What is Critical Reading?

Theodore Roosevelt is famously quoted as saying, “If you want to lead, you must read.”
Sadly, statistics show that Americans 20–34 years of age spend an average of 0.11 hours—or less
than 7 minutes—reading per day.
Leadership is simply one of the reasons why people believe reading is important. But not
everyone thinks about becoming a leader. In that case, one question that is equally crucial is:
does reading make you smarter?

A person’s intelligence level is not easy to define, but one of the most common tools used to
measure intelligence is called the Intelligence Quotient, or IQ.
German psychologist William Stern formulated this measurement tool in the early 20th century.
The system defines intelligence as the combination of different abilities, such as problem-solving,
gaining new information, and using abstract reasoning.
The test calculates a person’s scores based on their “mental age” score and their chronological
age, and shows how they perform compared to other people.
 Many factors influence a person’s IQ, including childhood experiences, your family background, and
the schools they attended. A person’s motivations also play into how well they do on an IQ test.
 One way that reading improves IQ test scores is through the added information that we absorb from
reading more.
 For example, many IQ tests include a vocabulary section, so reading more might translate into
knowing more words and their meanings.
 Another possible reason is that reading teaches children to understand abstract concepts, which also
come up on IQ tests. Note, though, that this hypothesis is still currently being researched.

However, IQ tests may not be the only way

to measure intelligence.

For example, University of Michigan psychology professor Richard Nisbett has this to say:
“People confuse ability with knowledge. We all can study and improve our vocabulary. But I would argue
that doesn’t make us any smarter.”
Indeed, intelligence may be described in more than just IQ scores.
Researchers have found that reading does alter the brain in many ways, and not all of these effects can
be measured in IQ tests.
 What is Critical Reading?
 Both reading and thinking critically don’t mean being ‘critical’ about some idea, argument, or
piece of writing - claiming that it is somehow faulty or flawed.
 Critical reading means engaging in what you read by asking yourself questions such as, ‘what is
the author trying to say?’ or ‘what is the main argument being presented?’
 Critical reading involves presenting a reasoned argument that evaluates and analyses what
you have read. Being critical, therefore - in an academic sense - means advancing your
understanding, not dismissing and therefore closing off learning. To read critically is to
exercise your judgement about what you are reading – that is, not taking anything you read
at face value.
 When reading academic material you will be faced with the author’s interpretation and
opinion. Different authors will, naturally, have different slants. You should always examine
what you are reading critically and look for limitations, omissions, inconsistencies, oversights
and arguments against what you are reading.
 In academic circles, whilst you are a student, you will be expected to understand different
viewpoints and make your own judgements based on what you have read.
 Critical reading goes further than just being satisfied with what a text says, it also involves
reflecting on what the text describes, and analysing what the text actually means, in the
context of your studies.
As a critical reader you should reflect on:

 What the text says: after critically reading a piece you should be able to
take notes, paraphrasing - in your own words - the key points.
 What the text describes: you should be confident that you have understood
the text sufficiently to be able to use your own examples and compare and
contrast with other writing on the subject in hand.
 Interpretation of the text: this means that you should be able to fully
analyse the text and state a meaning for the text as a whole.
 Critical reading means being able to reflect on what a text says, what it
describes and what it means by scrutinising the style and structure of the
writing, the language used as well as the content.
 Thinking critically, in the academic sense, involves being open-minded -
using judgement and discipline to process what you are learning about
without letting your personal bias or opinion detract from the arguments.
 Critical thinking involves being rational and aware of your own feelings on
the subject – being able to reorganise your thoughts, prior knowledge and
understanding to accommodate new ideas or viewpoints.
 Critical reading and critical thinking are therefore the very foundations of
true learning and personal development
The first step to efficient reading is to become
selective.

 If you cannot read all of the books on a recommended reading list, you need to find a way of selecting
the best texts for you. To start with, you need to know what you are looking for. You can then
examine the contents page and/or index of a book or journal to ascertain whether a chapter or
article is worth pursuing further.
 Once you have selected a suitable piece the next step is to speed-read.
 Speed reading is also often referred to as skim-reading or scanning. Once you have identified a
relevant piece of text, like a chapter in a book, you should scan the first few sentences of each
paragraph to gain an overall impression of subject areas it covers. Scan-reading essentially means
that you know what you are looking for, you identify the chapters or sections most relevant to you and
ignore the rest.
 When you speed-read you are not aiming to gain a full understanding of the arguments or topics
raised in the text. It is simply a way of determining what the text is about.
 When you find a relevant or interesting section you will need to slow your reading speed dramatically,
allowing you to gain a more in-depth understanding of the arguments raised. Even when you slow
your reading down it may well be necessary to read passages several times to gain a full
understanding.
Following SQ3R
 SQ3R is a well-known strategy for reading. SQ3R can be applied to a whole range of
reading purposes as it is flexible and takes into account the need to change reading
speeds.
 SQ3R is an acronym and stands for:
 Survey
 Question
 Read
 Recall
 Review
 Survey
 This relates to speed-reading, scanning and skimming the text. At this initial stage you will be attempting to gain the general
gist of the material in question.
 Question
 It is important that, before you begin to read, you have a question or set of questions that will guide you - why am I reading
this? When you have a purpose to your reading you want to learn and retain certain information. Having questions changes
reading from a passive to an active pursuit. Examples of possible questions include:
 What do I already know about this subject? How does this chapter relate to the assignment question? How can I relate what I
read to my own experiences?
 Read
 Now you will be ready for the main activity of reading. This involves careful consideration of the meaning of what the author
is trying to convey and involves being critical as well as active.
 Recall
 Regardless of how interesting an article or chapter is, unless you make a concerted effort to recall what you have just read,
you will forget a lot of the important points. Recalling from time to time allows you to focus upon the main points – which in
turn aids concentration. Recalling gives you the chance to think about and assimilate what you have just read, keeping you
active. A significant element in being active is to write down, in your own words, the key points.
 Review
 The final step is to review the material that you have recalled in your notes. Did you understand the main principles of the
argument? Did you identify all the main points? Are there any gaps? Do not take for granted that you have recalled
Reading has been found to have a considerable effect on the
following intelligence factors:

1. Crystallized Intelligence
Psychologist Raymond Cattell first developed the theory of crystallized and fluid intelligence.
Crystallized intelligence refers to the sum total of facts and information that a person knows.
Colloquially, this is known as “book smarts.” The more that you read, the more that you have in your
database of information.
2. Fluid Intelligence
Whereas crystallized intelligence is based on a database of facts, fluid intelligence is more difficult to
measure. Fluid intelligence refers to abstract knowledge.
It includes problem-solving skills and the capacity to identify patterns. It also includes being able to
find solutions to problems even without having any prior knowledge of the task or situation.
How does reading improve fluid intelligence?
Experts believe that people who read are better equipped to deal with unusual situations, simply based
on the wide variety of experiences (albeit vicarious experiences) they have had through all the books
they’ve read.
3. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is defined as the measure of a person’s ability to understand the
feelings and thoughts of others.
According to psychologists Emanuele Castano and David Comer Kidd, reading fiction
increases a person’s emotional intelligence.
The test included a comparison of participants reading nonfiction, literary fiction, and
popular fiction. The results favored reading literary fiction most of all.
A possible explanation is that reading fiction lets the reader experience the same
psychological processes they need to navigate real-life relationships.
As Kidd and Castano write in their study:
“Understanding others’ mental states is a crucial skill that enables the complex social
relationships that characterize human societies.”
 Why Is Reading Good for You?

In addition to boosting your IQ and emotional intelligence, reading regularly can

improve your life in a number of ways:
Reading improves your vocabulary.
In University of Berkeley Professor Anne E. Cunningham’s paper, What Reading
Does for the Mind, she explains that reading not only has direct results on the
brain when we find meaning from the passage being read, but it also has
“cognitive consequences that extend beyond [that].”
Her research also shows that reading is a uniquely effective way to expand
vocabulary, while also improving verbal fluency and spelling.
One explanation is that words used in books tend to be more varied than those
used in regular spoken conversations, including those featured on TV shows.
Reading improves your memory.
Reading stimulates your brain, which results in improved brain health. This, in turn,
increases your memory capacity.
Research has found that reading slows down cognitive decline, which helps keep your
memory intact and also prevents the development of mental illnesses and memory loss.
Reading improves your focus.
In an age when distractions seem to lurk behind every corner, the average person’s
attention span continues to grow shorter. Thankfully, reading is a proven way to help
improve your concentration.
When you stop reading something in a book and return to it a day later, your mind is
challenged to think back on where you stopped. This helps you train your mind to
think.
Additionally, when reading a book, you need your full attention in order to understand
what you’re reading. This forces you to slow down instead of just skimming like you
porbably would for online material.
1. Reading strengthens brain connectivity.
Neuroscientist Gregory Berns learned that not only does reading give
you an abstract understanding of another person, but it actually has
biological implications.
After giving several participants a novel to read at home, Berns and his
team conducted a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan the next day.
The results showed heightened connectivity in the part of the brain
linked with receptivity for language.
Reading improves your writing skills.
One of the most common pieces of advice given to writers who want to
improve their writing is to read more, preferably in their chosen genre.
The key idea is that as you read what others have written, you get a
feel for what “sounds” right and can later emulate the same in your
own writing.
Reading helps you relax.

A study conducted by researchers at Sussex University in 2009 found that reading

is capable of reducing stress in individuals by as much as 68%.
Even reading for as little as 6 minutes has been found to slow down your heart
rate, calm your mind, and relax your body.
Does Reading Make You Smarter?
Based on these benefits, it appears that reading can in fact make you smarter in
more ways than one. Thankfully, with the advent of e-books, a great read is
easier than ever to find.
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Checklist of Questions for Critical Reading
 Ask yourself the following questions to decide whether or not a particular piece of work is
worth including in your literature review.
 The Author
 Who is the author? What can I find out about him/her? Has he/she written other books, articles
etc.?
 What is the author’s position in the research process, e.g., gender, class, politics, life
experience, relationship to research participants?
 The Medium
 Where and when was the document produced? What type of document is it?
 Is it reporting original research that the author has done, or is it presenting second-hand
information about a topic?
 Is it formal or informal?
 Is it 'authoritative' (e.g., academic, scientific) or 'popular' (newspaper or magazine article)?
 How has it been produced? Is it glossy, with lots of pictures, diagrams, etc.?
 If it is contained on a website, is the website from a reputable organisation, or is the document
The Message

 What is being said?

 What is not being said?
 How is the argument presented? Why?
 What use has been made of diagrams, pictures etc.?
 Who was or is the intended audience?
 Whose interests are being served by this message? Are there political implications, for instance?
 What evidence is presented to support the claims that are made?
 Does the evidence actually support the claims? Is the evidence presented in enough detail for you to
make up your own mind whether you agree with the claims?
 Are there errors or inconsistencies?
 What is the significance to my topic and the research that I wish to carry out?
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