CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES University of （大学的批判阅读策略）.pdfVIP

CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES Reading effectively requires approaching texts with a critical eye: evaluating what you read for not just what it says, but how and why it says it. Effective reading is central to both effective research (when you evaluate sources) and effective writing (when you understand how what you read is written, you can work to incorporate those techniques into your own writing). Being an effective reader also means being able to evaluate your own practices, working to develop your critical reading skills. IDENTIFY WHAT YOU’RE READING FOR. • Knowing why you’re reading a given text can help you organize both your reading and how you can use what you read. • Before you read a text, ask and answer the following kinds of questions: Are you reading only for general content? For data? For specific information or for general thematic concerns? For arguments that support or contest your thesis in a writing assignment? For information that you know you’ll need for an assignment, or for information to get you thinking about what you’ll need? ALLOW ENOUGH TIME TO READ, AND TAKE YOUR TIME. • Reading critically is not a fast process. Many students do not set aside enough study time for reading (and rereading), and read everything either too quickly or at the same speed. If you know what you’re reading for, you can better distinguish information that can be skimmed from that which should be more closely examined, and make better use of your reading time. • Preview or survey the text before detailed reading begins, looking for clues related to its purpose, its relevance, its difficulty, and how it connects with ideas or information you already know. • Be willing to struggle with the text in order to understand it – but don’t get hung up on single, tough details in first readings. Rather, hold confusing passages in