Approaching Difficult Reading Material Critically

How to critically approach difficult reading material And prepare to write about it! By Anita Baksh and Evelyn Burg, English Dept. LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, 2021 OER, CC

Reading for pleasure and relaxation All reading begins here, we hope! But this kind of reading is not critical since you want to be absorbed in the text and simply enjoy it, not question it. But when you decide whether it was good and you explain it to yourself or someone else, you have begun to read critically Photo credit: Miika Laaksonen on Unsplash miika-laaksonen-nUL9aPgGvgM-unsplash.jpg

Reading as critical inquiry This is active reading and involves annotation Ask questions of the text, underline and write in margins Look beyond literal or surface meanings Be concerned with more than bits of data Search out the writer s overall purpose Look for new ways of thinking about the subject

CR starts with basic questions When you dig, you must start on the surface What is the general topic of the reading? (If it s a literary text, you may have to read a few pages or if poetry, several readings.) What kind of writing is it? What is the genre? Is it narrative (story), exposition (explanation), argument (discussion of a debatable point)? Is it journalism, poetry, drama, scholarly research? If persuasive or informative, is there a thesis/main point?

Critical Reading (CR) questions rhetorical context Identify the basic context surrounding the reading: author, title, publication year and venue/place. How might it affect the author s point of view? Who/where is the audience? How does that affect the expression of the ideas? Where/What is the support, evidence or development of the central idea? Can you locate a point of view, position or possibly a bias of one kind or another? (Important when used as a source for your own work or if you are analyzing the material.)

CR analytic questions This is where you penetrate beyond literal meanings and ask What s going on here? How does the author structure the sections of the reading? Is there a narrator, a voice, a tone or style that is notable? Does the text evoke an emotional response of any kind? Take your own temperature as a reader! Might you have reasons for your reaction?

Analysis continued . . . Are there repeated ideas, images or terms? These are significant. What might they stand for? What is unusual about the text that separates it from others or our expectations? What is new or unique? Are there larger ideas implied by the text? Does the text seem reliable overall? Why?

A New Cancer Treatment That Is Faster, More Efficient and Less Risky Is Coming: BacteriaBombs William Chesney, NYTimes, May 7, 2020 (recent) Bacteria are usually thought of as microscopic, disease-causing nuisances . (Hook) They have long been seen as something that needs to be washed away with soap and warm water, or killed en masse with hand sanitizer. But what if these stigmatized organisms could be used to fight cancer, the stubborn killer (RQ!) devastating millions of people? Scientists at the University of California, led by Jeff Hasty, are working to genetically engineer bacteria that will infiltrate tumors and kill them. Combined with conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, researchers are hoping bacteria will be very effective at killing tumors and, further, stopping them from spreading. If proven safe and effective, this bacterial treatment could provide a vital victory in the war against cancer.

Annotated Version: A New Cancer Treatment That Is Faster, More Efficient and Less Risky Is Coming: BacteriaBombs William Chesney, NYTimes, May 7, 2020 (recent) Bacteria are usually thought of as microscopic, disease-causing nuisances . (Hook) They have long been seen as something that needs to be washed away with soap and warm water, or killed en masse with hand sanitizer. But what if these stigmatized organisms could be used to fight cancer, the stubborn killer (RQ?) devastating millions of people? Scientists at the University of California, led by Jeff Hasty, are working to genetically engineer bacteria that will infiltrate tumors and kill them. Combined with conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, researchers are hoping bacteria will be very effective at killing tumors and, further, stopping them from spreading. If proven safe and effective, this bacterial treatment could provide a vital victory in the war against cancer. (If/then: Question)

A New Cancer Treatment That Is Faster, More Efficient and Less Risky Is Coming: Bacteria Bombs William Chesney, NYTimes, May 7, 2020 (recent) Bacteria are usually thought of as microscopic, disease-causing nuisances . (Hook) They have long been seen as something that needs to be washed away with soap and warm water, or killed en masse with hand sanitize what if these stigmatized organisms could be used to fight cancer?, the stubborn killer (RQ!) devastating millions of people? Scientists at the University of California, led by Jeff Hasty, are working to genetically engineer bacteria that will infiltrate tumors and kill them. Combined with conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, researchers are hoping bacteria will be very effective at killing tumors and, further, stopping them from spreading. If proven safe and effective, this bacterial treatment . . . war against cancer. (Research question?)

Big questions to ask yourself after reading: What is the purpose? Where is the author going with it? What is the most significant point in the reading (the main idea) ? Is anything implied by the reading? Does it call for action, further investigation, or thought? How can you assess the quality of the subject and/or text as a source? What are your reasons for this assessment?

Takeaways What makes critical reading different from ordinary reading? Write three examples. What do you find most difficult about critical reading?