Reading Critically and Rhetorically

You have probably heard the term critical reading before, but what does that actually mean? Notice in the following passage, adapted from the eBook Methods of Discovery – Online Writing Guide, how active readers need to be while reading critically.

Critical reading, then, is a two-way process. As a reader, you are not a consumer of words, waiting patiently for ideas from the printed page or a web site to fill your head and make you smarter. Instead, as a critical reader, you need to interact with what you read, asking questions of the author, testing every assertion, fact, or idea, and extending the text by adding your own understanding of the subject and your own personal experiences to your reading.

The following are key features of the critical approach to reading:

• No text, however well written and authoritative, contains its own, pre-determined meaning.
• Readers must work hard to create meaning from every text.
• Critical readers interact with the texts they read by questioning them, responding to them, and expanding them, usually in writing.
• To create meaning, critical readers use a variety of approaches, strategies, and techniques which include applying their personal experiences and existing knowledge to the reading process.
• Critical readers actively seek out other texts, related to the topic of their investigation.

Read about reading as a rhetorical tool in Methods of Discovery – Online Writing Guide.