WHAT IS CRITICAL READING?

Reading critically does not, necessarily, mean being critical of what you read.Both reading and thinking critically don’t mean being ‘critical’ about some idea, argument, or piece of writing – claiming that it is somehow faulty or flawed. Critical reading means engaging in what you read by asking yourself questions such as, ‘what is the author trying to say?’ or ‘what is the main argument being presented?’

 

Critical reading involves presenting a reasoned argument that evaluates and analyses what you have read. Being critical, therefore – in an academic sense – means advancing your understanding, not dismissing and therefore closing off learning.