Reading Critically

Why Critical Reading Matters

It’s helpful to remember that critical reading is an act of performance—reading is something that must be done, not something that just happens. Rather than sitting back and passively receiving information as we read, we need to train ourselves to carefully consider and evaluate various elements of everything we read. Throughout college, and even after we graduate, we will need to read closely, remember details accurately, and compare what we’ve learned across various readings. This kind of deeper understanding is only arrived at through active effort, and in college that requires critical reading.

Reading critically does not simply mean being affected, informed, influenced, or persuaded by a piece of writing. It refers to analyzing the overall composition of a piece of writing as well as understanding how the author has achieved their purpose for their audience. This process begins with thinking critically about the texts we read. In this case, critically does not mean that you are only looking for what is wrong with a text (although during your critical process, you may well do that). Instead, reading critically means approaching a text with the goal of digging beneath the surface so we can analyze how the parts of a text work together and how one text relates to others.

In college, academic expectations change from what you may have experienced in high school. You must do more than just understand course material and summarize it on an exam. As a reader in college you will be asked to embrace a healthy skepticism for every idea you come in contact with. This will take energy and work—it’s much easier to accept what others tell us on face value than to critically assess each idea that comes our way. However, education in the fullest sense means developing our abilities to respond critically so that we can become thoughtful and engaged citizens in the world around us.

Developing a Process for Reading Critically

Successful critical reading happens in stages. Rarely will we develop a full, rich understanding of a text after reading it once. Instead, we must read through a text several times, discovering new takeaways with each rereading.

Before We Read

The critical reading process actually starts before we begin reading a text. These questions can help prepare you for your first read-through.

Remember not to rush straight into reading a text. Taking a few moments to preview a text can help you formulate initial opinions and plan out your reading experience. When we have an idea of what to expect, we are more likely to notice important details, and also in a better position to find out whether our predictions about a text will be correct or not.

As We Read

Once we start reading, we should do so from an analytical perspective. When we read analytically, our goal is to take apart a text so we can figure out how the parts work together. These questions can help with that process.

It’s best for you to write down or type your answers as you read. Doing so will make it easier for you to review and create connections among your answers.

Keep in mind that your answers to these questions may change as you re-read and reflect on a text. That’s natural: the more time you spend with a text, the more you will refine your ideas. But even your initial answers should help you much more fully comprehend how a text works.

After We Read

After we’ve read through and analyzed a text, we should take some time to actively reflect on our experiences and thoughts. Our ideas are never fully formed right after we finish reading—we need time to clarify our ideas about a text. These questions can help as you reflect on what you’ve read.

Like most aspects of reading and writing, reflection is a process that requires revisiting and questioning our ideas. Write down some of your reflections, and after a day or two, look back over what you wrote. You may find that your ideas have changed quite a bit and that you don’t fully agree with everything you wrote before. Not only is that okay; it’s good! Our ideas need room to grow, but we need to provide that time and space.

Reading Actively: Annotating a Text

As part of critically questioning what we read in college, we need to make sure we remain actively engaged in the reading process. One of the most effective ways to engage with what we read is to annotate.

Annotating a text means that we actively engage with it by taking notes as we read, usually by marking the text in some way (underlining, highlighting, using symbols, and so on). Annotating can also include writing down brief summaries, thoughts, or questions in the margins of the page.

Engaging with a text by annotating not only directs your focus but also helps you retain a text’s information. Furthermore, annotating helps you recall where important points are in a text if you must return to it for a writing assignment or class discussion. In short, developing your own methods of annotation can help with any reading you do for college. Also remember that the the questions above—for previewing and analyzing a text—can help you identify what to look out for while you annotate.

Annotating a paper text requires using pens, pencils, and/or highlighters, as well as maybe sticky notes or separate sheets of paper for jotting down ideas. While some courses still use textbooks and paper materials, many courses now also use digital and online materials. You can, and should, still annotate digital readings. Digital textbooks—like the one you’re reading right now—can usually be downloaded as a PDF or in other formats. Most webpages can also be downloaded as PDFs that can be marked up in programs like Adobe’s Acrobat Reader. If you have a touchscreen laptop or a tablet with a stylus, you can use programs that will allow you to write directly on a digital reading much like you would a paper copy.

Ways to Annotate as We Read

Regardless of whether you are reading on paper or on a screen, the below methods can help you start to develop your unique process for annotation.

It’s important that you develop your own process for annotating. You may not need to use every method mentioned above, but you do need to identify the methods that work for you and your purposes as a reader. One key tip, though, is to be selective about which sections you mark in a text. If you end up highlighting most of a page or even most of a paragraph, nothing will stand out, and you will have defeated the purpose of annotating.