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How to read critically, 1. Determine the central claims or purpose of the text ., A critical reading attempts to identify and assess how these central, claims are developed and argued., , 2. Begin to make some judgments about context., •, •, •, , What audience is the text written for?, Who is it in dialogue with?, In what historical context is it written?, , 3. Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs., •, •, •, , What concepts are defined and used?, Does the text appeal to a theory or theories?, Is any specific methodology laid out?

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•, , •, , If there is an appeal to a particular concept, theory, or method, how is, that concept, theory, or method then used to organize and interpret, the data?, How has the author analyzed (broken down) the material?, , 4. Examine the evidence (the supporting facts, examples, etc.), the text employs. Supporting evidence is indispensable to an argument, so, consider the kinds of evidence used:, Statistical? Literary? Historical? From what sources is the evidence taken?, Are these sources primary or secondary?, 5. Critical reading may involve evaluation., Your reading of a text is already critical if it accounts for and makes a, series of judgments about how a text is argued. Some assignments may, also require you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an argument., Why to read critically, Critical reading is an important step for many academic assignments., Critically engaging with the work of others is often a first step in developing, our own arguments, interpretations, and analysis., Critical reading often involves re-reading a text multiple times, putting our, focus on different aspects of the text. The first time we read a text, we may, be focused on getting an overall sense of the information the author is, presenting - in other words, simply understanding what they are trying to, say. On subsequent readings, however, we can focus on how the author, presents that information, the kinds of evidence they provide to support, their arguments (and how convincing we find that evidence), the, connection between their evidence and their conclusions, etc.