Academic Reading

Teacher in charge: Ms. Sari Academic Year: 2023-2024

by: Bounoua Ahlem

Master 01 DIDACTICS
When seeking new information, the process extends beyond simply obtaining
the newly acquired knowledge; it involves understanding how to effectively
utilize this newfound knowledge in order to produce a critique. A critique
involves an evaluation of the acquired information in a detailed and analytical
way. It is more than just reading; it is a deliberate process of understanding,
questioning, and forming judgments. This approach ensures a holistic and
insightful understanding of the subject matter.
Critical reading definition:
Critical reading involves actively engaging with written sources or materials such as research
papers, articles, and books. The primary task is to acquire new information, and produce a
report or critique. This critique delves into what the source discusses, and its value within a
specific context. It also includes evaluating a certain arguments and forming a justified
judgment. In critical reading, the written source is treated as potential evidence. The reader
in this case, must determine if the source can be considered reliable. The approach shifts
from accepting information as facts to questioning and recognizing them as arguments.
The goal of critical reading is to produce a well-informed critique or critical review by
analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information from written sources.
 Critique:
A critique is a formal feedback that judges the value and validity of a source. It requires a
combination of analysis and evaluation, and synthesizing information to form justified
judgments.

 Active reading vs. Critical reading:

Active reading focuses on obtaining information and understanding the message in the
written source using different strategies like skimming and scanning. Unlike critical reading,
also called close reading, which involves a detailed examination of the written source by
questioning how ideas were developed and evaluating the source's credibility using specific
actions or steps.
Key Steps in Critical Reading
1. Describe: involves creating a sort of identity card for the source by gathering essential
information about the source such as the author, title, journal, publication year, and other
relevant details. It also requires understanding and extract key details such as the main idea,
keywords, and the overall message through active reading. This step provides a general overview
or a background knowledge of the written source for creating a report or critique. Also, it aids in
making the source more familiar to the audience.
2. Analyze: involves breaking down a whole into its individual parts and exploring each
component separately. Rather than treating the written material as a unified entity, each
section or part is examined independently which allows for a detailed exploration. Analysis is
about stating what is present in each section and presenting the information as it is without
making judgments.
3. Evaluate: focuses on assessing the validity of the presented arguments. The evaluation
is not solely about identifying what is present; it involves comparing the source to the
standards and commenting on what was done well, what was lacking, what was missing, or
added unnecessarily. This step enables the reader to make informed judgments about the
overall quality of the research in terms of its strengths and areas that could be improved.
 Analysis vs. Evaluation:
Analysis is a detailed examination of what is present in each section without making
judgments. On the other hand, evaluation compares what is presented in the source to the
standards, and commenting on what is good, missing, or unnecessary.
4. Synthesize: involves grouping all the analyzed and evaluated information from the
source back to its original form. While the analysis and evaluation are conducted on a part-by-
part basis, synthesis unifies these elements into a comprehensive judgment of the entire
source in order to produce a unified judgment or critique of the source.