulate questions based on this information.
Skimming a text for gist can help you formulate questions to keep you
interacting with the text.
Skimming a text using first lines of paragraphs.
In most
academic writing, the paragraph is a coherent unit, about one topic, connected
to the previous and next paragraphs. Paragraphs are organized internally and
the first sentence of each paragraph is often a summary of, or an introduction
to, the paragraph. You can therefore get a good idea of the overall content of
a text by reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This should help you
get a feeling for the structure of the text. In many cases that will be enough,
but if it isn't, you will now have a good idea of the structure of the text and
you will find it easier to read in detail. Familiar texts are easier to read.
As
reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning
of the text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time
when you are reading. It is useful, therefore, if you need to read the text in
detail, before you start reading to activate the knowledge you have about the
topic of the text and to formulate questions based on this information.
Skimming a text using first lines of paragraphs can help you formulate
questions to keep you interacting with the text.
Skimming a text using first and last paragraphs.
In most
academic writing, the text is organized clearly with an introduction and a
conclusion. The introduction gives you an idea of what the text is going to be
about and the conclusion shows that this is what it has been about. You can
therefore get a good idea of the overall content of a text by reading the first
and last paragraphs of a text. This should help you get a feeling for the
content of the text. In many cases that will be enough, but if it isn't, you
will now have a good idea of the content of the text and you will find it
easier to read in detail. Familiar texts are easier to read.
As
reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning
of the text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time
when you are reading. It is useful, therefore, if you need to read the text in
detail, before you start reading to activate the knowledge you have about the
topic of the text and to formulate questions based on this information.
Skimming a text using first and last paragraphs can help you formulate
questions to keep you interacting with the text.
Skimming a text, using section headings.
In some
academic writing, the text is organized through the use of headings and
sub-headings. You can therefore get a good idea of the overall content of a
text by reading the headings and sub-headings first. This should help you get a
feeling for the content and organization of the text. In many cases that will
be enough, but if it isn't, you will now have a good idea of the content of the
text and you will find it easier to read in detail. Familiar texts are easier
to read.
As
reading is an interactive process, you have to work at constructing the meaning
of the text from the marks on the paper. You need to be active all the time
when you are reading. It is useful, therefore, before you start reading to
activate the knowledge you have about the topic of the text and to formulate
questions based on this information. The title, sub-titles and section headings
can help you formulate questions to keep you interacting with the text.
Related Topics
Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, DMCA Policy and Compliant
Copyright © 2018-2024 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai.