WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN READING AND CRITICAL READING?
READING CRITICAL READING
Purpose
To get a basic grasp of the text. To form judgments about HOW a text works.
Activity
Absorbing/Understanding Analyzing/Interpreting/Evaluating
Focus
What a text SAYS What a text DOES and MEANS
Questions
Direction
Response
What is the text saying?
What information can I get out of
it?
WITH the text (taking for granted
it is right)
How does the text work? How is it argued?
What are the choices made? The patterns that result?
What kinds of reasoning and evidence are used?
What are the underlying assumptions?
What does the text mean?
AGAINST the text (questioning its assumptions and
argument, interpreting meaning in context)
Restatement, Summary Description, Interpretation, Evaluation