Active Reading Continued

Step 1: Comprehension (Summary)

          Review: Habits/Practices to ensure that you are digesting and remembering what you read

Step 2: Critical Reading

     Learning how to analyze/think critically about what you read

Critical reading (WOW pg. 65)

When you read, you must do more than memorize the details and facts from the text (comprehension), you must also go beyond a basic understanding of what the text says.

Elements of Critical Reading

1. understanding the author's purpose
2. drawing inferences from the text
3. evaluating the evidence and logic of an author's assertions--Rhetorical analysis--identifying and analyzing how/if the author appeals to the reader/rhetorical strengths and weaknesses/identifying rhetorical choices (You need to understand not only the argument itself but also how that argument works) 
4. extending ideas beyond the text (rhetorical situation)
5. connecting ideas in one text to ideas in another text or ideas/discussion AND/OR thinking about the genre of the text in connection with current writing assignments (synthesis)

"5 Skills College Grads Need to get a  Job"           Megan Elliott     (2015)

from USA Today 

Critical Reading Element#1: understanding the author's purpose

What type of text is this? Who is the audience?

What is Elliott's purpose?

Recap: Summary  

Critical Reading Element#2: drawing inferences from the text

Inference: a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning

Example 1: Elliott cites Lee Burdett Williams, the dean of students at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, who explains that "good interpersonal skills can make even a candidate with a less-marketable degree an appealing hire." 

Critical Thinking questions that ask you to draw inferences from the text:

What inferences/assumptions/conclusions might you offer in response to this statement?

Thinking outside the text: Based on this evidence, what might you infer about higher education?

Example 2: In her discussion of problem solving skills, Elliott quotes Marie Artim, vice president of talent acquisition for Enterprise. Artim explains, "This is a generation that has been 'syllabused' through their lives."

Critical Thinking questions that ask you to draw inferences from the text: 

Why does Artim use the word 'syllabused'?

Is this a positive or negative reference?

What is she suggesting about educational practices in the U.S?

Now you try:

Choose a specific statement/idea from the article, and create your own critical thinking question(s) that prompts us to draw an inference from the text.

Tip: Read between the lines. Recall areas of the texts that may suggest a claim or an idea that is not explicitly stated. 

Critical Reading Element #3: evaluating the evidence and logic of an author's assertions

Rhetorical analysis--identifying and analyzing how/if the author appeals to the reader/rhetorical strengths and weaknesses/identifying rhetorical choices (You need to understand not only the argument itself but also how that argument works) 

Good place to start for rhetorical analysis: Artistic Appeals

What artistic appeals (pathos, ethos, logos) does Elliott rely on to present her position? Are they effective?

Does/Where does the essay fall short (rhetorical weaknesses)?

When we write an essay, we want to find the best possible means of persuading our readers, and that means that we want to use the best method possible for organizing/structuring our essay/paragraphs/ideas.  In this way, organization/structure is a rhetorical choice.

• Look at the first 2 paragraphs. What are they about? Why do you think she has made the rhetorical choice of beginning with this information?
• Thus, how would you evaluate Elliott's organization/structure? What methods does she use?
• What about her paragraphing strategies? Are they typical?  
• What about the order in which she arranges the information? Is there any organizational method here?

Critical Reading Element  #4: extending ideas beyond the text

examining the rhetorical situation (the world outside the text itself)

-each act of communication is anything but self-contained

-each communication is a response to other communications and other social practices

What are some of the larger social/cultural conversations/themes/ideas is Elliott joining?

-current events/issues/ideas connected to the essay

Critical Reading Element #5: Synthesis (putting the pieces together in interesting, complex, and enlightening ways)

connecting ideas in one text to ideas in another text or ideas/discussion AND/OR thinking about the genre of the text in connection with current writing assignments (synthesis)

Examples of how Elliott's essay connects with ideas/themes discussed in class thus far 

Examples of how Elliott's essay connects with other reading assignments

Think like a teacher: What about the reflection essay? How do the objectives/questions connect with the ideas presented in the essay?

Is there any way to synthesize Elliott's essay with "Warning: College Students, this Editorial May Upset You"?

Further synthesis/moving forward

Applying these critical reading practices in your future endeavors: Response 1