The printed page has authority because, before publishing his or her work, every writer goes through a lengthy process of approval, review, revision, fact-checking, and so on. Did you read for information, to pass a test, for enjoyment, to decide on a product you wanted to buy, and so on? Consider the authors (and your own) previous knowledge of the issue at the center of the text and your experiences with it. At the heart of writing and research, however, lies the kind of reading known as critical reading. To After writing informal responses to the essay and discussing it in class, the students were offered the following writing assignment: Although Rich tells a story of her own, she does so to provide an illustration of an even larger storyone about what it means to be a woman and a writer. We will begin this chapter with the definition of the term critical reading. We will consider its main characteristics and briefly touch upon ways to become an active and critical reader. Complex texts are the ones worth pursuing and investigating because they present the most interesting ideas. A Beginner's Guide to Writing in English for University Study. We have tutors online 24/7 who can help you get unstuck. If, on the other hand, you read a good novel, you probably just focused on following the story. Which response fulfills the goals set in the prompt better and why? Critical reading, then, is a two-way process. Do not be afraid to write too much. It is also about the connection between critical reading and active, strong writing. No matter what kinds of research sources and, methods you use, you are always reading and interpreting text. Instead, critical readers read with a pen or pencil in hand. How long did it take you to read different texts? What was your purpose in reading each of those texts? This helped me create a lot of material to work with. After conducting research and understanding their problem locally, or as it applies specifically to them, active researcherscontextualize their investigation by seeking out texts and other sources which would allow them to see the big picture. Alex used such terms as revision and hesitation to develop his piece. Before I do that, however, it is important for me to tell you a little about the class and the kinds of reading and writing assignments that its members worked on. Brent, Douglas. Writing about what you read will help you not only to remember the argument which the author of the text is trying to advance (less important for critical reading), but to create your own interpretations of the text you are reading (more important). The following are some critical reading and writing techniques which active readers employ as they work to create meanings from texts they read. The goal of an active reader is to engage in a conversation with the text he or she is reading. Try to list as many texts as you can think of, no matter how short and unimportant they might seem. First of all, he presents himself as a colleague and a spiritual brother of his audience. 4.9 (40 reviews) Learn how to use English for study at university or college and develop your writing skills, vocabulary and grammar. However, these two responses allow us to see two dramatically different approaches to reading. No text, however well written and authoritative, contains its own, pre-determined meaning. Bedford/St. Reacting to a text is often done on an emotional, rather than on an intellectual level. In the letter, King responds to criticism from other clergymen who had called his methods of civil rights struggle unwise and untimely. Both student writers were given the same response prompt: After reading Kings piece several times and with a pen or pencil in hand, consider what shapes Kings letter. Good researchers and writers examine their sources critically and actively. Consider even whether some texts tired you out or whether you thought they were boring. Why? Critical readers learn to avoid simple agree-disagree responses to complex texts. We read textbooks for information, summarizing their chapters, trying to find the main points and then reproducing these main points during exams. We do not always consciously measure what we read according to our existing systems of knowledge and beliefs, but we measure it nevertheless. Pavel Zemliansky and Wendy Bishop, Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH. Also in this chapter, a student-writer offers us an insight into his critical reading and writing processes. If your teacher provides a response prompt, make sure you understand it. In the letter, King recounts a brief history of that struggle and rejects the accusation that it is unwise and untimely. Overall, I think that Kings letter is a very rhetorically effective text, one that greatly helped Americans to understand the civil rights movement. Included in Unlimited. Offered by University of California, Irvine. Critical readers interact with the texts they read by questioning them, responding to them, and expanding them, usually in writing. Which writer does a better job at avoiding binary thinking and creating a sophisticated reading of Kings text and why? Remember that your goal is to explore Kings text, thus enabling you to understand his rhetorical strategies better.. Be as formal or informal as you want. Question the evidence presented in the text, Offer additional evidence, examples, stories, and so on that support the authors argument, Mention other texts which advance the same or similar arguments, Mention personal experiences that enhance your reading of the text. Most of the essays you write will involve reflection on written texts -- the thinking and research that have already been done on your subject. In fact, it is important resist the urge to make conclusions or think that you have found out everything about your reading. Looking at my own life and at Richs work together helped me consolidate my paper. Applied to research writing, Brents theory or reading means the following: Earlier on, I mentioned that one of the traits of active readers is their willingness to seek out other texts and people who may be able to help them in their research and learning. Martin states that the student was able to see some connection between Foucault and her own life and use the reading for her research and writing (6). 2004. But it is critical reading that allows us to create new ideas from what we read and to become independent and creative learners. How might such knowledge or experience have influenced your reception of the argument? Dont be afraid to get it wrong. There is no right or wrong here. After finishing the paper, Alex commented on his reading strategies and techniques and on what he learned about critical reading during the project: Previously when working on any project whether it be for a History, English, or any other class that involved reading and research, there was a certain amount of minimalism. Reading something once is never enough so reading it quickly before class just wont cut it. After you have done all that, it will still be possible to disagree with the arguments presented in the reading, but your opinion about the text will be much more informed and nuanced than if you have taken the binary approach from the start. If you want to become a critical reader, you need to get into a habit of writing as you read. With the exception of the most outlandish and purposely-irrelevant readings that have nothing to do with the sources text, the answer is yes. However, remember that reading and interpreting texts, as well as sharing your interpretations with others are rhetorical acts. Last but not least, you will enjoy reading and writing a whole lot more because you will become actively engaged in both. In either case, realize that reading responses are supposed to be exploratory, designed to help you delve deeper into the text you are reading than note-taking or underlining will allow. Cimino-Hurt, Alex. IMPORTANT: So far, we have established that no pre-existing meaning is possible in written texts and that critical and active readers work hard to create such meaning. Knowledge is what one believes, what one accepts as being at least provisionally true. (xi). When I was in college, my favorite way of preparing for a test was reading a chapter or two from my textbook, then closing the book, then trying to summarize what I have read on a piece of paper. While your primary goal is exploration and questioning, make sure that others can understand your response. Underline the key arguments that you believe the author of the text is making as well as any evidence, examples, and stories that seem interesting or important. Take notes on the margins. Of course, you should always check with your teacher for standards and format of reading responses. For example, is the texts author advancing an agenda of some social, political, religious, or economic group of which he or she is a member? They needed to generalize the problem and, instead of looking at a local example, to consider its implications for the issue they were studying overall. Sometimes, it is hard to understand how external texts which do not seem to talk directly about you can help you research and write about questions, problems, and issues in your own life. 5408Mississippi State, MS 39762-5408. Study the purpose and the intended audience of the text. In a world where thought and action count, it is not enough to simply agree to disagree. Reading and writing, used together, allow us to discuss complex and difficult issues with others, to persuade and be persuaded, and, most importantly, to act. Notice that this assignment does not ask students to simply analyze Richs essay, to dissect its argument or main points. Instead, writers are asked to work with their own experiences and events of their own lives in order to provide a reading of Rich which is affected and informed by the writers own lives and own knowledge of life. Reading, according to Brent, is judgment, and, like in life where we do not always consciously examine and analyze the reasons for which we make various decisions, evaluating a text often happens automatically or subconsciously (59). Critical readers are not made overnight. To many beginning readers and writers, who are used to a neat separation of personal and academic argument, such a blend of genres and styles may seem odd. Then try to answer the questions in the prompt to the best of your ability. It is provided to help Composition 303 students with the research assignment(s), which may include writing on an ethical issue within a discipline or career, analysis of contemporary lyrics, worldviews and more. Reading what others have to say and responding to them help us make that all-important transition from simply having opinions about something to having ideas. Quote or summarize in full, accurately, and fairly. It is easy to see that reacting in this way does not take the reader any closer to understanding the text. Once I was able to parallel my perspective to hers, it was just a matter of composing my own story. Foucaults work is a study of the western penitentiary system, which, of course cannot be directly compared to experiences of a student athlete. To be sure, much more can be said about Kings letter than either of these writers have said. In the right-hand side column, ask the kinds of questions and provide the kinds of responses that will later enable you to create an original reading of the text you are working with and use that reading to create your own paper. This is the subject of the next section of this chapter. I also did not try to connect my reading with my personal experiences or pre-existing knowledge in any way. Martin, Janette. She makes the case for constantly revising ones life in the light of all new events and experiences. Writing leads to reading and reading leads to writing. The goal of a good writer is to engage his or her readers into a dialog presented in the piece of writing. Critical readers are able to interact with the texts they read through carefully listening, writing, conversation, and questioning. Critical writing depends on critical reading. It offers readers the ability to be active participants in the construction of meaning of every text they read and to use that meaning for their own learning and self-fulfillment. As reader, you are not a consumer of words, waiting patiently for ideas from the printed page or a web-site to fill your head and make you smarter. In her 2004 essay, Developing Interesting Thoughts: Reading for Research, writing teacher my former colleague Janette Martin tells a story of a student who was writing a paper about what it is like to be a collegiate athlete. As I read this part of the letter, I was wondering whether his readers would really have not known what he had accomplished as a civil rights leader. Literary Searching Strategies for Databases & Online Catalog, https://guides.library.msstate.edu/en3414, https://guides.library.msstate.edu/coronavirus, Borrow laptops, cameras, phone chargers, and more, Congressional & Political Research Center, EN 3414 Critical Writing and Research for Literary Studies, Fall 2020 - Using Your Libraries During COVID-19, Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education. Perhaps, the ultimate authority among the readings materials encountered by college belongs to the textbook. Sometimes, it is important to be as efficient as possible and read purely for information or the main point. At other times, it is important to just let go and turn the pages following a good story, although this means not thinking about the story you are reading. Our MA is driven by the sense that the critical and the creative are necessarily intertwined. Treating texts as if they were sources of ultimate and unquestionable knowledge and truth represents the view of reading as consumption. It quickly became clear to me that the more I read a certain piece, the more I got from it as I became more comfortable with the prose and writing style. Research is recursive. Taking all these steps will help you to move away from simply reacting to a text and towards constructing informed and critical response to it. [Critical reading] provided a dramatic difference in perspective and helped me learn to not only dissect the meaning of a piece, but also to see why the writer isusing certain techniques or how the reading applies to my life. When an argument comes in into our minds from a text, this text, by itself, cannot change our view on the subject. Tell a story of your own about the ways you might be said to have been named or shaped or positioned by an established or powerful culture. Of course, my reading strategies and techniques were dictated by my goal, which was to pass the test. Mine was my liberalism in conservative environmentsthe fact that frustrates me sometimes. 1992. Rich blends voices and genres throughout the essay, using personal narrative, academic argument, and even poetry. Your teacher may give you a writing prompt, or ask you to come up with your own topic for a response. Which responses shows a deeper understanding of the texts by the reader and why? We default to System 1, and only with effort power up System 2. In preparation for the first writing project, the class read Adrienne Richs essay When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Revision. In her essay, Rich offers a moving account of her journey to becoming a writer. University of Reading. To illustrate the principles laid out in this section, consider the following two reading responses. Instead, as a critical reader, you need to interact with what you read, asking questions of the author, testing every assertion, fact, or idea, and extending the text by adding your own understanding of the subject and your own personal experiences to your reading. The judgments and interpretations you make of the texts you read are the And you dont read all these texts in the same way. Similarly, the goal of a critical and active reader is to participate in that dialog and to have something to say back to the writer and to others. Therefore, when reading critically and actively, it is important not only to take in the words on the page, but also to interpret and to reflect upon what you read through writing and discussing it with others. During the first stage, I wrote down every coherent idea I had for the essay as well as a few incoherent ones. His immediate goal is to keep reminding his readers about his activities. But even if you are using other research methods and sources, such as interviewing someone or surveying a group of people, you are reading. Reading for information and trying to extract the main points, Idid not talk back to the texts, did not question them, and did not try to extend the knowledge which they offered in any way. Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. Not every text asks for an outright agreement or disagreement. Creative Writing for All: A 10-Day Journaling Challenge (1 month free trial)viaSkillshareInternationally acclaimed author Emily Gould walks you through a 10-day creative writing challenge! Critical reading has other goals, one of which is entering an on-going intellectual exchange. After studying both responses, consider the questions below. If you share the results of your investigation into your reading habits with your classmates, you may also notice that some of their reading habits and strategies were different from yours. Completion of Writing 2 or its equivalent is required. The verb explore means to investigate something by looking at it more closely. All writing assignments must be completed in order to pass the course. It seeks to understand the roots of a problem and propose a solution based on a local and well as a global situation and research. This preview shows page 1 - 6 out of 19 pages. I have nothing against textbook as such, in fact, I am writing one right now. In response to the assignment, one of the class members, Alex Cimino-Hurt, wrote a paper that re-examined and reevaluated his upbringing and how those factors have influenced his political and social views. Like most other writers in the class, initially Alex seemed a little puzzled, even confused by the requirement to read someone elses text through the prism of his own life and his own experiences. It is also about the connection between critical reading and active, strong writing. Such research would not only have allowed these writers to examine the problem as a whole but also to see how it was being solved in other places. This is the stage of the reading process during which you are actively making meaning. Research Is Limited on the Writing-Thinking Link. Box In order to fulfill this goal, it is important to understand the difference between reacting to the text and responding to it. King begins his Letter from Birmingham Jail by addressing it to his fellow clergymen. Thus, he immediately sets the tone of inclusion rather than exclusion. Such an approach means not taking the information and opinions that the sources contain at face value and for granted, but to investigate, test, and even doubt every claim, every example, every story, and every conclusion. Similarly, good writing does not come from nowhere but is usually based upon, or at least influenced by ideas, theories, and stories that come from reading. We have also established that interpretations differ from reader to reader and that there is no right or wrong during the critical reading process. P.O. This project lets you apply everything youve learned and gives you the practice you need for college classes by having you write a research paper. To understand how the claim that every reader makes his or her meaning from texts works, it is necessary to examine what is know as the rhetorical theory of reading. Of course, sometimes we have to assume this stance and read for information or the main point of a text. The third and final stage involved taking what is left and refining the style of the paper and taking care of the mechanics. Id like to close this chapter with the words from the writer Alex Cimino-Hurt: Being able to read critically is important no matter what you plan on doing with your career or life because it allows you to understand the world around you.. Martin Luther King Jrs Letter from Birmingham Jail is a very powerful text. Critical thinking university course for essay nightmare holiday. They do not sit back and wait for the meaning of a text to come to them, but work hard in order to create such meaning. You have probably come up with a list of different purposes. Doing that would mean reverting to reading for the main point, reading as consumption. Study the history of the argument presented in the text as much as possible. The purpose of these exploratory responses, which are often rather informal, is not to produce a complete argument, with an introduction, thesis, body, and conclusion. For example, an emotional story told by a writer may resonate with one person more than with another because the first person lived through a similar experience and the second one did not, and so on. Class time: Wednesdays, 2:00pm - 2:50pm . For example, when we are interested in one particular piece of information or fact from a text, we usually put that text aside once we have located the information we were looking for. Granted, most fields of knowledge have texts which are called definitive. Such texts usually represent our best current knowledge on their subjects. In this section, Id like to offer you one student writers account of his meaningmaking process. This course is designed to help learners continue to hone their writing, research and critical thinking skills. Use reading and your responses to start your own formal writing projects. This, in turn, might have helped them to propose a local solution. Remember there is no such thing as a boring essay, only a boring reader. We have a guide that you may find helpful: Please contact our librarians for help with your class or research needs. I felt that her struggle frustrated her, too. Earlier on in this chapter, we discussed the importance of using your existing knowledge and prior experience to create new meaning out of unfamiliar and difficult texts. For example, modern texts on highly controversial issues such as the death penalty, abortion, or euthanasia often use past events, court cases, and other evidence to advance their claims. The following are key features of the critical approach to reading: The following section is an examination of these claims about critical reading in more detail. The trade-off is worth it, however. Writers make claims for personal reasons that critical readers need to learn to understand and evaluate. The first step towards becoming a critical and active reader is examining your reading process and your reading preferences. We could visit again and guess what thinking critical university course the speaker started doing websites, jonathan zimmerman when teachers appropriate student texts and to further illustrate the mental state or quality of production. However, as he drafted, revised, and discussed his writing with his classmates and his instructor, the new approach to reading and writing became clearer to him. Specifically, what rhetorical strategies is he using to achieve a persuasive effect on his readers? For example, if we encounter a text that advances arguments with which we strongly disagree, it is natural to dismiss those ideas out of hand as not wrong and not worthy of our attention. Critical examination of sources is what makes their use in research possible and what allows writers to create rhetorically effective and engaging texts. Modules exploring critical debates on contemporary literature, media and popular culture give you the opportunity to develop your critical skills, while modules and workshops in creative writing enable you to develop and hone your creative writing skills (whether in fiction or non-fiction). By this I mean that they take notes and write about what they read. The work that best describes and justifies the rhetorical reading theory is Douglas Brents 1992 book Reading as Rhetorical Invention: Knowledge, Persuasion, and the Teaching of Research-Based Writing. Compare the context in which the text was written to the one in which it is read. But the world of ideas is complex and, a much more nuanced approach is needed when dealing with complex arguments. and secondary (library, Internet, etc.) Critical reading is not a process of passive consumption, but one of interaction and engagement between the reader and the text. When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-vision. In Ways of Reading, 6th ed. As a college student, you are probably used to taking notes of what you read. I was raised in a very open family so being able to relate to others was learned early in my life. You read them with different purposes and using different reading strategies and techniques. Welcome to the course page for the library component of Critical Writing and Research for Literary Studies. Focusing on a particular theme and using materials drawn from various disciplines in the college curriculum, students develop their ability to recognize and discuss ideas. This, of course, does not mean that, as readers, we should persist in keeping our old ideas about everything and actively resist learning new things. In order to be a good researcher and writer, one needs to be a critical and active reader. Each writing assignment will be completed in multiple stages for peer review and instructor feedback. 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