Critical Reading

Is engaging yourself in a text or any material that you are reading. Although the word “critical” means to express
criticism or disapproval about something like a book, movie or a piece of art etc., critical reading does not
necessarily mean that you have to be ‘critical’ of something that you read.

Annotating
- It is underlining or highlighting the important ideas or point in a text like thesis statement, topic
sentence, supporting ideas or subtopics.

Contextual Reading

- The reader studies the author of the text, the time or period when the author wrote it and the
important events that occurred during the time text was written.

Outlining

- It’s an overview of a document in which information and ideas are arranged according to hierarchy-
the main idea being at the top followed by the rest of supporting ideas or subtopics.

Summarizing

- It’s the condensing or writing of a material in the reader’s own words.

Paraphrasing

- One way of understanding a text better is to paraphrase it. Paraphrasing is putting or writing a text in
your own words but maintaining the original information as given by the author.

Comparing and Contrasting

- It’s naming the similarities of two or more ideas or information.

Evaluating an Argument

- A critical reader must not accept anything on face value; instead, he or she must evaluate whether
the claim or the argument that the author is presenting is true and can be supported by evidence.

Reflecting on Challenges to your Beliefs and Values

- There are reading materials that will affect your emotions.

Looking Patterns for Opposition

- This strategy should not be confused with number strategy.

Judging the Writer’s Credibility

- You ask questions to check if the writer of the text is credible enough to get your approval of what
s/he has written.

Exploring the Figurative Language

- This refers to the language that uses words or expressions with a meaning different from the literal
interpretation.

Recognizing Emotional Manipulation

- Some writers become emotionally manipulative if they want their readers to agree with them or to
believe what they are saying and resort to false and exaggerated statements or appeals.