Critical Reading Skills Questioning, Comparing, and Evaluating

Critical Reading  Critical reading is active reading.  The reader must question, compare, and evaluate reading material.

Reasons for Critical Reading  Critical reading is used to determine the value of reading material for your own purposes, to detect logic that is faulty on the part of the author, to separate fact from opinion, and to determine whether to accept the information being presented or reject it.

True or False  Simply because something is published doesn’t make it necessarily true. Therefore, you must question what you read.  By comparing information on the same subject from different sources, you can select the best information for your own purposes.

Decision Making  Critical reading helps you make informed decisions and form sound opinions.

Questions to Consider  When reading critically ask yourself the following: Is the author qualified to write about the subject, is any important information missing, is the language emotional, and is the information being presented mostly fact or opinion?  The answers to these questions will help you evaluate the quality and usefulness of the reading material.

Source  Hancock, Ophelia. Reading Skills for College Students. 7 th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007.