Faculty of Letters and Languages
Department of English
Module:Reading Texts
Level: Second Year BA (Licence)
Tutor: Dr. Khaoula HAKKOUM (email: khawlahakkoum91@gmail.com)
Lesson01: What is Critical Reading?
Objective: by the end of the lesson, students would be able to identify what critical reading is and name the skills
and the strategies related.
I. Levels of Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension has four levels as stated by Smith (1969): literal, interpretative, critical and creative. In literal
comprehension, readers are required to understand the information which is evident and directly stated in “black and
white”. However, in interpretative reading, readers need to “read between the lines”; i.e., understand information and
relationship which are not directly stated. As far as critical reading is concerned, readers are expected to provide a
judgment of the material being read. In other words, they need to evaluate the material regarding the accuracy,
truthfulness validity and effectiveness. Creative reading entails generating new ideas and insights through innovating,
predicting and using imagination basing on a reading text.
II. Critical Reading sub-skills
As a critical reader, one should actively work out the meaning of the text/material as intended by the author ( what seems
to be true to the author) through reflecting on the text and contributing his/her own past experience (including the
previously read texts) and prior knowledge. On this basis, critical reading involves:
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Evaluating sources,
Distinguishing facts from opinions,
Interpreting connotation of words,
Recognizing the purpose of the author,
Finding out the author’s point of view,
Recognizing fallacious thinking,
Detecting propaganda devices,
Recognizing statistical slips,
evaluate generalizations,
evaluate strengths of arguments,
identify biased statements,
identify relevant and irrelevant
materials,
identify similarities and differences
III. Critical Reading Strategies
There is a set of strategies to follow in order to read critically:
1- Annotating: underlining important ideas in the text e.g.: thesis statements, topic sentence and explanatory material;
circling key words; writing questions and comments on the margin.
2- Contextualizing: placing it in its historical and cultural context.
3- Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values: does the text make you feel disturbed, threatened, ashamed,
inspired, strengthened.
4- Paraphrasing: writing it in your own words while keeping the same meaning of the original material.
5- Outlining: Outlining allows you to identify the basic structure of a text and the main ideas of the text. In an outline you
are listing the main ideas and supporting evidence of a text.
6- Summarizing: summarizing allows you to create a new text after synthesizing. Outlining the text may help you to
summarize it easily.
7- Exploring figurative language: understanding the illustrations made by authors through figurative language.
8- Looking for patterns of opposition: writers may present the view and their oppositions like: man-woman, black-white,
agreement-disagreement, healthy-unhealthy.
9- Evaluating the two parts of an argument are claim and support. The claim is what the writer wants the reader to
accept. That is, the claim is the idea, opinion, or point of view of the writer. The support is the reasons and evidence that
becomes the basis for that claim. Arguments must pass the ABC test. That is the argument must be,
a. Appropriate
b. Believable
c. Consistent
10- Recognizing emotional manipulation: Writers may resort to improper emotional manipulation when they use false
or exaggerated appeals. When a writer acts as an alarmist, uses emotionally loaded words, like racist, or tries to vilify the
opposition, you, as reader, should be suspicious. Some of the following are fallacies of emotional appeal.
a. Loaded or slanted language: language meant to get a specific
reaction from the reader.
b. Bandwagon effect: everyone else thinks this is true and so
should you.
c. False flattery: praising the reader to get them to accept the
writers view.
d. Veiled threat: alarming or frightening readers into believing
author.
11. Judging the writer’s credibility: There are three ways that writers establish their credibility.
a. By showing their knowledge of subject (using facts and statistics)
b. By building common ground with readers (base reasoning on shared
beliefs)
c. By responding fairly to objections and opposing arguments (does the
writer respond to objections or ignore them and assume everyone agrees
with him or her)