This article provides some tips to develop critical reading skills. It is based off my extended article at www.NobleNewman.com

1. Five Tips to Develop Critic

2. Anyone who has ever read a text they
were not completely interested in has had
the experience of reading the same
passage over and over without it fully
sinking in. Critical reading is the
experience of fully engaging with a text,
beyond just reading and understanding
the meaning. When doing an academic
reading, it is paramount to be able to
understand the meaning of the book, be
able to compare and contrast to other
texts, and fully interpret what it means as
a whole. Here are some tips to develop
your critical reading skills.

3. Be selective and learn to skim
Critical reading is time-consuming, so
readers will need to pick the text with
the most relevance and that offers a
unique perspective or topic to other
related documents. Choose carefully,
and then quickly skim the book for
main ideas and key concepts. Once you
have a basic understanding of what the
text is about and which sections will
hold the most importance, slow down
and read those passages carefully.

4. Identify critical questions
The reader should think about
why they are reading these
particular texts and what they
hope to gain from them before
starting. By writing these
questions down, the student
will know what to look for
when reading selected essential
passages.

5. Take Notes
Taking notes is not only about
being able to look over
impressions later, but it also
helps the student absorb the
content by slowing down and
mulling over what they have just
read. Every couple of paragraphs
readers should jot down key
concepts and ideas that relate to
the critical questions written
down earlier.

6. Re-read and review
To fully understand an
academic text, the reader
will need to re-read crucial
passages several times.
Students should discuss their
notes, re-read and identify
any critical concepts missed,
and review all the while
again keeping in mind the
vital questions.

7. Author biases
Every author writes from their
unique perspective. Consider
who the author is and why they
wrote this particular text.
Understanding the purpose will
lead to greater understanding
overall. Keep in mind that
biases are not necessarily good
or bad, but they should be
considered before trusting the
content implicitly.