Critical thinking and critical reading are skills that seem to be commonly required in University classrooms, but are rarely defined. As Teaching Assistants, there can be a tendency to assume that our students know what it means to think critically or to read critically. As a result of this assumption, we often ask students to utilize these skills within our seminars or assignments without taking the time to carefully unpack what it means to do so or provide practical steps as to how this can be done.

With this context in mind, the purpose of this chapter is to:

1. Define critical reading and emphasize the significance of this skill across academic disciplines.
2. Outline practical steps and strategies that Teaching Assistants can use to support their students in reading critically.

Defining Critical Reading

Watch the brief video below for a definition of critical reading.

While related, reading and critical reading are characterized by distinct processes and goals. In other words, what we set out to achieve when we read and when we read critically, is different. So, what exactly is the difference? While the main goal of reading is often to understand or retain information, critical reading involves an analytical process of evaluating how that information is organized and argued. Critical reading generally involves the reader take a more active role in engaging with the text.  

Often when we hear the word ‘critical’ we automatically think ‘negative.’ It is a common misconception that critical reading involves offering commentary on only the weaknesses or faults of a text. While that may certainly be part of it, critical reading is more so about examining the underlying ‘ways of knowing’ and lines of reasoning that inform the text.

The Importance of Critical Reading

Critical reading is foundational to success in many assignments. Take writing a research essay for example, our students must understand how to analyze existing evidence from a variety of sources in order to synthesize ideas in a coherent and well-argued paper. Enlightening seminar discussions also often depend on students’ ability to go beyond summarizing readings or lecture content to offering their own unique insight.

Ideally, University is meant to be a space where students acquire both disciplinary specific knowledge and develop transferable skills – competencies that are relevant and can be applied in multiple areas of a person’s life. Being able to understand the line of reasoning and evidence behind a text can be useful as we engage with mass media, as we interact with others in our personal lives, and in a multitude of professional contexts.

Supporting Critical Reading through Guided Questions

Critical reading is a skill and, similar to the development of other skills, takes practice. As a Teaching Assistant, we can provide students with specific prompts to guide their reading. These prompts can be broken down into several categories: purpose, context, reasoning, evidence, discussion/conclusion, and evaluation. It can be helpful to do a mock critical reading exercise with students before asking them to do so independently, so that you can point out where a student might look within a text to answer these questions.

Purpose

• What is the main thesis or argument the text is trying to make? Why is this argument significant?
• What is a key quotation from the reading that reflects the main thesis? How does this quotation reflect the main point that the reading is trying to convey?

Context

• What audience is the text written for? Who is the text in dialogue with?
• In what socio-historical context is the article written?
• What assumptions does the author make?
• What is the relationship between the author(s) and the subject?

Reasoning

• What concepts or terms are defined and used? How do these definitions influence the understanding of the text?
• Does the text appeal to a particular theory?

Evidence

• What counts as evidence in this argument?
• From what sources is the evidence taken? Are these sources primary or secondary?

Discussion/Conclusion

• What kinds of conclusions does the author draw from this evidence?
• What kinds of assumptions are behind these conclusions?

Evaluation

• How does this text connect to my own context and experience? How might this context and experience influence my reading of the text?
• What personal biases or assumptions do I bring to my reading of the text?
• How useful is this text for understanding social phenomena?
• Has the argument been convincing?
• Are there gaps, inconsistencies, or contradictions within the text?
• Does the evidence presented warrant the conclusions that were drawn?
• Could the evidence be interpreted differently?
• What might an opposing argument be?
• Who is excluded from consideration in this text?
• What questions am I left with after reading this text?
• What is the relationship between this text and those I have previously read? How does this text relate to theories, concepts, statistics, or other materials discussed in lecture or readings?

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Overall, breaking a skill such as critical reading into smaller and more manageable pieces helps with scaffolding, an important method of teaching that involves offering varied levels of support as students learn or develop a new skill.

You can also encourage your students to take notes or keep a reading journal throughout the semester. Rather than students simply jotting down the facts of the text, notes can be developed and organized using some of the above prompts. Students can bring these notes with them to seminar, and they can be used as a springboard for discussion.

Download this Critical Reading Questions handout to share with your students.