WEEK 4:

STEPS IN CRITICAL
READING
BY PAUL MICHAEL PEREZ, CRWT 111

CRWT 111
DEVELOPING THE HABIT
● In order to make critical reading a habit, one needs to have the
genuine desire to learn and discover new things. There should be
a compelling reason to stick with it as a habit, and that is to
develop oneself and achieve competitiveness in the future.

CRWT 111
STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP READING AS A HABIT

1. Prioritize reading
2. Find informative books of good
value
3. Have your reading habit planned
4. Do not limit your reading habit
5. Be a morning reader
6. Try speed reading

CRWT 111
STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP READING AS A HABIT
1. Prioritize reading
● Putting reading a top of our priority list by allotting a time-specific schedule
makes hitting your goal more realistic.
● You can also create a timetable to ensure your progress.

2. Find informative books of good value

● Good books are not merely entertaining. They are worth reading for their
substance.
● Look not just at the titles or topics, but on the author's credibility, the
reputation of the publishing company, the curation and endorsements
involved, and the marketability of the book in its niche (target readers).
Favorites and bestsellers do not necessarily spell quality all the time.
● You may want to start reading books that genuinely pique your curiosity or
are aligned with your existing hobbies, skills, interests or specialization.

CRWT 111
STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP READING AS A HABIT

3. Have your reading habit planned

● You basically add one more chore to your already busy
day when you set a schedule for reading on a daily basis.
● Designating your own reading spot in the house or setting
up a "mini-library" also help in developing the habit.
● You may set a quantity-based reading activity (number of
pages regardless of time) if your reading habit in a
time-bound manner seems impractical.
● Have all your reading essentials prepared such as
markers, pens and bookmarks.

CRWT 111
STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP READING AS A HABIT

3. Have your reading habit planned

CRWT 111
STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP READING AS A HABIT

4. Do not limit your reading habit

● Read as much as you can, as often as you want. Don’t
limit your reading time to a few minutes per day when
you have more time to spare.

5. Be a morning reader
● Experts recommend reading early in the morning
because the mind is clearer and the body is most
relaxed at this time. This makes concentration easier
and your learning capacity improved.

CRWT 111
STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP READING AS A HABIT
6. Try speed reading
● Speed reading allows you to cover and finish books much faster
without sacrificing comprehension. What this means is you target
specific information within the text, apply reading patterns
throughout the pages, and skip unnecessary parts to make
reading faster.

CRWT 111
THE CRITICAL READING PROCESS

Step 1: Analyze the critical reading

components
Step 2: Practice pre-reading activities
Step 3: List down questions
Step 4: Take down notes
Step 5: Evaluate the text
Step 6: Mind map from memory
Step 7: Consolidate your knowledge
CRWT 111
THE CRITICAL READING PROCESS

Step 1: Analyze the critical reading components

● Identify the components then ponder on them one by one:
○ Underline instructional words, e.g. discuss, explain, identify,
justify.
○ Mark apparent keywords and key phrases.
○ Be mindful of the organizational patterns used (compare and
contrast, cause and effect, list, spatial, chronological, etc.)
○ Evaluate the validity and requirement of the questions
○ Brainstorm the question:
■ Write down all related information
■ Link the details that you know
■ Determine knowledge gaps

CRWT 111
 THE CRITICAL READING PROCESS
Step 2: Practice pre-reading activities
● Have the text scanned for the following details:
○ Who is the author/s?
■ What are his or her credentials? What is his or her reputation?
Is the writer known for bias?
○ What is the nature of the text?
■ Is it current? Is it authoritative? Is it purely subjective, purely
objective, or a combination of both?
● Highlight main ideas and keywords:
○ Read the title, synopsis for stories and abstract for research,
section headings and subheadings, and graphical representations.
○ Read the introduction, the first few paragraphs, and the conclusion
at the end.

CRWT 111
THE CRITICAL READING PROCESS
Step 3: List down questions
● Connect the content of the text to your research questions:
○ Is this text relevant to my research question?
○ If so, list questions about the content of the article or report.

Step 4: Take down notes

● Be concise and write on your own words.
● Use bullet points.
● Pay attention to citation and references.
● Take note of the arguments raised.
● Summarize the major parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.
● Record important quoted materials and the page numbers that you may have to
read again later on.
● Write down keywords of any relevant information to your questions.
● These notes will become your summary of the text, which you can use as
reference when writing your report or project later on.

CRWT 111
THE CRITICAL READING PROCESS
Step 5: Evaluate the text
● Ask questions on the value of the research evaluation questions.
○ Has the article/report fulfilled its purpose?
○ Is the argument clearly asserted and supported by evidence?
○ Is the research valid? (sufficient, appropriate, adequate, objective, valid
methodology?)
○ Has the argument been developed logically?
○ Does it present solutions based on evidence?
○ Are recommendations appropriate to the purpose?
○ In what ways does the article/report advance our knowledge of a particular issue?
○ What assumptions underlie the research?
○ Are they reasonable?
● Ask questions on the quality of the information.
● Fill in the evaluation section.
● Using your answers to the above questions in steps 1 and 2:
○ What are the strengths of the text?
○ What are the weaknesses?

CRWT 111
THE CRITICAL READING PROCESS
Step 6: Mind Map from memory
● Make a rough mind map from memory: test what you can recall from your
reading of the text.
○ Make headings of the main ideas and note supporting evidence in dot
points.
○ Include your evaluation: the strengths and weaknesses.
○ Identify gaps in your memory.

Step 7: Consolidate your knowledge

● Summarize the text in preparation for writing your assignment:
○ Make another mind map drawing on your notes and your rough mind map.
○ Make headings and note the supporting evidence in dot points.
○ Include your evaluation.
○ Be creative: use color and arrows; make it easy to visualize.
○ Highlight the ideas you may want to use for your assignment.
○ Identify areas for further research.

CRWT 111
THE CRITICAL READING PROCESS

CRWT 111
EFFECTIVE STEPS FOR NOTE-TAKING

1. Highlighting and
Emphasizing
2. Making Written Notes
3. Reviewing and Revising
Your Notes
4. Organizing Your Notes
CRWT 111
EFFECTIVE STEPS FOR NOTE-TAKING
1. Highlighting and Emphasizing
● Highlighting key words or phrases in text will help you:
○ Focus your attention on what you are reading–and make it easy to see key points
when re-reading.
○ Think more carefully about the key concepts and ideas in the text, the bits that are
worth highlighting.
○ See immediately whether you have already read pages or sections of text.

CRWT 111
EFFECTIVE STEPS FOR NOTE-TAKING
2. Making Written Notes
● There are two main elements that you need to include in your notes:
○ The content of your reading, usually through brief summaries or
paraphrasing, plus a few well-chosen quotes (with page numbers); and
○ Your reaction to the content, which may include an emotional reaction and
also questions that you feel it raises.
*It can be helpful to separate these two physically to ensure that you include both.

● Your notes may also take various forms and styles, for example:
○ Linear, or moving from one section to the next on the page in a logical way,
using headings and subheadings;
○ Diagrammatic, using boxes and flowcharts to help you move around the
page; and
○ Patterns, such as mind maps, which allow a large amount of information to be
included in a single page, but rely on you to remember the underlying
information.

CRWT 111
EFFECTIVE STEPS FOR NOTE-TAKING

Source: "How
to Take Study
Notes: 5
Effective Note
Taking
Methods" by
Oxford
Learning
Centres, Inc.
(May 2017)

CRWT 111
EFFECTIVE STEPS FOR NOTE-TAKING
3. Reviewing and Revising Your Notes
● Use headings or different sheets (or documents) to separate different
themes and ideas;
● Use brightly colored pens or flags to highlight important points in your
notes.
● You may find it useful to have a simple system of color-coding, using
different colors for particular themes or issues; and
● Note where your opinions changed, and why.

4. Organizing Your Notes

● Notes are of no use to you if you cannot find them when you need to, and
spending a lot of time sifting through piles of papers is a waste of time. It is
therefore important to ensure that your notes are well-organized and you
can find what you want when you need it.
CRWT 111