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1.2B Reading: Developing Critical Approaches

The document provides guidance on developing critical reading skills. It recommends scanning a text to determine relevance, skimming to understand the overall meaning, and intensively reading key sections. The document also distinguishes between facts and opinions, and provides examples of statements that are facts or opinions. It encourages practicing determining whether statements are facts or opinions, and assessing the reliability of different texts.

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Elissa Swt
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147 views3 pages

1.2B Reading: Developing Critical Approaches

The document provides guidance on developing critical reading skills. It recommends scanning a text to determine relevance, skimming to understand the overall meaning, and intensively reading key sections. The document also distinguishes between facts and opinions, and provides examples of statements that are facts or opinions. It encourages practicing determining whether statements are facts or opinions, and assessing the reliability of different texts.

Uploaded by

Elissa Swt
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.

2B Reading: developing critical approaches


1 Reading methods

Choosing suitable texts

Look at title and


sub-title

Survey text features (e.g.


abstract, contents, index)

Skim text for gist – is it Scan text for


relevant? information you need
(e.g. names)

Read extensively when


useful sections are
found

Read intensively to
make notes on key
points

Possible answers:

text genre recognition

dealing with new vocabulary

3 Reading abstracts

(a) Background position – A growing chorus of scholars … American democracy.

(b) Aim and thesis of article – This article questions … engaged citizenship.

(c) Method of research – Using data from … political participation.


(d) Results of research – Rather than the erosion … in America.

4 Fact and opinion


Fact Opinion

1 Smoking can be dangerous to health Fact

2 Smoking is addictive Fact

3 Smoking should be banned Opinion

4 Smoking is dangerous so it should be banned Fact Opinion

Fact or opinion?
Facts – true Opinions –
or false? agree or
disagree?

1 Britain has the highest crime rate in the world Fact False

2 In Britain, hundreds of crimes are committed every Fact True


day

3 Many criminals are never caught Fact True

4 The police are inefficient Opinion ?

5 The police should be abolished Opinion ?

6 Practice
(a)
1 Probably unreliable. The adjectives used (easily, quickly) and the lack of concrete information suggest
that this text is not to be trusted. In addition, commonsense should suggest that you cannot legally earn
hundreds of pounds in a few hours.

2 Probably reliable. The advice the writer is giving appears commonsense, although not everyone might
agree with all of it (e.g. cooking is fun).
3 Probably reliable. The facts given can be confirmed by students’ own experience.

(b)

Positive aspects: Contains some relevant ideas. The studies mentioned could be
followed up using a search engine.

Negative aspects: Rather superficial and informal in style. No citations.

7 Critical thinking
The responses to these questions will vary from student to student, which is the
nature of the critical approach.

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