1. Critical Reading
Brought to you by Ryerson’s Learning Success Centre and Jessica Barr with Revision by Megan Sandhu

2. What is Critical Reading?
Critical Readers:
Evaluate what they read in terms of the accuracy and credibility of the content.
Engage actively in the process of reading to improve comprehension and retention.

3. Why is it Important? Improves your judgment of sources
Improves your credibility
Improves your research skills
Improves your comprehension
Improves your retention

4. How do I do it? Step 1: Set aside your own biases
Step 2: Carefully select the sources you read
Step 3: Carefully evaluate the content
Step 4: Use an effective reading process

5. Step 1: Setting Aside Biases
What is a bias?
A bias is a flaw in reasoning that causes errors of judgment. To read effectively at the post-secondary level, one must strive to eliminate errors of judgment. Therefore, one must strive to remove the biases that cause them.
The first step is to identify what biases we may have and only then can we strive to remove them.

6. Types of Bias What does the critical reader do?
Seeks evidence that conflicts with her/his judgment.
Avoids hastily equating information with evidence and seeks alternative viewpoints.
Sifts through the “noise” to focus on only the relevant information that can be used.
Favours cold hard facts over subjective accounts.

7. Types of Bias
There are many biases. Your job, as critical readers, is to do the following:
Be aware of the importance of bias
Identify your own biases AND THE BIASES OF AUTHORS
Understand how biases create errors in thought
Work hard to suppress your biases as you read

8. Step 2: Source & Author Credibiltiy
Ask these questions when selecting a source. If the answer is ever “No”, then exercise caution:
Is the author known? Trustworthy?
Does the author have relevant qualifications?
Is the publisher known, reputable?
Is it in an academic journal? Peer reviewed?
It is current?
Is there a motive involved? (e.g. selling something)
Does the article use sources? How credible are these sources?

9. Selecting Sources
The best way to be confident in the sources you choose to read is to consult with the librarian or use the library databases to search for sources. Professors and T.A.s can also help!
For other sources, such as general internet sources, you will have to do your own evaluation. Your checklist should include:
Are the author's qualifications, such as education, occupation or position listed?
Does the publication include a reference list or bibliography showing that the author has researched the topic?
If the author is a group, educational institution or government body, is it known to be knowledgeable about the subject?
Based on the date of publication, will the facts or opinions given in this publication be outdated for your purposes?

10. Step 3: Evaluating Content
Ask these questions when evaluating the content of a reading:
What is the author’s purpose?
Who is the intended audience?
What is the author’s main idea?
How is the text organized?
What evidence is used?
What is the author’s tone?

11. a) Author’s Purpose Is it clear? Does the author want to persuade you?
Did the author actually persuade you?

12. b) Intended Audience Are you part of the intended audience?
Is the language suitable for you?
What assumptions has the author made about her/his audience?

13. c) Author’s Main Idea Is there a main idea or thesis stated?
What is it?
What ideas are included that relate to the thesis?
Do all the passages relate to the thesis?
Are there contradictions?

14. d) Organization Does the reading have an organizational pattern?
Is it well organized?
Is it confusing?

15. e) Evidence What kinds of evidence are used? Are they effective?
Are they credible?
Are they varied?
Are assertions backed up with evidence?

16. f) Tone What is the author’s tone?
Does the tone distract from or enhance the reading?
Were there recurring themes and use of language? What were they?
Does the author rely on tricks of persuasion (e.g. emotional language)?

17. Tone: Omissions
Many authors will attempt to persuade you by presenting only one side of an issue and fail to acknowledge opposing views.
This is misleading and poor scholarship and you should read such authors with caution.

18. Step 4: The Critical Reading Process
Reading for pleasure vs. reading critically…

19. The SQ3R Method: An Active Reading Strategy
Survey
Question
Read
Recite
Review

20. Survey Before reading: Skim the introduction and conclusions.
Skim through the main body of the reading looking for topic headings, bold-faced words, pictures, charts, and graphs.
This “preview” can give you an idea of the general structure and content before you begin reading.

21. Question
During the Survey phase, write questions that come to mind on cue cards (one question per cue card)
Questions can come from anywhere – a critical reading checklist, questions about content, questions for further inquiry, etc.

22. Read! (Actively)
Well-defined purpose: to answer the questions you wrote on the cue cards
As you come across answers to your questions, write them on the back of the corresponding cue cards

23. Recite
Once the reading is finished, take your cue cards and read questions and answers out loud for a quick review
This will help you to learn the material in a different way – through speech and hearing.

24. Review
Organize your cue cards and/or reading notes so that they are easy to find.
Periodically review throughout the semester – a very effective strategy for long-term learning.

25. Summary Remember the four steps to critical reading:
Step 1: Set aside your own biases
Step 2: Carefully select the sources you read
Step 3: Carefully evaluate the content
Step 4: Use an effective reading process

26. Summary
Your goal as a university student, among others, is to become a discerning consumer of information, an active participant in your learning.
Engaging in the steps to critical reading will help you to fulfill this goal!

27. How to Evaluate and Analyze an Article for Annotation Purposes
Review:
What are the four components of the “Combined Annotation”?
What is the difference between a summary and an evaluation?

28. Evaluate & Analyze
What is a ‘close reading’? What are some strategies for close reading?
What is ‘active reading’? What are some strategies for active reading?
What is the SQ3R method of ‘critical reading’?

29. Evaluate & Analyze Evaluating/Analyzing
-Limited to one or two paragraphs
-Intended audience noted
-Author credibility
-Objective
-Value, significance, supported with evidence
-Identify shortcomings, biases, omissions
-Strengths/weaknesses (Ryerson NSE 11 syllabus, 2011, p. 8)

30. Evaluate & Analyze
What is the difference between Evaluation and Analysis?

31. Evaluate & Analyze
During the Quiz… Organize your notes right from the start! Summary/Description Notes Evaluation/Analysis Notes Reflection/Connection Notes

32. Evaluate & Analyze
Organize again! How will you order your observations within each paragraph or section? Why does the order of the evaluation/analysis material require a little more planning than the other two parts?

33. Evaluate & Analyze
What are some ways that the Evaluation/Analysis section can be organized? After you have all your rough notes organized, and you know how the annotation is going to be structured, begin to write.

34. Evaluate & Analyze In-class exercise:
Using the same article that you wrote a summary on 2 weeks ago, write an evaluation/analysis that is 1-2 paragraphs long.
Proofread
Hand it in to a peer. Peers, take the week to comment on the work. Next week we will take it up as a class.