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Writing Critically: Reading Critically

Build a foundation for analysis, reading critically and understanding how to construct and assess arguments.

How do I read critically?

You can identify arguments and assess their strengths and weaknesses by critically reading the text. Rather than passively absorbing the information, critical reading involves constantly questioning the text as you go along.

Our Effective Reading guide explains strategies you can use to make sense of challenging texts.

In short, here are some good questions to bear in mind as you read:

  • Who is the author?
  • What is the purpose of the text?
  • Who is the intended reader?
  • What are the key arguments?
  • How does the author present their argument?
  • What evidence and sources are used?

Once you’ve read through the piece of work, there are a few things you can try to help with your critical analysis:

  • Summarise the author’s argument in one sentence.
  • List their main points.
  • Add your own thoughts to each main point. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Maintaining an annotated bibliography or using a source evaluation table can encourage you to think critically whilst reading rather than simply 'harvesting facts'.