Critical & Analytical Reading

Reading is fundamental to writing and research at

university, but often gets overlooked – lecturers assume
that students know how to read, and students assume
there’s only one way to read – but neither of these things
is necessarily true! There are ways to read that can
improve information processing, can help with building
an argument, and importantly for many students, can
save lots of time
Academic reading is a specific category of reading. It’s
helpful to remember that academic reading is an act
of performance. Rather than sitting back and passively
receiving information we read in college, we will be
asked to directly act upon that information in some way.
We will be quizzed or tested. We will be asked to debate,
analyze, or critique what we read. We will need to read
closely, remember the text accurately, and compare it to
other texts for style and content.
Purpose of Academic Reading

1. Information comes from reputable sources:

Web sites and blogs can be a source of insight and

information, but not all are useful as academic resources.
They may be written by people or companies whose main
purpose is to share an opinion or sell you something.
Academic sources such as textbooks and scholarly journal
articles, on the other hand, are usually written by experts
in the field and have to pass stringent peer review
requirements in order to get published.
2. Learn how to form arguments: In most college classes
except for creating writing, when instructors ask you to
write a paper, they expect it to be argumentative in style.
This means that the goal of the paper is to research a
topic and develop an argument about it using evidence
and facts to support your position. Since many college
reading assignments (especially journal articles) are
written in a similar style, you’ll gain experience
studying their strategies and learning to emulate them.
3. Exposure to different viewpoints: One purpose of
assigned academic readings is to give students exposure to
different viewpoints and ideas. For example, in an ethics
class, you might be asked to read a series of articles
written by medical professionals and religious leaders who
are pro-life or pro-choice and consider the validity of their
arguments. Such experience can help you wrestle with
ideas and beliefs in new ways and develop a better
understanding of how others’ views differ from your own.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts
1. Preview: You can gain insight from an academic text before you
even begin the reading assignment. For example, if you are assigned
a nonfiction book, read the title, the back of the book, and table of
contents. Scanning this information can give you an initial idea of
what you’ll be reading and some useful context for thinking about
it. You can also start to make connections between the new reading
and knowledge you already have, which is another strategy for
retaining information.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts

2. Read: While you read an academic text, you

should have a pen or pencil in hand. Circle or
highlight key concepts. Write questions or
comments in the margins or in a notebook. This
will help you remember what you are reading and
also build a personal connection with the subject
matter.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts
3. Summarize: After you an read academic text, it’s
worth taking the time to write a short summary—even if
your instructor doesn’t require it. The exercise of jotting
down a few sentences or a short paragraph capturing
the main ideas of the reading is enormously beneficial: it
not only helps you understand and absorb what you
read but gives you ready study and review materials for
exams and other writing assignments.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts
4. Review: It always helps to revisit what you’ve read for
a quick refresher. It may not be practical to thoroughly
reread assignments from start to finish, but before class
discussions or tests, it’s a good idea to skim through
them to identify the main points, reread any notes at the
ends of chapters, and review any summaries you’ve
written.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts
5. Get to Know the Conventions
Academic texts, like scientific studies and journal
articles, may have sections that are new to you. If you’re
not sure what an “abstract” is, research it online.
Understanding the meaning and purpose of such
conventions is not only helpful for reading
comprehension but for writing, too.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts
6. Look up and Keep Track of Unfamiliar Terms and Phrases
Have a good college dictionary such as Merriam-Webster handy (or
find it online) when you read complex academic texts, so you can look up the
meaning of unfamiliar words and terms. Many textbooks also contain
glossaries or “key terms” sections at the ends of chapters or the end of the
book. If you can’t find the words you’re looking for in a standard dictionary, you
may need one specially written for a particular discipline. For example, a
medical dictionary would be a good resource for a course in anatomy and
physiology.
If you circle or underline terms and phrases that appear repeatedly, you’ll have
a visual reminder to review and learn them. Repetition helps to lock in these
new words and their meaning get them into long-term memory, so the more
you review them the more you’ll understand and feel comfortable using them.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts
7. Look for Main Ideas and Themes
You are not expected to understand every single word or idea
presented in a reading. However, you will get more out of
discussions and feel more confident about asking questions if you
can identify the main idea or thesis in a reading. The thesis
statement can often (but not always) be found in the introductory
paragraph gives you a framework for understanding more of the
details.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts
8. Look for Reputable Online Sources
junior scholars are assigned reading from reputable print and
online sources, so you can feel comfortable referencing such
sources in class and for writing assignments. If you are looking for
online sources independently, however, devote some time and
energy to critically evaluating the quality of the source before
spending time reading any resources you find there. Find out
what you can about the author (if one is listed), the Web site, and
any affiliated sponsors it may have. Check that the information is
current and accurate against similar information on other
pages. Depending on what you are researching, sites that end in
“.edu” (indicating an “education” site such as a college, university,
or other academic institution) tend to be more reliable than
“.com” sites.
Reading Strategies for Academic Texts

9. Pay Attention to Visual Information

Images in textbooks or journals usually contain valuable
information to help you more deeply grasp a topic. Graphs and
charts, for instance, help show the relationship between different
kinds of information or data—how a population changes over
time, how a virus spreads through a population, etc.
Data-rich graphics can take longer to “read” than the text around
them because they present a lot of information in a condensed
form. Give yourself plenty of time to study these items, as they
often provide new and lasting insights that are easy to recall later