This document defines critical reading as an active process of analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating a text. It involves identifying an author's claims and determining their purpose, credibility, and whether statements reflect facts or opinions. The document outlines skills needed for critical thinking such as identifying different types of claims and considering a text's context. It provides examples of applying these skills such as formulating assertions, counterclaims, and determining what evidence supports or weakens arguments.

1. CRITICAL READING AS A FORM
OF REASONING

2. Objectives
◦ Define critical reading as a form of
reasoning
◦ Explain critical reading as a form of
reasoning

3. Importance of Reading
1. Reading introduces you to new ideas and invites you to solve
problems.
2. Reading improves your conversational skills.
3. Strengthens worldview and conviction.

4. Critical Reading
◦ a more active way of reading
◦ a process of analyzing, interpreting, and exaluating the
text read.

5. Identify and evaluate
the claims/s
Determine the purpose
and check the credibility
of the writer
Judge information
Distinguish facts from
opinions
Demands proofs Questions assumptions
Make judgement or
evaluation
Critical reader can:

6. What is Reasoning ?
It is an act of giving statements for justification or
explanation.

7. What is Evaluative Statement?
A statement that reflects judgement and
generalization about a text read.

8. Steps in Formulating an Evaluation Statement
1. Read the content of the text.
2. Find the information and identify the claim(s) of the
writer.
3. Know about the four properties of a well- written
text.

9. 4. Express your judgement of the text.
5. Always quote parts of the text to support your
assertions.

10. Sample Evaluative Statement
I think some of the words used in the speech are
difficult to understand considering the fact that
some of the audience of the speaker were
students from public and private schools, colleges
and universities. Words like dormant, faculties,
adorned and potent might be unfamiliar to them.

11. TEHNIQUES TO DEVELOP CRITICAL
READING SKILLS

12. 1. Keeping the reading journal
- In a reading journal, you are writing your feelings and ideas and
reaction to the reading assignment.
2. Annotating the text
- It is simply means taking notes on your copy of the reading.

13. 3. Outlining the text
- By locating the thesis statement, claims, and
evidence, and plotting these into an outline.
- You can see how the writer structures,
sequences, and connects his/her ideas.

14. 4. Summarizing the text
- A summary consists of getting the main points of
the essay and important supporting details.
5. Questioning the text
- Questioning the text involves asking specific questions on
points that you are skeptical about.

15. SKILLS NEEDED IN CRITICAL THINKING
1.Identifying and Analyzing Claims
a.Determining Explicit and Implicit Information.
Critical reading also means that you are able to
distinguish the information that is clearly stated
(explicit) in the text from ideas that are suggested
(implicit).

16. SKILLS NEEDED IN CRITICAL THINKING
2. Defining Claims
Characteristics of good claims:
o A claim should be argumentative and debatable
o A claim should be specific and focused.
o A claim should be interesting and engaging
o A claim should be logical

17. SKILLS NEEDED IN CRITICAL THINKING
3. Distinguishing Between the Types of Claim
Types of Claims:
a. Claims of Facts state a quantifiable assertion, or a measurable topic.
They usually answer a “what” question.
◦ Is this issue related to a possible cause and effect?
◦ Is this statement true or false? How can its truthfulness be verified?
◦ Is this claim controversial or debatable?

18. SKILLS NEEDED IN CRITICAL THINKING
Types of Claims:
b.Claims of Value assert something that can be qualified. They
consist of arguments about moral, philosophical, or aesthetic
topics.
◦ Which claims endorse what is good or bad?
◦ What qualities should be considered good? Why?
◦ Which of these qualities are more important and why?

19. SKILLS NEEDED IN CRITICAL THINKING
Types of Claims:
c. Claims of Policy posit that specific actions should be chosen as
solutions to a particular problem. They begin with “should”,
“ought to”, or “must”. They defend actionable plans, usually
answer “how” questions.
o Does the claim suggest a specific remedy to solve the problem?
o Is the policy clearly defined?
o How does the policy solve the problem?

20. SKILLS NEEDED IN CRITICAL THINKING
4. Identifying the Context of Text Development
Being a critical reader involves understanding that text are always developed with a
certain context.
Context is the social, cultural, political, historical, and other related
circumstances that surround the text and form the terms from which it can be
better understood and evaluated.
In discovering a reading’s context, you may ask the following questions:
◦ When was the work written?
◦ What were the circumstances that produced it?
◦ What issues does it deal with?

21. SKILLS NEEDED IN CRITICAL THINKING
4. Identifying the Context of Text Development
It is defining its intertextual link to another text.
Intertextuality is the modeling of a text’s meaning by another
text.

22. Critical Reading as Reasoning
1. Identifying Assertions
Assertions are declarative sentences that claim something is true
about something else. It is a sentence that is either true or false.
◦ The sampaguita’s roots are used for medicinal purposes, such as an
anesthetic and sedative.
◦ The sampaguita belongs to the genus Jasminum of the family of Oleaceae
◦ the popularity of sampaguita’s flowers is most evident in places of worship.
◦ Sampaguitas are the most beautiful and most fragrant flower of all flowers.

23. Critical Reading as Reasoning
1.Identifying Assertions ( According to degree of certainty)
a. Fact. This is a statement that can be proven objectively by direct
experience, testimonies of witnesses, verified observations, or the
results of research.
◦ The sampaguita’s roots are used for medicinal purposes, such as an
anesthetic and sedative.

24. Critical Reading as Reasoning
1.Identifying Assertions ( According to degree of certainty)
b. Convention. It is a way in which something is done, similar to
traditions and norms. Conventions depend on historical precedent,
laws, rules, usage, and customs.
◦ The sampaguita belongs to the genus Jasminum of the family of
Oleaceae

25. Critical Reading as Reasoning
1.Identifying Assertions ( According to degree of certainty)
c. Opinion. It is based on facts, but is difficult to objectively verify
because of uncertainty of producing satisfactory proofs of
soundness.
◦ The popularity of sampaguita’s flowers is most evident in places of
worship.

26. Critical Reading as Reasoning
2. Formulating Counterclaims
Counterclaims are claims made to rebut previous claim.
◦ What are the major points on which you and the author can disagree?
◦ What is the strongest argument?
◦ What are the merits of their views?
◦ What are the weaknesses of their argument?

27. Critical Reading as Reasoning
3. Determining Textual Evidence
Evidence is defined as details given by the author to support his/her
claim.
◦ What questions can you ask about the claims?
◦ Which details of the text anwers your questions?
◦ What are the most important details in the paragraph?
◦ What are some claims that do not seem to have support?