Reading & Writing

Critical Reading Skills: An Easy Guide

Developing critical reading skills is paramount to understanding and evaluating the claims made by authors in scholarly texts. Rather than accepting information at face value, it's essential to delve into the evidence and reasoning behind these claims. Here are some key strategies to enhance your critical reading abilities: Before You Begin Reading Prior to delving into a text, take a moment to clarify your objectives: What do I want to discover? Define your specific goals for reading the text. What do I need to read to obtain the necessary information? Identify the sections or chapters that are most relevant to your goals. What is my point of view? Reflect on your existing perspective and why you hold this viewpoint. Questions to Ask While Reading As you engage with the text, continuously question and evaluate the content: What is the author's central argument in basic terms? Summarize the core message of the text. Is the argument effectively supported by evidence? Assess the quality …

Share this post to support us Leave a review or comments using disqus or facebook below

Join the conversation

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.blogger.com/static/v1/widgets/984859869-widgets.js"></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
window['__wavt'] = 'AOuZoY4iYhoWvPMxJ7Mny8dO5ye0rK5Tqw:1732372135137';_WidgetManager._Init('//www.blogger.com/rearrange?blogID\x3d7166543372327389184','//www.classwithmason.com/2023/09/critical-reading-skills-easy-guide.html?amp\x3d1','7166543372327389184');
_WidgetManager._SetDataContext([{'name': 'blog', 'data': {'blogId': '7166543372327389184', 'title': 'Class with Mason - School of Literary Studies ', 'url': 'https://www.classwithmason.com/2023/09/critical-reading-skills-easy-guide.html?amp\x3d1', 'canonicalUrl': 'https://www.classwithmason.com/2023/09/critical-reading-skills-easy-guide.html', 'homepageUrl': 'https://www.classwithmason.com/?amp\x3d1', 'searchUrl': 'https://www.classwithmason.com/search', 'canonicalHomepageUrl': 'https://www.classwithmason.com/', 'blogspotFaviconUrl': 'https://www.classwithmason.com/favicon.ico', 'bloggerUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com', 'hasCustomDomain': true, 'httpsEnabled': true, 'enabledCommentProfileImages': true, 'gPlusViewType': 'FILTERED_POSTMOD', 'adultContent': false, 'analyticsAccountNumber': 'G-CEKEBW3978', 'analytics4': true, 'encoding': 'UTF-8', 'locale': 'en-GB', 'localeUnderscoreDelimited': 'en_gb', 'languageDirection': 'ltr', 'isPrivate': false, 'isMobile': false, 'isMobileRequest': false, 'mobileClass': '', 'isPrivateBlog': false, 'isDynamicViewsAvailable': true, 'feedLinks': '\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Class with Mason - School of Literary Studies  - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.classwithmason.com/feeds/posts/default\x22 /\x3e\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/rss+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Class with Mason - School of Literary Studies  - RSS\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.classwithmason.com/feeds/posts/default?alt\x3drss\x22 /\x3e\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22service.post\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Class with Mason - School of Literary Studies  - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.blogger.com/feeds/7166543372327389184/posts/default\x22 /\x3e\n\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Class with Mason - School of Literary Studies  - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.classwithmason.com/feeds/6148403853051530831/comments/default\x22 /\x3e\n', 'meTag': '', 'adsenseClientId': 'ca-pub-1834392718225762', 'adsenseHostId': 'ca-host-pub-1556223355139109', 'adsenseHasAds': true, 'adsenseAutoAds': true, 'boqCommentIframeForm': true, 'loginRedirectParam': '', 'view': '', 'dynamicViewsCommentsSrc': '//www.blogblog.com/dynamicviews/4224c15c4e7c9321/js/comments.js', 'dynamicViewsScriptSrc': '//www.blogblog.com/dynamicviews/d78375fb222d99b3', 'plusOneApiSrc': 'https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js', 'disableGComments': true, 'interstitialAccepted': false, 'sharing': {'platforms': [{'name': 'Get link', 'key': 'link', 'shareMessage': 'Get link', 'target': ''}, {'name': 'Facebook', 'key': 'facebook', 'shareMessage': 'Share to Facebook', 'target': 'facebook'}, {'name': 'BlogThis!', 'key': 'blogThis', 'shareMessage': 'BlogThis!', 'target': 'blog'}, {'name': 'X', 'key': 'twitter', 'shareMessage': 'Share to X', 'target': 'twitter'}, {'name': 'Pinterest', 'key': 'pinterest', 'shareMessage': 'Share to Pinterest', 'target': 'pinterest'}, {'name': 'Email', 'key': 'email', 'shareMessage': 'Email', 'target': 'email'}], 'disableGooglePlus': true, 'googlePlusShareButtonWidth': 0, 'googlePlusBootstrap': '\x3cscript type\x3d\x22text/javascript\x22\x3ewindow.___gcfg \x3d {\x27lang\x27: \x27en_GB\x27};\x3c/script\x3e'}, 'hasCustomJumpLinkMessage': false, 'jumpLinkMessage': 'Read more', 'pageType': 'item', 'postId': '6148403853051530831', 'pageName': 'Critical Reading Skills: An Easy Guide', 'pageTitle': 'Class with Mason - School of Literary Studies : Critical Reading Skills: An Easy Guide', 'metaDescription': ''}}, {'name': 'features', 'data': {}}, {'name': 'messages', 'data': {'edit': 'Edit', 'linkCopiedToClipboard': 'Link copied to clipboard', 'ok': 'Ok', 'postLink': 'Post link'}}, {'name': 'template', 'data': {'name': 'custom', 'localizedName': 'Custom', 'isResponsive': true, 'isAlternateRendering': false, 'isCustom': true}}, {'name': 'view', 'data': {'classic': {'name': 'classic', 'url': '?view\x3dclassic'}, 'flipcard': {'name': 'flipcard', 'url': '?view\x3dflipcard'}, 'magazine': {'name': 'magazine', 'url': '?view\x3dmagazine'}, 'mosaic': {'name': 'mosaic', 'url': '?view\x3dmosaic'}, 'sidebar': {'name': 'sidebar', 'url': '?view\x3dsidebar'}, 'snapshot': {'name': 'snapshot', 'url': '?view\x3dsnapshot'}, 'timeslide': {'name': 'timeslide', 'url': '?view\x3dtimeslide'}, 'isMobile': false, 'title': 'Critical Reading Skills: An Easy Guide', 'description': 'Free Courses on English Literature, Critical Theories, Critical Thinking Skills, Academic Research, Blogging 101, SEO Optimization, and much more!', 'url': 'https://www.classwithmason.com/2023/09/critical-reading-skills-easy-guide.html?amp\x3d1', 'type': 'item', 'isSingleItem': true, 'isMultipleItems': false, 'isError': false, 'isPage': false, 'isPost': true, 'isHomepage': false, 'isArchive': false, 'isLabelSearch': false, 'postId': 6148403853051530831}}, {'name': 'widgets', 'data': [{'title': 'Class with Mason - School of Literary Studies  (Header)', 'type': 'Header', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Title', 'id': 'Header01'}, {'title': 'Try \x27Rumi\x27', 'type': 'BlogSearch', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Search', 'id': 'BlogSearch01'}, {'title': 'Header Icon', 'type': 'TextList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Icon', 'id': 'TextList01'}, {'title': 'Bookmark Posts', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Icon', 'id': 'LinkList02'}, {'title': 'Translate', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Icon', 'id': 'LinkList03'}, {'title': 'Navigation Menu', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Nav_Widgets_1', 'id': 'HTML01'}, {'title': 'Additional Links', 'type': 'PageList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', 'id': 'PageList02'}, {'title': 'Social Links', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', 'id': 'LinkList04'}, {'title': 'Tabbed Menu', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Notif_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList05'}, {'title': 'Under Header Ad [Desktop]', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Horizontal-Ad', 'id': 'LinkList81'}, {'title': 'Pinned Post', 'type': 'FeaturedPost', 'sectionId': 'sec_Top_Widgets', 'id': 'FeaturedPost01', 'postId': '445924497151132818'}, {'title': 'Blog Posts', 'type': 'Blog', 'sectionId': 'sec_Main_Widgets', 'id': 'Blog01', 'posts': [{'id': '6148403853051530831', 'title': 'Critical Reading Skills: An Easy Guide', 'showInlineAds': false}], 'footerBylines': [{'regionName': 'footer1', 'items': [{'name': 'author', 'label': 'Published by'}, {'name': 'timestamp', 'label': 'On'}, {'name': 'comments', 'label': 'Comment'}, {'name': 'share', 'label': ''}]}, {'regionName': 'footer2', 'items': [{'name': 'labels', 'label': 'in'}]}], 'allBylineItems': [{'name': 'author', 'label': 'Published by'}, {'name': 'timestamp', 'label': 'On'}, {'name': 'comments', 'label': 'Comment'}, {'name': 'share', 'label': ''}, {'name': 'labels', 'label': 'in'}]}, {'title': 'Categorized Posts', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Main_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList07'}, {'title': 'Post Middle Ads', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Main_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList84'}, {'title': 'Table of contents', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Main_Widgets', 'id': 'HTML11'}, {'title': 'Below Posts Ad', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Bottom_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList85'}, {'title': 'Popular Notes', 'type': 'PopularPosts', 'sectionId': 'sec_Side_Widgets', 'id': 'PopularPosts01', 'posts': [{'title': 'So Many Oaks by Sujata Bhatt, Summary, Analysis \x26 Symbolism', 'id': 6189666065763971078}, {'title': 'So Many Oaks by Sujata Bhatt: 20 Questions \x26 Answers', 'id': 6991787543551169152}, {'title': 'The Human Seasons, John Keats, Analysis \x26 Summary', 'id': 8752523764861648100}, {'title': 'The Man in Black by Goldsmith: Summary \x26 Analysis', 'id': 8780696141413210093}, {'title': 'Helen Keller, Langston Hughes: Summary \x26 Analysis', 'id': 7669991146026607242}]}, {'title': 'Labels', 'type': 'Label', 'sectionId': 'sec_Side_Widgets', 'id': 'Label01'}, {'title': 'Sticky Ad [Desktop]', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Side_Sticky', 'id': 'LinkList86'}, {'title': 'Take me back', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Error_404', 'id': 'HTML404'}, {'title': 'Class with Mason', 'type': 'Image', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets_1', 'id': 'Image21'}, {'title': 'Social Media Links', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets_1', 'id': 'LinkList21'}, {'title': 'English Literature', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets_2', 'id': 'LinkList22'}, {'title': 'Language Lab', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets_3', 'id': 'LinkList23'}, {'title': 'Interactive Learning', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets_4', 'id': 'LinkList24'}, {'title': 'Credit', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Credit', 'id': 'HTML21'}, {'title': 'Mobile Menu', 'type': 'TextList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Mobile_Menu', 'id': 'TextList99'}, {'title': 'Labels', 'type': 'Label', 'sectionId': 'sec_Theme_Hidden', 'id': 'Label41'}, {'title': '\u09af\u09cb\u0997\u09be\u09af\u09cb\u0997 \u09ab\u09b0\u09cd\u09ae', 'type': 'ContactForm', 'sectionId': 'sec_Theme_Hidden', 'id': 'ContactForm41'}, {'title': 'Pageviews last month', 'type': 'Stats', 'sectionId': 'sec_Theme_Hidden', 'id': 'Stats41'}, {'title': 'Firebase Configurations', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList61'}, {'title': 'Progressive Web App', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList62'}, {'title': 'Cookie Consent [NoTitle]', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList63'}, {'title': 'AdBlock detected!', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'HTML61'}, {'title': 'Image Uploader', 'type': 'Image', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'Image61'}]}]);
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HeaderView', new _WidgetInfo('Header01', 'sec_Header_Title', document.getElementById('Header01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_BlogSearchView', new _WidgetInfo('BlogSearch01', 'sec_Header_Search', document.getElementById('BlogSearch01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_TextListView', new _WidgetInfo('TextList01', 'sec_Header_Icon', document.getElementById('TextList01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList02', 'sec_Header_Icon', document.getElementById('LinkList02'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList03', 'sec_Header_Icon', document.getElementById('LinkList03'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML01', 'sec_Nav_Widgets_1', document.getElementById('HTML01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_PageListView', new _WidgetInfo('PageList02', 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', document.getElementById('PageList02'), {'title': 'Additional Links', 'links': [{'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': '/p/sitemap.html', 'title': 'Sitemap'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': '#', 'title': 'Disclaimer'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': '#', 'title': 'Privacy'}], 'mobile': false, 'showPlaceholder': true, 'hasCurrentPage': false}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList04', 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', document.getElementById('LinkList04'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList05', 'sec_Notif_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList05'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList81', 'sec_Horizontal-Ad', document.getElementById('LinkList81'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_FeaturedPostView', new _WidgetInfo('FeaturedPost01', 'sec_Top_Widgets', document.getElementById('FeaturedPost01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_BlogView', new _WidgetInfo('Blog01', 'sec_Main_Widgets', document.getElementById('Blog01'), {'cmtInteractionsEnabled': false}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList07', 'sec_Main_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList07'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList84', 'sec_Main_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList84'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML11', 'sec_Main_Widgets', document.getElementById('HTML11'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList85', 'sec_Bottom_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList85'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_PopularPostsView', new _WidgetInfo('PopularPosts01', 'sec_Side_Widgets', document.getElementById('PopularPosts01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LabelView', new _WidgetInfo('Label01', 'sec_Side_Widgets', document.getElementById('Label01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList86', 'sec_Side_Sticky', document.getElementById('LinkList86'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML404', 'sec_Error_404', document.getElementById('HTML404'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_ImageView', new _WidgetInfo('Image21', 'sec_Footer_Widgets_1', document.getElementById('Image21'), {'resize': true}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList21', 'sec_Footer_Widgets_1', document.getElementById('LinkList21'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList22', 'sec_Footer_Widgets_2', document.getElementById('LinkList22'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList23', 'sec_Footer_Widgets_3', document.getElementById('LinkList23'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList24', 'sec_Footer_Widgets_4', document.getElementById('LinkList24'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML21', 'sec_Footer_Credit', document.getElementById('HTML21'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_TextListView', new _WidgetInfo('TextList99', 'sec_Mobile_Menu', document.getElementById('TextList99'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LabelView', new _WidgetInfo('Label41', 'sec_Theme_Hidden', document.getElementById('Label41'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_ContactFormView', new _WidgetInfo('ContactForm41', 'sec_Theme_Hidden', document.getElementById('ContactForm41'), {'contactFormMessageSendingMsg': 'Sending...', 'contactFormMessageSentMsg': 'Your message has been sent.', 'contactFormMessageNotSentMsg': 'Message could not be sent. Please try again later.', 'contactFormInvalidEmailMsg': 'A valid email address is required.', 'contactFormEmptyMessageMsg': 'Message field cannot be empty.', 'title': '\u09af\u09cb\u0997\u09be\u09af\u09cb\u0997 \u09ab\u09b0\u09cd\u09ae', 'blogId': '7166543372327389184', 'contactFormNameMsg': 'Name', 'contactFormEmailMsg': 'Email', 'contactFormMessageMsg': 'Message', 'contactFormSendMsg': 'Send', 'contactFormToken': 'AOuZoY742teQu0O3EIL4Q-UnlcKTo24FuQ:1732372135138', 'submitUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com/contact-form.do'}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_StatsView', new _WidgetInfo('Stats41', 'sec_Theme_Hidden', document.getElementById('Stats41'), {'title': 'Pageviews last month', 'showGraphicalCounter': false, 'showAnimatedCounter': false, 'showSparkline': true, 'statsUrl': '//www.classwithmason.com/b/stats?amp\x3d1\x26style\x3dBLACK_TRANSPARENT\x26timeRange\x3dLAST_WEEK\x26token\x3dAPq4FmD8u5zZjOqNIcpoastdxn1BIifouot4vnUOePMKmeEfNArx60xVwDrqWLBZ84KUQjVZ5bKfkJ7QNc2c0yocsp868QrI5A'}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList61', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList61'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList62', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList62'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList63', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList63'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML61', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('HTML61'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_ImageView', new _WidgetInfo('Image61', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('Image61'), {'resize': false}, 'displayModeFull'));
</script>
</body>