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Developing Critical Reading in EFL Classroom

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 Developing Critical Reading in EFL Classroom1

Parlindungan Pardede
parlpard2010@gmail.com
Universitas Kristen Indonesia

Abstract
Critical reading is a skill highly necessitated in both academic and
everyday lives. A critical reader is able to detect bias, prejudice,
misleading opinion, and illogical conclusions, in a text. As a
reading skill which involves critical thinking competence, critical
reading can be defined as the process of understanding,
questioning, and evaluating a text, which is carried out actively
and consciously, in order to well assess the accuracy and validity
of a writer’s ideas. As a skill, critical reading could be developed
through learning and practices.
Keywords: critical reading, critical thinking, fact, opinion,
fallacious thinking, hasty generalization, equivocation, name-
calling, statistical slips.

Introduction
Some years ago while I was trying to provide the students who attend my
reading classes in the English Department of the Faculty of Education and
Teacher Training of the Christian University of Indonesia Jakarta with up-to-
date reading materials by selecting some texts from English newspapers and
magazines, I realized that some of the materials attempt to influence the
reader’s thinking and behavior. This incident reminded me that writers do not
only aim to communicate information, experience, or amusement. Some
writers also use texts, such as editorials, opinion columns, advertisements,
propaganda bulletins, sermons, and political statement, as an instrument of
persuasion. In general, there’s nothing wrong to deal with persuasive texts. It
is only wrong if we allow ourselves to be unknowingly influenced just

1
This paper was presented in the FKIP-UKI English Department Bimonthly Collegiate Forum
held on August 10, 2007.

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because we passively absorb other people’s opinions without trying to find
out whether they are truly sound or not. For that reason, we should also help
our students develop critical reading skills, in addition to the literal and
literary reading skills.
By mastering critical reading skills, for instance, they will be able to
weigh public issues and make intelligent choices among political candidates.
Critical reading will also enable them to detect misleading advertisement
claims, recognize the best values, and avoid spending their money foolishly.
In short, it is an essential ability because we are living in times of advanced
technology and the widespread expansion of information, when each
individual needs to be a critical reader to uncover bias, prejudice, faulty
reasoning, misinformation, and illogical conclusions presented in texts. And
since it is a skill, it can be developed and refined with practice. This article
aims to share my personal experiences combined with some principal
concepts of critical reading skills in order to suggest some tips for helping our
students develop critical reading skills.

What is Critical Reading?

‘Critical reading’ is basically a reading process which involves critical
thinking. Thus, to define critical reading necessitates an understanding of the
meanings reading and critical thinking. Recent theories view reading as a
process of not just extracting meaning from a text but a process of connecting
information in the text with the knowledge the reader brings to the act of
reading. Reading, in this sense, is “a dialogue between the reader and the
text” (Grabe, 1988: 56). It is seen as an active cognitive process in which the
reader’s background knowledge plays a key role in the creation of meaning
(Tierney and Pearson, 1994). Thus, reading is not a passive mechanical
activity but purposeful and rational, dependent on the prior knowledge and
expectations of the reader.
In literature various definitions of critical thinking exist, ranging from
ones which envisage critical thinking as a broad construct (Davidson and

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Dunham, 1997) which concentrates primarily on reasonable and reflective
thinking which is focused on what to believe or do, to others which view it
more narrowly or exclusively to a certain content area (McPeck, 1981). For
Marshall and Rowland (1998), critical thinking occurs when students
question their own beliefs or what they are told. In parallel with this, Kurland
(2000b) states that Critical thinking is a technique for evaluating information
and ideas, for deciding what to accept and believe. Scriven and Paul (1996)
define critical thinking as “the intellectually disciplined process of actively
and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and
evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation,
experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and
action.” Others see critical thinking as the ability to distinguish between facts
and opinions, judgments and inferences, and objective and subjective
impressions. Synthesizing these definitions, we will see that critical thinking
is the intellectually disciplined process of actively analyzing, questioning,
judging, and evaluating information obtained from texts, experience, and
reflection. A person with adequate critical thinking will question, challenge,
analyze, and evaluate any ideas or opinions he gets. He will never passively
absorb other people’s opinions without trying to find out whether they are
truly sound or not.
By combining the meaning of critical thinking with the meaning of
reading, we can say that critical reading is the application of critical thinking
in a reading activity. In this sense critical reading can be defined as an active
and purposeful process of comprehending, questioning and evaluating printed
material and in order to react intelligently to the writer’s ideas. According to
Kurland (2000a), “Critical reading refers to a careful, active, reflective,
analytic reading” which involves reflecting on the validity of what one has
read in light of his prior knowledge and understanding of the world. To
illustrate, a critical reader will question and detect the use of
overgeneralization in the statement running: “Marriage just cannot survive
these days. Three friends of mine who got married last year are already

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divorced.” Although the writer provides a factual statement to support his
opinion, it is not enough. Three couples with marital problems do not confirm
that all marriages are doomed to failure. To take another example, a critical
reader will presumably find it easy to judge this: “John succeeded leading
some big money-making enterprises. There’s no doubt he will make our
nation prosperous. Vote for him in the general election.” The use of the
propaganda technique called ‘transfer’ in this statement is very clear. One’s
success in leading companies doesn’t guarantee his success to lead a nation.
The definition and illustrations above present us five important features
of critical reading. First, the first obligation of a critical reader is to
understand the author’s message. To achieve it, he must approach the reading
with an open mind and a willingness to accept new ideas or another point of
view. Although he has some doubts about the material before he begins
reading it, he must give the writer an opportunity to present his position. He
must avoid letting his personal biases or prejudices interfere with clear
thinking and objectivity. Having understood the message, he then questions
it, reflects it, and reacts to it in terms of his own knowledge and experience. It
is in this stage that he interacts with the writer. Cautiously, he detects any
unsupported assumptions, contrived relationships, faulty reasoning, illogical
conclusions, the author’s competence, point of view, and prejudices. At the
same time he also should be alert to his own prejudice as he judges the
material he is reading.
Second, critical reading is a high-level of comprehension skills, because
a good critical reader is able to go beyond the literal interpretation of what he
reads. In other words, he reads between the lines to determine what the author
means by what he is saying. He knows how to question, analyze, and form
judgments. He sorts facts from opinions, searches for causes, and considers
the author’s qualifications and purpose. His mind is alert to unfounded
assumptions, fallacious reasoning, and illogical conclusions. By thinking for
himself, he does not necessarily accept the biased viewpoints and propaganda
of writers who are trying to influence him.

4
 Third, unlike basic literal comprehension, critical reading requires the
reader to interact with the writer. The reader must understand the writer’s
message, question it, and react to it in terms of his own knowledge and
experience. He is probing, comparing, and reflecting as he thinks along with
the writer about the ideas that have been set forth. Because of this interaction,
the reader has not only absorbed the writer’s thoughts, but also adapted them
in light of his own background to fit his purposes.
Fourth, critical reading requires wide knowledge. The more experiences
and information a critical reader has concerning a subject, the better qualified
he is to read it critically. One cannot think about nothing: one must have
knowledge of what he is going to criticize. When a reader is familiar with a
topic, he can recognize misleading statements, make intelligent comparisons,
and be aware of significant omissions. He finds that the material either
expands the concepts he already has or fails to harmonize with what he has
experienced.

The Process of Critical Reading

As a process of questioning and evaluating printed material by involving
one’s ability to think critically and to react intelligently to the writer’s ideas,
critical reading is carried out by asking oneself certain questions as he is
reading in order to interpret the author’s ideas critically. Thus, critical reading
is basically not more than keeping on asking relevant critical questions
towards the text one is facing. And since different kinds of text may demand a
different type of thinking or reaction on the part of the reader, a fixed
procedure for critical reading cannot be formulated. However, based on my
several years’ experience in teaching critical reading, the process of critical
reading can be described in the following steps:

1. Identifying facts, in which the reader tries to clearly recognize what the
author is saying. Examining the source, during which the reader critically

5
 looks at the author and his or her competence, reliability, and probable
viewpoints or biases.
2. Analyzing the material by examining the author’s assumptions and the
logic and accuracy of these assumptions and conclusions; recognizing the
inferences that the reader is supposed to make.
3. Detecting the implications present in the author’s diction, style, or tone;
and by recognizing the author’s use of propaganda tricks, fallacious
thinking, statistical slips and emotional appeals.
4. Comparing a selection with other sources that may present conflicting
viewpoints. This fourth step is especially necessary in college
assignments and profitable in such area as political science, sociology,
psychology, history, law, journalism, as well as in literary critics, essays,
biography, and much expository material.

The Components (Sub-Skills) of Critical Reading

Based on the steps of critical reading described above, it is clear that critical
reading basically covers the activities of consciously asking some critical
questions towards the texts one is facing. The following critical questions,
adapted and compiled from Sparks and Johnson’s (1980), Kurland (2000a),
and Spache and Berg’s (1994), are suitable for most kinds of printed matter:
(1) Are the statements fact or opinion? (2) What is the author’s purpose or
motif in writing this material? (3) What is the author bias? (4) How is the
author qualified to write this particular material? (5) How recently was the
material written? (6) What do I know about the publication of this material?
(7) Who is the target reader? (8) Do I accept, reject, or defer judgment on the
author’s material? (9) How has the author organized his material? (10) Does
the writer employ emotionally toned words? (11) What is the relationship, if
any, of the author’s ideas to my own experience? (12) What analogies exist in
the reading? (13) What are the cause-and-effect relationships, if any? (14)
What, if anything, is irrelevant in the reading? (15) Is there any fallacious
reasoning or misuse of statistics in the reading? (16) What comparison can I

6
make of present reading with previous reading? (17) What inference might I
draw from knowledge I have gained?

Techniques to Promote Critical Reading

To be able to effectively put the questions into practice, students need to
master the conceptions from which they are originated. Thus, the first step we
should do to help students to read critically is to make them familiar with
critical reading sub-skills and assign them to recognize these sub-skills in
actual texts. Based on an analysis on the seventeen questions above, I found
eight groups necessary critical reading sub-skills students need to master in
order to be a critical reader. I usually include explanations and practice on
these sub-skills in my critical reading classes.

1. Distinguishing Fact from Opinion

In general, the texts we read combine statements of opinion with statements
of fact. Statements of opinion express a person’s individual response to the
surrounding world. In contrast, statements of fact describe the world without
interpreting it. Unlike statements of opinion, statements of fact can be tested
for accuracy through your own personal observation or through examining
historical records and scientific reports.
The ability to distinguish statements of fact from statements opinion is a
very necessary skill to develop since it helps readers decide whether an
author’s opinions are justified or unjustified. An opinion is justified if the
author provides a number of convincing facts to support his or her personal
belief. Such opinion is worthy of serious consideration. Readers may even
want to make it their own. On the other hand, reader should beware of the
statements of opinion that lack of factual support–called unjustified opinions,
and they should be treated with skepticism. Readers certainly do not want to
take them seriously without doing further reading on the subject.

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2. Interpreting Connotations of Words
In many texts, especially those aimed for persuasion, authors often
deliberately use the connotation associated with certain words to make their
writing persuasive or convincing. In their trials to appeal to emotions in order
to make their ideas acceptable and believable, or to influence their readers’
thinking, writers always use highly connotative language. They are aware of
the truth in the principle that it is not always what we say but how we say it
that influences people. Thus, while reading, readers would do well to think
about the connotations of the words used. If they do, they will be less likely to
be influenced without being aware of it. To see the high importance the
ability to interpret connotations, let’s take the following two reviews of the
same book:
1) The White Hotel by D.M. Thomas is a highly imaginative novel; reading
it, I entered into a dream world, filled with the most extraordinary and
unique fantasies.
2) The White Hotel by D.M. Thomas is a highly unrealistic novel, filled with
the most extraordinary and eccentric fantasies. Reading it, I felt as if I
were having a weird nightmare.
In the first description, phrases like highly imaginative and unique
fantasies are used because they have positive associations that might persuade
someone to buy the book. In the second description, the author has a very
different intention in mind and therefore employs phrases like highly
unrealistic and eccentric fantasies because they usually have negative
connotations.

3. Discovering the Author’s Point Of View

In many writings, writers often try to persuade readers to accept their beliefs.
To achieve it, in addition to the use of unjustified opinions and connotative
meanings, they can also use a ‘special’ point of view, or the point through
which the author considers, presents or communicates his messages or ideas.
Due to the fact that someone’s perception and consideration are highly

8
influenced by his political inclinations, religion, sex, nationality, or
geographic background, some writers are apt to be biased. That is why
recognizing the writer’s point of view is crucial for readers in order to detect
his purposes or biases. By understanding their point of views, for instance,
readers will not find it difficult to understand why most Indonesian educators
see the inclusion of religion into the public school curriculum essential
whereas American educators see it unessential.

4. Recognizing Crooked and Fallacious Thinking

The development of critical reading skills entails the advancement of a clear
and perceptive out-look, and the advancement of a clear and perceptive
outlook necessitates the ability to think logically and to recognize and analyze
instances of crooked and fallacious thinking. Much human misunderstanding
and blunder arises because many people are not aware of the fact that their
trends of thoughts, and thus their communication processes, are frequently
muddled, illogical and fallacious. Although such innocent, though
troublesome, blunders may well be good-humoredly regarded as part of
human weaknesses, we should be aware some people sometimes consciously
take advantage of general ignorance and weaknesses of others. In persuasions
and discourses, such people subtly use crooked tricks of argument to
insidiously influence their readers or listeners. In reading, it would therefore
be wise to consider common forms of crooked and fallacious trends of
thought.
To help students to read critically, I think they need to be familiar with
the following twelve common crooked and fallacious thinking. So, any time
they find any of them in texts, they will not be easily deceived.
(a) Hasty or Over-Generalizations
(b) Attack on The Person
(c) Appeal to The Emotions
(d) Circular Argument
(e) False Analogy

9
(f) Equivocation
(g) Either-or Assumption
(h) Talking ‘What is’ to Be ‘What Ought’
(i) Jumping From a Non-Inclusive Proposition to an Inclusive Conclusion
(j) Supposing the Whole to Be Like the Parts
(k) Asking False Questions
(l) Taking What are Mere Coincidences to Be the Causes (Non-Sequitur)

5. Detecting Propaganda Devices

Encyclopedia Britannica (2008) defines propaganda as “the more or less
systematic effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions by
means of symbols (words, gestures, banners, monuments, music, clothing,
insignia, hairstyles, designs on coins and postage stamps, and so forth).” A
propagandist usually wants others to take a certain attitude or make a certain
decision; he intends to influence them so that they act in a manner desired by
him; and he tries to achieve his purpose by the use of suggestion and spurious
arguments. The predetermined goal which the propagandist tries to achieve
may be either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Whatever the end, propaganda devices may be
employed in its realization, and the same devices may serve the most
divergent purposes.
Readers are fooled by propaganda chiefly because they appeal to their
emotions rather than to their reason. They make them believe and do
something they would not believe or do. And since it appeal more to readers’
emotions; they often don’t recognize it when they see it. However, they can
more easily recognize propaganda when they see it if they are familiar with
the following seven common propaganda devices:

(a) Glittering Generalities

(b) Name Calling
(c) Transfer
(d) Testimonial

10
(e) Plain Folks
(f) Card Stacking
(g) Band Wagon.

6. Recognizing Statistical Slips

At present days, many people seem to be bothered by the reading of facts
presented in mathematical form. This ignorance of mathematical terms and
concepts is quite widespread. As a result, those who present facts to the
public through mathematics can easily deceive the average reader. Statistics
and charts are manipulated to prove almost anything to the naïve consumer.
Unless readers learn to read mathematical materials critically, they also will
be easily deceived by the unscrupulous statistician or chart maker. The
followings are the most common statistical slips readers need to know in
order to guard themselves against being misled by misused statistics.
(a) deceptive sample
(b) misleading average
(c) plausible charts and graphs
(d) presentation of facts without a reference point

7. Making Inference
Inferencing is a mental process by which we reach a conclusion based on
specific evidence. It is very crucial in reading because readers get much of
what they understand through a text indirectly, or by inferencing. A text does
not contain a meaning. Readers construct meaning by what they take the
words to mean and how they process sentences to find meaning. Readers
draw on their knowledge of the language and of conventions of social
communication. They also draw on other factors, such as knowledge of the
author, the occasion, or the audience. They infer unstated meanings based on
social conventions, shared knowledge, shared experience, and shared values.
They make sense of remarks by recognizing implications and drawing
conclusions.

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8. Other Factors of Critical Reading
In addition to the aforesaid sub-skills mentioned, critical reading also
necessitates the readers’ ability to discover the author’s competence,
intention, attitude, and bias; to figure out the time and policies of publication;
and to identify the target readers. The readers’ realization on these factors will
enable them to decide whether a text is worth reading or not. For instance, a
textbook printed fifty years ago should practically be ignored for it must have
been out-of-date. To give another example, a book about practical guide to
child rearing written by a person who has had children is more reliable than
one written by a person who has never had children.
When the conception of each factors or sub-skills is familiar enough to
the students, they are then assigned to read texts designed to empower them
to detect and consider any connotative meanings, fallacious thinking,
propaganda techniques, etc. incorporated in the text. This is the second stage
we should do to help students to read critically. The incorporation of the
elements of critical thinking into material will encourage learners to question
texts and add linguistic value to the textbook and classroom (Paran,
2003). (As a sample, some items of exercise I use in my critical reading
classes are provided in appendix section). When they finish doing it, they can
discuss what they have got with their classmates. Such activity will instill the
habit of involving critical thinking in reading.
Finishing the second step, students are then assigned to read authentic
texts which contain various biases, prejudices, faulty reasoning,
misinformation, and illogical conclusions. When they have finished reading
the texts, they are assigned to answer Wh-questions dealing with the materials
they have read. Such questions, rather than the close or yes/no questions,
require students to think deeply and use complex language to respond, and
thus promote the students’ critical thinking.
In order to promote the students’ critical thinking in discovering the
author’s competence, intention, attitude, and bias; they could be provided
with two texts that present totally different views on the same matter and

12
invite students to discuss and debate the issue. When selecting the texts, the
teacher has to pay attention to the content to ensure that it corresponds with
topics that students are genuinely interested in. The teacher can also find texts
that contain a foreign perspective about the students’ country or culture, so
that they can see themselves through the eyes of others.

Conclusion
Since critical reading is a complex process due to the great number of sub-
skills and factors getting involved in it, developing it can be time-consuming
and difficult for EFL students. Despite this fact, like other language skills, it
can be accomplished with practice, and it is worth the effort. To help students
master it, the teacher should start by familiarizing them with critical reading
sub-skills and assigning them to recognize these sub-skills in actual texts.
When the students have mastered these sub-skills, they are then assigned to
read texts purposively devised to detect and consider any connotative
meanings, fallacious thinking, propaganda techniques, statistical slips, and
illogical conclusion in existence. Finally, after successfully finishing the
second stage, students are then assigned to read authentic texts containing
various biases, prejudices, faulty reasoning, misinformation, and illogical
conclusions. This reading activity is then followed by assigning them to
answer Wh-questions dealing with the materials they have read. Such activity
will promote the students’ critical thinking because Wh-questions usually
trigger the students to think deeply and use complex language to respond.

References
Adams, W. Royce. (1977). Developing Reading Versatility. (2nd ed.). New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Aik, Kam Chuan and Stephen Edmonds. (1976). Critical Thinking: Selected
Topics foDiscussion and Analysis. Kuala Lumpur: Longman Malaysia
Sendirian Berhad.
Davidson, B., and Dunham, R. (1997). Assessing EFL student progress in
critical thinking with The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test.
JALT Journal, 19, 1, 43-57.

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Encyclopædia Britannica (2008)
Grabe, B. (1997). Discourse analysis and reading instruction. In Functional
approaches to written text: Classroom applications, ed. T. Miller, 2–15.
Washington, DC: United States Information Agency.
Kurland, Daniel J. (2000a). “What is Critical Reading?” Retrieved February
10, 2007 from http://www.critical-reading.com/
_______ 2000b. “Critical Reading vs Critical Thinking.” Retrieved February
10, 2007 from http://www.critical-reading.com/
Paran, A. (2003). Helping learners to become critical: How coursebooks can
help. In Methodologyand materials design in language teaching:
Current perceptions and practices and their implications, ed. W. A.
Renandya, 109–23. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
Rudell, Ruddell, and Singer, (eds). (1994), Theoretical models and processes
of reading. 4th ed. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Scriven, M. and R. Paul. (1996). “Defining critical thinking: A draft
statement for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking.”
Retrieved August 15, 2002 from:
http://www.criticalthinking.org/university/univclass/Defining.html
Spache, George D. and Paul Conrad Berg. (1994). The Art of Efficient
Reading (4th ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Sparks, J.E. and Carl E. Johnson. (1980). Reading for Power and
Flexibility. Toronto: Glencoe Press.
Tierney, R. J., and P. D. Pearson. (1994). “Learning to learn from text: A
Framework for Improving Classroom Practice.” In Rudell, Ruddell, and
Singer, eds. 1994. 496–513.

Appendix
1. Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions that follow.
Zamrud Katulistiwa—First Review
For the colorful story of Indonesia’s growth as a nation, there is more lively
reading than the Indonesian History series edited by Anwar Suripto, and this
fifth volume is another rich slice of anecdotes, vivid characterizations of
public figures, and fascinating insights into the life of the biggest nation in
South East Asian region. … It is enlightening to see history from the
Indonesian perspective.

14
(a) Did the reviewer create a favorable or disapproving tone, and how did
he set it?
(b) Did he tell you anything objective about the book or its author; its
accuracy and completeness, the viewpoint and competence of the
author, or his use of documentary or research sources?
(c) If you were seeking a good Indonesian history book, would the review
just quoted influence you to make Zamrud Katulistiwa your selection?

Zamrud Katulistiwa—Second Review

The book is excellent journalism (even assuming that accuracy is still an aim
of the journalist) and bad history. Indeed, it is not really a history at all, but a
collection of tales told by a man of considerable ability but signifying very
little. Quite clearly, readability and drama were the author’s paramount aims;
significance, balance, and accuracy were well down the list. … Even
accepting Mr. Suripto’s apparent aims and assumptions he can be faulted for
inadequate knowledge and poor historical judgment. … Nonetheless, Suripto
achieved his major object. He has written a colorful and dramatic book. His
generalizations are fascinating: sometimes brilliant in insight and imagery,
sometimes daring, sometimes absurd. If he cares little for issues, his
treatment of people is often superb. Zamrud Katulistiwa will not last long, but
it is a good fare.
(a) Did the second reviewer create a favorable or disapproving tone, and
how did he set it?
(b) Did he tell you anything objective about the book or its author; its
accuracy and completeness, the viewpoint and competence of the
author, or his use of documentary or research sources?
(c) Now, would you use Zamrud Katulistiwa as a source of historical
information?

2. Read the following paragraph and answer the questions that follow.
A recent study by the Rand Corporation estimates that American teen-agers
watch at least five hours of television per day. Teenagers should not be
allowed to watch this much television; it’s not good for them. Accustomed to
the bright images of television, teen-agers will lose interest in books and
reading. They won’t want to do any homework because compared to
television, homework will be too boring. It is not accompanied by enough
pictures, and there isn’t any music. If this trend toward more and more
television viewing continues, the future generation will not be able to read,
write, or think. þ

15
 (a) What is the main idea of the paragraph?
(b) Is the main idea justified?

3. Read the following paragraph and answer the questions that follow.
Dog is the most faithful animal in the world. It is ready to sacrifice its life to
guard its master. Realizing this, it is important for scientists to study how to
train people like a dog. There is no doubt that if we design such training, the
world will be peaceful because all people are faithful one to another.
(a) What is the main idea of the paragraph?
(b) Does the writer adequately support his/ her opinion? If not, what type of
fallacious thinking is employed in it?
4. Read the following sentences and decide what propaganda techniques
they represent.
___ Forty million Indonesians drink Kapal Api. Why not you?
___ Everything in our newspaper is important. Read Ibukota Post!
___ An honest American, Richard Reeves believes in freedom and love of
fellow man.
___ Come to Bali, where you can enjoy paradise-like life.

5. Read the following paragraph and answer the questions that follow.
A sociological study on single people conducted in Jakarta was completed
recently. 35 adult males and 35 adult females were asked to fill in a
questionnaire in order to see whether they tended to get married or to stay
single. The results showed that poor adult males were more likely to be
single than wealthy adult males. The results for females were the opposite.
Wealthy women were much more likely to be single than poor women.
Another interesting finding in the study was that women would like to get
married when they were between 24 to 35 years old, whereas men thought
it’s quite OK if they got married when they were between 30 to 50 years old.
(a) What is the main idea of the paragraph?
(b) Does the writer adequately support his/her opinion? If not, what
statistical slip does the writer use in the paragraph?

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