Lesson Text and Context Connections:

Critical Reading as Reasoning

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Activity 1. Can you think of the similarities and difference between critical reading
and reasoning? Try to fill this Venn Diagram with your ideas.

Critical Reading Reasoning

Lesson Text and Context Connections:

Critical Reading
1.1
✓ Critical reading goes beyond recognition of the text’s meaning and restating it in your own
words.
✓ A critical reader does not merely skim the text at hand.
✓ To reach a solid interpretation of a text, the critical reader must dwell on what the text
does by making such remarks beyond what it says. From this, the critical reader must
identify what the text wholly means based on the previous analysis.

Critical reading advances the understanding of the reader by not taking the text by
its face value. It studies the composition’s every nook and cranny until you find the
author’s inconsistencies, oversights, limitations and other reasonable arguments that is
often overlooked by a normal reader.
According to the website criticalreading.com, there are three steps of analysis
reflecting the three types of reading and discussion:

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 1. What a text says – restatement (wherein the reader merely restates what is said
in the original text)
2. What a text does – description (wherein the reader discusses aspects of the
discussion itself)
3. What a text means – interpretation (wherein the reader analyzes the meaning
of the text as a whole).
Critical reading does not simply ask what the text says but more of how the topic is
presented and why. Critical readers dwell on the distinctive qualities of the text. Readers
normally read texts to obtain facts and knowledge. A critical reader, on the other hand,
mulls over the unique perspective of the author on a particular text and how the facts the
author presented arrived at his/her conclusion.

Goals of Critical Reading

Prentice Hall has enumerated the following critical reading skills:

1. The ability to distinguish between fact and opinion
2. The ability to identify the author’s purpose
3. The ability to make inferences
4. The ability to recognize the author’s tone
5. The ability to recognize persuasive techniques

Critical reading ultimately examines the author’s choice of content, language and
structure. The basis of recognizing the purpose of an author is their choice of content and
language to use. The critical reader analyzes the tone and persuasive elements of a text
through reviewing the choice of language used. In recognizing the bias of the text, the
critical reader must identify the nature of patterns of choice of content and language.
Critical reading teaches the reader how to not blindly accept all the presented facts without
further examination. This technique allows you to confirm and present your own argument.
The practical starting point of every critical reader is to question everything you read.
To read critically is to make judgments about how a text is argued. This is a highly
reflective skill requiring you to stand back and gain some distance from the text you are
reading.
It is not recommended to read just to look only or primarily for information; instead,
read to look for ways of thinking about the subject matter.

Lesson Text and Context Connections: Facts

versus Opinions
1.2
✓ A statement of fact is characterized by its ability to be verified through
experimentation, personal observation or credible sources.
✓ On the other hand, a statement of opinion needs further evidence and other valid
supporting details to be proven true.
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 Facts are statements that can be checked or proved. We can check facts by
conducting some sort of experiment, observation or by verifying (checking) the fact with a
source document.
Facts often contain numbers, dates or ages and facts might include specific
information about a person, place or thing.
An opinion, on the other hand, is a statement that cannot be proved or checked. It
tells what someone thinks, feels or believes.
Clue words for opinion statements are: think, believe, seem, always, never, most,
least, worse, greatest.
To recognize a fact or an opinion, ask yourself, “Can this statement be proved?”.
If your answer is YES, then that statement is a fact; if your ANSWER is NO, then that
statement is an opinion.

Activity 2: Identify whether the following statements are statements of fact or

opinion. Write SOF for statement of fact and SOO for statement of opinion.

________1. Chocolate cake is the most delicious kind of dessert.

________2. Belo Medical Clinic is the best clinic that can reverse skin aging.
________3. LBC is the most reliable express delivery company in the Philippines.
________4. BDO is the best bank in the Philippines.
________5. Listerine is a mouthwash.
________6. Listerine is a dynamite against bad breath, plaque and gingivitis.
________7. Globe handy phone makes great things possible.
________8. Natural fibers boost the immune system and improve digestive health.
________9. Paula’s Hotel is perfectly suited for your family vacation.
________10. Paula’s Hotel is located at Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
________11. BMW is the fastest and most sporty car ever.
________12. Winston Cigarette is the “spirit of the USA”.
________13. Hope is the largest-selling luxury cigarette.
________14. Hope is a brand of cigarette.
________15. Palmolive is a brand of shampoo and conditioner.
________16. Palmolive shampoo makes you more confident with your straighter hair.
________17. Filipinos are lazy people.
________18. Men and women are opposite sexes.
________19. People from Mindanao are all beautiful.
________20. Duterte is the greatest president this country has ever had.

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 Lesson Text and Context Connections:
Author’s Purpose and Tone
1.3
✓ An author’s purpose is his reason for or intent in writing. An author’s purpose may be to
amuse the reader, to persuade the reader or to inform him.
✓ An author’s purpose is reflected in his tone.
✓ Tone reflects the author’s attitude in approaching the topic. According to Forlini, “an author
chooses words according to his/her attitude toward the topic and how the author expects
the reader to respond to the material.”

Purpose is the reason an author writes about a topic. An author may have a more
specific purpose in mind other than to inform, entertain or persuade him. To figure out
the author’s purpose, you as the reader, must consider the main idea, thought pattern and
tone.
The author’s tone, on the other hand, may be evident in his/her choice of words
either expressing its connotation or denotation.
The author uses various persuasive techniques to color the presentation of facts
and to appeal to the reader. Authors use jargons and slanting to make the readers lean
towards their position/argument.
✓ Jargons are “specialized vocabulary used by people in a particular field.” While often
misused to conceal meaning, jargons may prove effective in solidifying an argument
if defined and explained appropriately.
✓ Slanting “is the writing of a passage so that it leans toward one point of view.” Words
with either positive or negative connotations may be used as slanting. Another
example of slanting is purposefully leaving out information of a different perspective
on a similar issue.
✓
Analyzing a Written Text
In analyzing a written text, it is important to take note of the following elements as
well as the guide questions that come with it:
• Purpose/Context – What does the text aim to do? Does it mean to persuade or does
it contribute to a discussion of an existing topic? What content does the text cover?
What purpose does it serve its readers?
• Author/s – Who wrote the text? What are his qualifications for writing about the
topic?
• Audience – What is its target audience? Where is the text found? What does the
author expect the reader to get from his/her composition? Are you a part of the
author’s audience?
• Topic and Position – Is the author’s argument on the topic at hand supported by
valid evidence? Is the author’s position clear? Is it presented as objective? Is his/her
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 stand based on other author’s position or simply from personal
observation/experience?
• Research/Sources – Do previous researches have a role in supporting the author’s
argument? Which of the references elicits further discussion?
• Proof/Evidence – What are the proofs/evidence presented by the author throughout
the text? Did they come from credible sources? What type of proof is used by the
author (e.g. references to other work, interpretations of other work, original
research, personal experience, author’s opinions, critical analysis, etc.)? Do these
proofs validate the argument? Which of the evidence carries the most weight?
• Organization – How are the information organized in the text? For what particular
reason are they arranged in this particular way? Where did the author plainly states
his/her stand on the topic? Is the organization driven more by the content (the
information that needs to be presented), by the authors' argument, by the needs of
the audience, or by some combination of the three?
• Style – What can you infer from the author’s choice of words? From what
perspective did the author write the text? Was he/she inclusive with his/her choice
of words? Did they use jargons or slanted meanings? If there are, were they properly
defined for the reader’s convenience and understanding? What other writing
techniques did the author apply in writing the text? Analyze each sentence structure,
figurative language and rhetorical questions existing in the text.
• Drawing Conclusions – What does the author want to highlight? Compare and
contrast the text with other similar ones. Identify the similarities and differences in
their approach of the same topic.

Activity 3: Read the following passage and analyze the author’s purpose, tone and
persuasive techniques used by completing the table that follows it. Use the guide
questions we have discussed in the previous page to help you in analyzing the text.

Exit Essay: Save the Filipino Language

The Filipino language plays a huge part in the lives of the countrymen. It is the heart
and soul of the country as it symbolizes oneness in words, speech, and thought. Language
is something one continuously learns as he/she grows up. Truly, a country’s language
paves way for bigger and better opportunities that will benefit everyone. But what will
happen to this optimistic view of the future if the means of learning one’s language is taken
away from him? This has been one of the hottest issues present in Philippine society today
– the exclusion of the Filipino subject in the tertiary level.
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has already released a revised general
education (GE) curriculum that implements the dropping of the mandatory Filipino subjects
on the tertiary level. The CHED memorandum order on the new curriculum notes that the
integration of GE courses in senior high school – Grades 11 and 12 – has created a window
for the revision of the current curriculum in colleges. According to CHED, the revision of
the curriculum aims to promote the development of a student’s intellectual competency,
personal and civic competency, and practical skills. CHED also claims that the Filipino
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subjects taken under the K to 12 program are sufficient given that students already have
108 hours under the said subject in Grade 11 alone. “The proposed GEC strips away
remedial courses, those that duplicate subjects in Grades 11 and 12, and introductory
courses to the disciplines,” CHED explained in CMO 20-2013.
The new curriculum includes the following core courses: Understanding the Self;
Readings in Philippine History; The Contemporary World; and Mathematics in the Modern
World. Also included are Purposive Communication; Art Appreciation; Science,
Technology and Society; and Ethics. It requires three courses on the Arts & Humanities;
Social Sciences & Philosophy; and Mathematics Science and Technology clusters. It also
mandates the three-unit Life and Works of Rizal course. As a whole, the number of GEC
units has been reduced from the current 63-51 units down to 36 units for all college
students.
The revision of the curriculum has met various violent reactions and oppositions
from stakeholders, linguists, academics, and even students themselves. Movements from
different universities concerned are currently in motion in order to fight for the life of the
Filipino subjects in the tertiary level. David San Juan (2014), a professor in De La Salle
University-Manila, pointed out that while the memorandum stated that the optional
provision for the teaching of the courses in Filipino dilutes its purpose as most universities
in the country uses English as its default language. In addition to the statements of
oppositions, the Kagawaran ng Filipino of the Ateneo de Manila University avers that “Hindi
lamang midyum ng pagtuturo and Filipino. Isa itong disiplina. Lumilikha ito ng sariling
larang ng karunungan na nagtatampok sa pagka-Filipino sa anumang usapin sa loob at
labas ng akademya.” UP DFPP also reacted on the revision of the curriculum expressing,
“Ang pagtatanggal ng siyam na yunit ng Filipino sa kolehiyo ay isang anyo ng karahasang
pangkamalayan. Nilulusaw nito ang pagpapahalaga sa kasaysayan at kabihasnang
tanging Filipino ang makakapagpaliwanag.”
On a personal account, being a student myself makes me think twice about the
revision of the GE curriculum in college. Through the years of my schooling, the Filipino
language has been one of the most important factors that shaped me as a person. It is the
language I use at home, in school, and nearly in everywhere I go every day. I couldn’t
stress even more the fact that I am a Filipino living in the Philippines. I grew up in a family
that treasures the native language of the Philippine culture. Hearing about the mandatory
exclusion of the Filipino subjects in college irks me mostly because I cannot see the point
if it is really necessary to remove the Filipino language when in fact; it plays a big role in
the development of the country. Resorting to dropping these subjects in favor of others, let
alone its mere deletion, is senseless. There are far more ways to address the issue of the
student’s incompetence and the revised curriculum is not one of them. It is a shameful act
to kill the nurturing of the native language. We are Filipinos and our language is something
we should be proud of – something that we must treasure. Save the country from senseless
actions by fighting for the life of the Filipino subjects. It is not impossible to oppose such
acts if all countrymen are united towards achieving one goal. The time to act is now –
before it is all too late.
(Perez, R.E. (2014). Exit essay: Save the Filipino language. Retrieved from http://rjaperez.tumblr.com/post/95149266012/exit-
essay-save-the-filipino-language)

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Purpose/Context

Author

Audience

Topic & Position

Research/Sources

Proof/Evidence

Organization

Style

Drawing Conclusions

Lesson Text and Context Connections:

Making Inferences
1.4
✓ An inference is an idea or conclusion that’s drawn from evidence and reasoning.
✓ An inference is an educated guess.
✓ When you are making an inference, you are reading between the lines or just
looking carefully at the facts and coming to conclusions.

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 The text, by itself, does not contain meaning. It is up to the reader to interpret the
meaning of the words, their usage and structure in the text. The reader infers an
interpretation of the text through prior knowledge, social conventions, shared experience
or shared values.
Inferences are essential in both written and spoken communication. A single
sentence may contain a variety of assertions. Reading is “an active, reflective, problem-
solving process.” Readers do not simply read the words, but ideas from a collection of
assertions.

Some examples of inferences are the following:

• A boy is wearing a Led Zeppelin T-shirt, glasses, and his shoes have mud on them.
One can infer he likes Led Zeppelin, his eyesight is poor and he walked through
mud.
• You adopt a puppy from the shelter and he seems nervous and scared. He hides
from loud noises and had some noticeable scars. You can infer that he was abused
by his former owner.

Activity 4: Let’s try if you can infer where I am and what I am doing, and
what can you infer about the feelings of the people in the situations that I’ll
be giving you. The first one has been done for you.

Can you infer where I am and what I’m
doing?
I see bubbles rising. I hear my own
breathing. There are fish swimming above
me. I feel the seaweed swaying.
Answer: Scuba diving in the sea!
Can you infer where I am?
It’s so dark in here. What’s that spooky
sound? Oh I feel somebody on my back! I’m
getting nervous.
Answer: ______________________
What can you infer from this?
Rey always carries his guitar with him.
Answer: ______________________
Can you infer where I am and what I’m
doing?
I hear screaming. My stomach feels funny.
Can you see my hair blowing? I’m feeling
excited.
Answer: ____________________
Can you infer where I am?
I hear the crowd cheer as the ball gets inside
the ring. The players whop with glee.
Answer: _____________________
What can you infer about Anna’s father?
After Anna broke the vase, her father turned
and walked away without saying anything.
Answer: _______________________