Critical Reading

Functional English
BBA 1st
What is critical reading?

Critical reading is a process of actively and analytically engaging with a text to understand,
evaluate, and interpret its meaning. It goes beyond simply reading the words on the page and
involves questioning, analyzing, and reflecting on the content. The goal of critical reading is
to develop a deeper understanding of the material, assess its credibility, and form thoughtful
opinions or conclusions.
Key elements of critical reading include:

Active Engagement: Critical readers actively engage with the text by asking questions,
making predictions, and connecting the information to their existing knowledge.
Analytical Thinking: Critical reading involves analyzing the structure, arguments, and
evidence presented in the text. Readers assess the author's logic, identify biases, and evaluate
the effectiveness of the writing.
Contextual Understanding: Critical readers consider the context in which the text was
written, including the author's background, purpose, and intended audience. Understanding
these factors helps in interpreting the meaning accurately.
Questioning Assumptions: Critical readers question their own assumptions and the
assumptions presented in the text. They recognize that perspectives may vary, and they seek
to uncover hidden biases or perspectives.
Evaluation of Evidence: Critical readers assess the quality and relevance of the evidence
provided in the text. They look for credible sources, logical reasoning, and sufficient support
for the author's claims.
Inferential Thinking: Critical reading involves drawing inferences and making connections
between different parts of the text. Readers may also relate the information to their own
experiences or other texts they have encountered.
Synthesis of Information: Critical readers synthesize information from the text, combining
their understanding of different elements to form a comprehensive interpretation or analysis.
Note: Developing critical reading skills is essential for academic success, effective
communication, and informed decision-making. It is a valuable skill in various disciplines,
including literature, science, history, and social sciences.
Critical reading strategies
Steps in critical reading
1. Before Reading
2. During Reading
3. After reading
1. Before reading: Read the task. What are you going to have to do after reading the
text? For example you can be asked to:
 Prepare a summary
 Compare and contrast with an other text
 Prepare for a debate/discussion
Before critical reading, you can scan the text. Look at the images, graphs and key figures
given in the text and make a prediction about the text. You should develop an idea of the
text and determine what you already know about the text.
Read the first and last sentence of the paragraph and make or change your prediction.
This is applicable to non-fiction text.
2. During reading: Read the text for general understanding. Read the text again and
mark the most important points discussed. You can circle, highlight or tick the
important parts of the text. For example you can circle the key words in the text. Key
words are repeatedly used. Look at the claims made by the authors. Claims arguable
statements. For example, the writer claims that exercise reduces body fats. While
reading, focus on what you already know.
3. After Reading: You must reflect on your own ideas. Consider:
 How close was my prediction?
 Did my opinion change?
 What did I learn/enjoy/like or dislike?
 Can I make personal connection?
When reflecting on your understanding of the text, consider:
 Do I understand the information?
 Can I understand the author’s main points or arguments?
 What do I need to clarify about my understanding?
After reflection, re-visit the marked or highlighted text.
Additional Tips
Study smarter not harder
While studying, take a 5 minutes break after every 30 minutes of focussed study. This
method :
1. Improves the memory
2. Serves as energy boosts
3. Reduces stress
4. Improves health
5. Boosts your performance and creativity
The research also indicates that designated study area helps you understanding better and
improves exams scores/grades. Memorization helps to retain key facts, however, rote
memorization is not effective way for learning. The students must differentiate between
facts and concepts. The fact is a verifiable pieces of specific information. Facts take a
variety of forms, including definitions, names, dates, and formulae. For instance, learning
the names of the state capitols is factual learning. While crucial to overall knowledge
development, facts do not generalize well. They are specific to the context in which they
are taught. Concepts are distinguished from facts in that they are a much broader, deeper
type of knowledge. Learning a concept should help the learner generalize from the
teaching context to other, different contexts. In this way, conceptual learning is like a key:
it helps to open learning in other areas. Concepts are also different from facts and skills
because they involve relationships or processes. Photosynthesis, natural selection, and the
theory of relativity are all examples of large, organizing concepts. Learning concepts is
usually much more difficult than learning facts because it requires analytical thinking;
facts taught within a concept are typically learned faster.
Important Tip!
A concept is an abstract idea generalized from particular instances or evidence, so involves an
inductive process or thought” (Sheuerman, R.). By contrast, a fact is something known to be
true, it’s a piece of information. To oversimplify the difference, facts are memorized where as
concepts are understood.
The researchers have focussed on Deep Conceptual Learning (DCL). Before going into
the details, let us compare surface learning vs deep conceptual learning.
Surface Learning
Surface learning is the more factual information or surface knowledge that is often a
prerequisite for deep learning.
Deep Learning
Deep learning involves things like extending ideas, detecting patterns, applying knowledge and
skills in new contexts or in creative ways, and being critical of arguments and evidence.”
(Merrilyn Goos). Deep learning first requires recall and use of surface knowledge and skills
(Webb, 2005). ‘Traditional’ approaches like memorization and rehearsal can equip students with
these foundations (Hattie, 2012), but the problem is that teaching and learning often stops at
the surface.

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Functional English

What is critical reading?

Key elements of critical reading include:

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