Answer to Question #308502 in English for hlumi

Question

in your words, discuss three different critical reading techniques you have read about in this course. In your discussion, show how these resonate with your experience of critical reading and/or the teaching of critical reading skills.

Answer 1

1. Annotating

One of the first strategies to begin with is annotating a text. When you annotate, you underline important parts of the text, such as the thesis statement, topic sentences of body paragraphs and explanatory material. Annotating may also include circling key words and writing comments or questions you have about the material in the margins. This is has been for me to mark material that needs to be studied for exams.

2. Contextualizing.

When you contextualize a text, you place it within its original historical or cultural context. As a reader you should try to identify this context and consider how this context differs from your own. In order to do this, you need to consider the following:

a. Language or ideas that appear foreign or out of date.

b. Your knowledge of the time and place in which the work was written.

c. The effect these differences have on your understanding and judgment of the reading.

3. Paraphrasing.

When you paraphrase a text, you put it into your own words. This can be helpful in understanding a difficult or ambiguous passage. It is also one of the three ways to incorporate other people's ideas into your own. The other two are quoting directly and summarizing. Unlike a summary, a paraphrase contains all of the original information. The purpose of a paraphrase is to simplify without changing any information. You are not changing what is said, but how it is said