Transcript Critical Reading - University of South Florida

CRITICAL READING
“ R e a d i n g f u r ni s h e s
the mind only with
m a te r i al s o f
knowledge; it is
thinking that
m a ke s w h a t w e
r e a d o u r s .”
– J o h n L o c ke
EXPOSITORY FORMS
Goal: Do you understand?
Goal: Are you convinced?
Writing to Inform
Writing to Persuade
Reporter Questions: who,
what, when, where, why, how
Clearly Defined Terms
Accuracy of Information
Fair Use of Information
So what?
Clear Logic
Author’s interpretation
Emotional Weight
STEP 1: SUMMARY
All critical reading begins
with an accurate
summary.
Why are you reading this text?
Your purpose influences
which aspects of the text are
important to your summary
and which are distractions.
Brackets around
quotable
passages
Connect related
ideas with lines
Outline main
ideas in the
margin (like
Cornell Notes)
Circle words
needing definition
or investigation
Comments and
questions in the
margin
ANNOTATION &
NOTE-TAKING
Highlight or
underline key
points
Annotations
reflect your
obser vati ons
of details in
the text,
questions the
text raises,
new ideas it
suggests, and
per sonal
reactions.
STEP 2: AUTHOR PURPOSE (SPIN)
Does the author have a particular bias (stated or unstated)
that affects the presentation of evidence?
Does the author have more than one purpose? Which
purpose has priority? Do the purposes conflict?
Is the text:
Aesthetic/
Entertaining
Persuasive (like an
argument)
Descriptive/
Informative (like a
summary)
EXAMPLE: GREEN EGGS AND HAM
 Summary: Sam-I-Am
offers breakfast to an
unnamed narrator.
The narrator refuses
to eat under any
circumstances.
Finally, he surrenders
and tries the food,
discovering that he
likes it.
 Description: A
children’s story told in
rhyme and repetition
that describes a
persuasive argument
between Sam-I-Am
and the narrator.
PURPOSE AND
INTERPRETATION
 Dr. Seuss may intend the narrator (whose lack of a name
makes him universally identifiable) to represent a child
unwilling to try new things, no matter what enticement or
logical reasoning is of fered. The repetition of increasingly
silly situations shows children that their objections can
easily become unmoored from logical reality.
 Based on the apparent age dif ference between Sam -I- Am
(shorter and younger than the narrator), I also think that the
story might be a social satire on how older people reject the
ideas of the younger generation out of hand. The book was
written in 1960 (as the Beat writers were challenging the
political status quo), and Dr. Seuss himself was a political
cartoonist known for injecting social satire in his work on
other occasions.
STEP 3: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
Identify
points of
agreement or
disagreement
Why do you
agree or
disagree on
each point?
SUMMARIZING: 8 EASY STEPS
Divide and Conquer
Read for General Overview
Read Deeper
One Sentence per Major Idea
Thesis Statement
Put the Pieces Together
Check for Accuracy
Revise!
SUMMARIZING: 7 EASY STEPS
Locate the major ideas
Change the order to fit your purpose
Change up the language to fit
Combine or divide sentences
Compare to confirm meaning
Weave into your argument
Document!
SUMMARIZING IN ACTION
Original Version:
Virtual-reality systems can use cyberspace to represent physical
space, even to the point that we can feel telepresent in a
transmitted scene, whether Mars or the deep ocean.
We
can achieve
the illusion
of being present
remote
Virtual-reality
systems
can represent
physicalinspace
by
locations,
for example
planet
Mars
or people
deep parts
using cyberspace,
eventhe
to the
extent
that
can of
the
by using
that
feel ocean,
telepresent
in avirtual-reality
scene that is equipment
transmitted,
perhaps
creates
cyberspace
representation
Mars or athe
deep ocean
(Heim 80). of the real world
(Heim 80).
SUMMARIZING IN ACTION
According
This
articletocovers
the author
the topic
of “Seeing
of measuring
the Forest,”
the extent
the of
global deforestation.
extent
of global deforestation
The article
wasdiscusses
difficult to
themeasure
reasons
for concern,
until
satellitethe
remote
technique,
sensing
thetechniques
results, and
were
theapplied.
project’s
current goal.
Measuring
the extent of global deforestation is
important because of concerns about global warming
and species extinctions. The technique compares old
infrared LANDSAT images with new images. The authors
conclude the method is accurate and cost effective.