Reading Critically
LEARNING SKILLS
Discussion
IS THIS A STRONG ARGUMENT?
Women are much better at handling
stress than men. For example, my mother
can think more clearly in a stressful
situation than my father.
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Overview of this workshop
What does “reading
critically” mean?
Some questions to ask
of a text
Practice
Source: panoramio (n.d.)
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What does it mean to “read
critically”?
Examining the strengths and
weaknesses of a reading’s
argument
http://owll.massey.ac.nz/study-skills/critical-reading.php
Source: Wikipedia (1997)
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When should I read critically?
ACTIVITIES REQUIRING CRITICAL READING
Tutorial discussions
Case studies
Research reports
Critical reviews
Annotated bibliographies
Essays
Q words: analyse, evaluate, discuss, apply
comment on, compare/ contrast
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A plan of attack
POSSIBLE METHOD TO ANALYSE A TEXT
1.  Investigate key aspects of the text
2.  Consider how well the thesis, arguments,
evidence and conclusion fit together
3.  Consider the implications of the ideas in the
reading
4.  Compare the text to information you already
know
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What aspects of readings might I
critique?
Reliability •  Author
•  Audience
•  Evidence
•  Source
•  Date
Framework •  Theory/ concept
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Thesis • Position
• Arguments
• [assumptions]
Evidence Conclusion
•  Methodology
•  Type of
evidence/ data
•  Interpretations:
•  How logical?
•  How tentative?
•  How
generalizable?
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The reliability test
WHO/ WHERE/ HOW/ WHEN
Where does the information come
from?
Who is the audience for the
information?
How is the information verified?
Is the source of the information
objective?
Is the information up-to-date?
Brick, J. (2006). Academic culture: A student’s guide
to studying at university. Sydney: Macquarie University Press
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Source: Wikipedia (2015)
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The reliability test
ACTIVITY
Look at the texts on your handout.
Use the five reliability questions to
decide how reliable each text is.
Source: Pixabay (2014)
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The framework
CONCEPTS/ THEORIES
What concept/ theory is used?
What do you know about this theory?
(assumptions)
How does it compare with the theories you’ve
already studied?
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The framework
CONCEPT/ THEORY
Poverty:
Marxism
vs
Capitalism
Source:Wikimedia (2009)
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The thesis/ research question
Is the thesis/ research question un-provable? Is it
too categorical?
This research shows that the most
effective method of education is
online study.
RQ1. How can world poverty be
solved?
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The arguments used
POSSIBLE FLAWS
Over simplification
Most poverty occurs in
developing countries.
False causation
The poorest people in a
country are often the most
religious. Therefore, religion
causes poverty.
Circular arguments
Poverty is hard to escape
because people have so little
money
Lack of counter arguments
For more detail see logicalfallacies.info; http://www.sussex.ac.uk/s3/?
id=90
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The arguments used
BEWARE ASSUMPTIONS- HIDDEN PERSUADERS
Generalisations
"Most authors agree…"
Who are these authors?
Reliance on the past
"Artists have always initiated social
change..."
Again, where is the evidence or
examples?
False assumptions
"Intuition, the key to good criticism..."
Selecting information and
Where is the evidence?
ignoring contrary points of view
Only choosing evidence that supports
Appeals to experts
your views
"Jane Craibill, administrator of QPAC
believes actors and technical staff
Watch out for these words
should have equal pay..."
Great sentiment, but still her opinion. "Plainly, obviously, undeniably,
naturally, as you will agree, there is no
doubt, it has to be admitted, clearly..."
http://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/learning/reading-critically
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Beware assumptions!
GAPS IN REASONING
A man and his son are driving in a car. The car
crashes into a tree, killing the father and seriously
injuring his son. At the hospital, the boy needs to
have surgery. Upon looking at the boy, the doctor
says (telling the truth), "I cannot operate on him.
He is my son.“
How can this be?
Source: http://www.criticalreading.com/critical_reading_core.htm
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Evidence
APPROPRIACY FOR THE STUDY
What type of evidence is used?
How much evidence is there?
Two local residents were
interviewed, and their
comments recorded…
Source: fmschmitt.com 2007
The survey was conducted by telephone.
20 000 responses were collected.
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Interpretation
IS THE EVIDENCE ADEQUATE TO THE CONCLUSION?
Claims
A)  The Government is 35% behind in the opinion
polls
B)  The Government is not very popular
C)  No political party has ever won an election from a
position of the level of the Government’s
unpopularity
Conclusions
1)  The Government will lose the next election
2)  The Government might lose the next election
3)  The Government will probably lose the next
election
Source: van den Brink-Budgen, R 2000, Critical Thinking for Students, How
To Books Ltd, Begbroke, Oxford.
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Critical thinking tools
READING LOG
What is the main idea or
argument?
What evidence is used to support
this argument?
What are the strengths and
weaknesses of this evidence?
Do you agree or disagree with
this argument or theory (and
why)?
How does this relate to other
readings/lectures?
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Critical thinking tools
READING MATRIX
Qs
Reading 1
Reading 2
Reading 3
Reading 4
Q
Q
Q
Q
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Activity
ANALYSE THE ASPECTS DISCUSSED
On the text write questions and comments
for yourself
What is the argument being presented? Do
you agree with it? Why?
What evidence is being used? Do you find
it convincing? Why?
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Sources
SLIDES
Slide 7 http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11795152
Slide 8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Flanagan#mediaviewer/File:USANational_Gallery_of_Art_Sculpture_Garden0.jpg
Slide 10 Brick, J. (2006). Academic culture: A student’s guide to studying at
university. Sydney: Macquarie University Press
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Hesse
Slide 11 http://pixabay.com/en/sculpture-woman-statue-read-book-539323/
Slide 13:tp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Urban_Poverty.jpg
Slide 14: ttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2009.09216.x/full
Slide 18: http://www.fmschmitt.com/travels/Italy/umbria/Orvieto/
Orvieto_Duomo/2007_10_04_Italy_Umbria_Orvieto_Duomo_bronzes
%2011-4-2007%204-21-37%20PM.JPG
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Thank you!