CRITICAL READING TOWARDS CRITICAL WRITING

One major skill our students will need in all their college courses is critical
reading. In an advanced writing course or a technical course, our students
will be expected to read a text critically. They will analyze it in terms of the
authors main argument, sufficiency of the evidence provided to support this
argument, tone and style employed by the author in the text, the overall
plausibility of the subject matter, etc. Most term papers, as well as essay
exams, are based on critical reading and writing.

Most of the time we complain that our students do little to analyze a text or
transfer these analyses to their writing. However, there are some
straightforward methods that can be used in class to combine critical reading
with critical writing. Texts analyzed as such can lead into writing in two
ways: arguments and evidence can be analyzed and integrated into an
essay, a response essay or report can be written on the texts analyzed.
Another way critical reading may serve writing is that critically analyzed
texts may serve as models for the students to work on. Through critical
reading, students see that the way an author organizes the presentation of
his ideas actually reflects his way of thinking. Also through submitting a text
to careful analysis, the students develop a rigorous logical way of reasoning.
Such rigorous analytical thinking, then, is carried into their writing.

When reading critically, the students should realize that

They should not read for information only

They should look for ways of thinking

The questions to be asked while reading should be:

How does this text work?

How is it argued?
How is the evidence used and interpreted?
How does the text reach its conclusion?
Such reading is an active process during which the reader interacts with the
text and maintains an inner dialogue with the author. Therefore, it requires
the reader to produce questions while following the authors line of
reasoning. The method used for maintaining such a dialogue is annotating
the text, i.e. highlighting, underlining, writing in the margins. However, an
inexperienced reader may be tempted to highlight too extensively and later
have difficulty in extracting the main ideas out of the highlighted areas.

Some strategies of annotating are ( adapted from occawonline.pearsoned.com):

1. Double underline the authors expression/ statement of the main

point and write MP in the margin
2. Underline each new claim the writer makes, and write claim 1,
claim 2, etc. in the margin
3. Circle major point of transition from the obvious to less obvious
4. Asterisk major pieces of evidence or statistics and write
illustrates claim x
5. Write conclusion in the margin at points where the writer draws
major conclusions
6. Put a question mark next to points that are unclear,
unreasonable, or out of place; write your comments in the
margin
7. Put an exclamation mark next to passages you react to in
agreement, disagreement or interest; write your comments in
the margin
8. Attach a post-it note next to trigger passages and write a brief
reaction as you read on
9. Write N.B. (Nota Bene=good point) besides points you think
well-made, you like, you agree or when you think the author
raises a good argument

Critical reading and writing activities in class

Some activities to be done in or outside the classroom- to combine critical

reading with critical writing could involve reviewing a text.

Use the main points and claims to make an outline of the text. Put the
transitions where the writer indicates his line of reasoning
Use this outline to write a summary of the text
Give a name to each subsection and explain what the author expounds
on in the section. How does each subsection contribute or relate to the
flow of logic?
 Write a paragraph that explores the attitude of the author. Does the
author adopt a serious, scientific, humorous, ironic, argumentative
style? Analyze the text and find evidence to support your conviction.
In your journal/response paragraph/essay/ review write what you
know or learned about the author. Is it a trustworthy source? Does the
author have a bias?
Review the claims. Is each claim adequately supported with evidence?
What kind of evidence is provided, e.g. statistics, facts, or
observations?
Review the text. Are the claims consistent and coherent? Are there
logical flaws in the argument? What could opposing arguments be?
List the points that trigger a reaction in you. Free write a brief
response to each point or as a whole. Why did you react in the way
you did? What did you find interesting?

Written by Zeliha Gulcat, August 2004.

Saat membaca kritis, para siswa harus menyadari hal itu
Mereka seharusnya tidak membaca untuk informasi saja
Mereka harus mencari cara berpikir

Pertanyaan yang harus ditanyakan saat membaca harus:

Bagaimana teks ini bekerja?
Bagaimana pendapatnya?
Bagaimana bukti yang digunakan dan diinterpretasikan?
Bagaimana teks mencapai kesimpulannya?

Bacaan semacam itu adalah proses aktif dimana pembaca berinteraksi dengan teks dan
melakukan dialog batin dengan penulis. Oleh karena itu, dibutuhkan pembaca untuk
menghasilkan pertanyaan sambil mengikuti garis penalaran si penulis. Metode yang
digunakan untuk memelihara dialog semacam itu adalah menganotasi teks, yaitu
menyoroti, menggarisbawahi, menulis di margin. Namun, pembaca yang tidak
berpengalaman mungkin tergoda untuk menyoroti terlalu ekstensif dan kemudian
mengalami kesulitan dalam mengeluarkan gagasan utama dari area yang disorot.

Beberapa strategi anotasi adalah (diadaptasi dari occawonline.pearsoned.com):

1. Ganda menggarisbawahi ekspresi / pernyataan penulis dari pokok pembicaraan dan
menulis MP di margin
2. Menggarisbawahi setiap klaim baru yang penulis buat, dan tulis klaim 1, klaim 2, dll di
margin
3. Lingkari titik transisi utama dari yang jelas menjadi kurang jelas
4. Bukti asterisk utama atau statistik dan tulis "menggambarkan klaim x"
5. Tuliskan kesimpulan di pinggir pada titik dimana penulis menarik kesimpulan utama
6. Beri tanda tanya di samping poin yang tidak jelas, tidak masuk akal, atau tidak pada
tempatnya; tulis komentar anda di margin
7. Beri tanda seru di samping bagian-bagian yang Anda bereaksi sesuai kesepakatan,
ketidaksepakatan atau ketertarikan; tulis komentar anda di margin
8. Lampirkan catatan setelah itu di samping bagian pemicu dan tulis reaksi singkat saat
Anda membacanya
9. Tulis N.B. (Nota Bene = poin bagus) selain poin yang menurut Anda bagus, Anda suka,
Anda setuju atau bila menurut Anda penulis mengajukan argumen yang bagus.

Aktivitas membaca dan menulis kritis di kelas

Beberapa kegiatan - untuk dilakukan di dalam atau di luar kelas - untuk menggabungkan
pembacaan kritis dengan penulisan kritis dapat melibatkan peninjauan teks.
Gunakan poin utama dan klaim untuk membuat garis besar teks. Letakkan transisi di
mana penulis menunjukkan garis penalarannya
 Gunakan garis besar ini untuk menulis ringkasan teks
Beri nama pada setiap subbagian dan jelaskan apa yang penulis jelaskan di bagian ini.
Bagaimana masing-masing sub bagian berkontribusi atau berhubungan dengan arus
logika?
Tuliskan paragraf yang membahas sikap penulis. Apakah pengarang mengadopsi gaya
yang serius, ilmiah, lucu, ironis, dan argumentatif? Menganalisis teks dan temukan bukti
untuk mendukung keyakinan Anda.
Dalam jurnal / response paragraph / essay / review tuliskan apa yang Anda ketahui
atau pelajari tentang penulis. Apakah ini sumber terpercaya? Apakah penulis memiliki
bias?
Kaji ulang klaimnya. Apakah masing-masing klaim didukung dengan bukti? Bukti apa
yang disediakan, mis. statistik, fakta, atau pengamatan?
Tinjau teksnya. Apakah klaim konsisten dan koheren? Apakah ada kekurangan logis
dalam argumen? Apa yang bisa melawan argumen?
Cantumkan poin yang memicu reaksi pada Anda. Gratis tuliskan tanggapan singkat
untuk setiap poin atau secara keseluruhan. Mengapa Anda bereaksi seperti Anda? Apa
yang menurutmu menarik?