Critical Thinking, Critical Reading

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Critical Thinking, Critical Reading

• Mara Pavlidis
• Language and Academic Skills Adviser
• HS1, Room 231
• e-mail m.pavlidis_at_latrobe.edu.au

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Focus of session

• Reading at university
• Reading techniques
• Critical reading
• Summarising your reading

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Reading at university - purposes

• to prepare for lectures and tutorials
• (as follow-up) to extend your understanding of a
  particular topic/issue
• to answer assignment questions
• to revise for tests and exams

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Reading at university - sources

• textbooks/academic books
• (refereed) academic journal articles
• readings packages for subject (collected from
  various sources)
• reports by government bodies, professional
  organisations

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Reading techniques

• Skimming overview reading
• Scanning locating specific information
• In-depth reading reading for a critical
  understanding

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Skimming

• get a general understanding of the content of the
  text
• locate section of a chapter/article to read in
  detail (for lecture, assignment)
• To get the most out of skimming, you should
• - use titles and headings to help predict the
  content of the text
• - look at diagrams and figures before skimming
  the text
• - use the first sentence of each paragraph to
  help you get an overview of the content

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Scanning

• locate material relevant to a reading/essay
  question
• locate key words, definitions, data, etc.
• skimming and scanning are used in combination to
  help you identify material you need to read in
  detail

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In-depth reading

• Enables you to, for example
• get a detailed understanding of a theory,
  structure, process
• critically evaluate arguments, evidence and
  conclusions
• identify implications for professional practice

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Reading efficiently

• understand your purpose for reading What are you
  looking for? What problem do you need to solve?
• allocate time for the task according to
  complexity of task, weighting of assessment
• read actively highlight key points in the text,
  make notes in margin, write questions, evaluate
  what you are reading
• adjust your reading technique to your reading
  purpose
• evaluate your reading strategies

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Critical reading involves

• establishing the purpose of the text
• identifying the theories or perspectives
  underpinning the authors argument
• critically analysing the issues discussed
• identifying bias
• assessing the validity of arguments, evidence or
  conclusions

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Critical reading questions to ask

• Who is the author, when was this written, and
  what is the context?
• What is the author arguing and how does he/she
  back up the claims?
• Are his/her claims and conclusions valid? Why?
  Why not?
• How does this viewpoint compare with another?
• Which viewpoint do I accept/refute? Why?

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Summarising your reading

• Summaries enable you to
• check your understanding
• condense a lot of information into an accessible
  form
• think about how aspects of the topic are linked
• create an aid for later revision

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Types of summary

• list of points under headings (to show hierarchy
  of information) paraphrased and summarised
  ideas, may contain direct quotes to use in an
  assignment
• tables useful for summarising and comparing
  features, e.g. of approaches to practice
• diagrams/flow charts useful for showing how
  ideas, perspectives, or topics are linked

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Summarising from your sources

• You must understand the original text completely
  to be able to summarise it.
• When you write a summary, you write a shortened
  version of the original text which contains the
  main points.
• The order of the points made in the original text
  must be the same in the summary
• A summary cannot change the meaning or alter the
  focus of the original text.
• When you summarise material for an assignment,
  the summarised material should be integrated into
  your own writing. It should be consistent with
  the language style of the rest of the essay/case
  study.

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Paraphrasing from your sources

• You must understand the original text completely
  to be able to paraphrase it.
• When you paraphrase, you write the meaning of the
  original text in your own words.
• A paraphrase cannot change the meaning or alter
  the focus of the original text.
• It is generally not possible to paraphrase
  technical language or discipline-specific jargon.
• Paraphrased material should be integrated into
  your own writing. It should be consistent with
  the language style of the rest of the essay/case
  study.