Disclaimer All workshops and workshop materials are the sole property of PEGS and cannot be published, copied, or disseminated without prior written approval from PEGS and are for student and faculty use only

Join the Conversation “Academia is an on-going conversation, or a series of on-going conversations, with the latest academics and scholars responding to each other and to the academics and thinkers of previous generations.” --Paul & Elder “Listen” to the conversation. What are people saying? Comment on topic Ask questions Summarize what you have heard. Acknowledge different opinions

SYSTEMS OF THOUGHT Academic disciplines are systems of thought.

Some Disciplines are HARMONIOUS Like SCIENCE or MATHEMATICS E=mc 2 A 2 + B 2 = C 2

Others are CONFLICTING Like ECONOMICS or PHILOSOPHY

YOUR MISSION: Master the systems and come to see how they support or conflict with each other. HOW ON EARTH AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!

With this

Map of Knowledge Primary Ideas: The keys to the system. The core assumptions. Secondary Ideas: The primary ideas explained. Peripheral Ideas: Where most paper topics come from. Essential Note: Closely reading about primary and secondary ideas in a discipline is a key to understanding the discipline.

Talk Amongst Yourselves I’ll Give you a topic: With a partner, discuss the primary ideas that your discipline is built on.

READING FOR A PURPOSE “Skilled readers do not read blindly, but purposely. They have an agenda, goal, or objective…Of course, reading has a nearly universal purpose: to figure out what an author has to say on a given subject.” Paul and Elder

First of all, make sure to write everything down. Annotating In the left margin: make predictions, ask questions, make general comments, make connections In the right margin: summarize each paragraph or section. Put a * by each summary so you can find them quickly, in case you end up writing any comments or questions in the right margin. Develop a consistent system for underlines, wavy lines, using multiple colors, & highlighting. Why a square here? What does the wavy line mean? React to the text!

Structural Reading (What to Read Before you Read) SURVEY - gather the information necessary to focus and formulate goals. Read the title Read the introduction and/or summary Note each boldface heading and subheading Note any graphics Note reading aids

Questions (What to Ask Before You Read) Who is/are the author(s)? What is his/her/their aim or purpose? What is my purpose as a reader?

Four Levels of Close Reading 1. Paraphrasing Read the original Passage: “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” --Malcolm X Understand what the writer said: Think it through: standing for nothing means believing in nothing. Falling for anything means easily duped. Express your understanding in your own words* People who do not have strong convictions of their own can easily be tricked or led astray (Malcolm X). *Of course, you’ll always cite the source of the idea even when you use your own words.

Four Levels of Close Reading 2. Explicating (To explicate: make clear or explicit; explain) State the writer’s main point in one simple sentence. – Malcolm X said “a man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” Elaborate that main point more fully in your own words. – In other words, if I don’t have a solid foundation of values and beliefs, I could be easily influenced to believe things that are not only untrue, but even dangerous. Give your own concrete example(s) of the writer’s main point. – Gangs and cults often prey on people who are alone and lost in their beliefs. Use metaphors, analogies, pictures, or diagrams to connect the writer’s main point to your prior knowledge of the subject or related subjects.

Four Levels of Close Reading 3. Analyzing (asking a lot of questions) What is the paper’s main purpose? – what did the writer(s) mean to say? Who/what is the paper responding to or addressing? – Where are we in the ongoing academic conversation? When was the paper written? – When are we in the ongoing academic conversation? Where is the paper coming from? – What concept/theory/idea frames or foregrounds the paper What do you need to know to understand the paper? – What are the writer’s assumptions? Sometimes these are unstated. Where is it going and how does it get there? – What are the paper’s conclusions? Look for stated and implied conclusions. – What are the real-world implications if you follow the paper’s logic? Look for both stated and unstated consequences and implications. Finally, be a two-year-old: Ask “why” a lot.

Four Levels of Close Reading 4. Evaluating (or answering those questions) Clarity & Precision – Is the paper’s meaning clearly and precisely stated? Accuracy & Relevance – Are the paper’s claims accurate, supported, and documented? Is that support relevant, detailed, and specific? Does the paper stay on topic or make unnecessary digressions? Significance & Depth – Is the topic complex or superficial – Furthermore, is the paper’s treatment of the topic complex or superficial? Logical Consistency – Does the paper contradict itself? Objectivity – Are other points of view considered or addressed? – Is the paper one-sided and narrow or does it display fairness? /

Seriously, write everything down! Annotating and Summarizing Jacob Wilson English 1A Summary of “I Spy” “I Spy” is a story set during WWI and begins when Charlie Stowe sneaks out of his house while his mother sleeps in order to steal tobacco from his father’s shop. Charlie wants the tobacco to impress his classmates. The story has a dark tone and the reader is meant to sympathize with Charlie because he is alone in the darkness and surrounded by violence. It is OK if Charlie steals the tobacco because his father is distant.

My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke Define – Ask questions about the poem’s form and/or philosophy. How might they work for or against each other? Observe – Gather information. What are the poem’s key features? What words or images repeat? Analyze – Use your observations to answer your original questions and to form better questions. Interpret – Build an argument based on your questions and observations. What conclusions did you draw? Were any questions left unanswered? The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt. Excerpted from Poetry and the Scientific Method by Hillary Gravendyk, English (UC Berkeley)

A Final Word and a Last Look at the Critical Reading Chart Reading Critically is not just about examining texts to see if they align with your views or way of thinking. Critical Reading also includes examining your own level of thinking to see if it stands up to scrutiny.

References & Further Help The Critical Thinking Community – UC Berkley, Teaching Guide for Graduate Student Instructors – – A Curious Adventure in Teaching and Learning For more specific help with critical reading strategies… Make an appointment with a PEGS graduate writing consultant. Read any college composition book. The level doesn’t matter. Talk to your professors: Ask them how they read critically. Ask for feedback on your evaluations of specific texts.