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Critical Reading & Note-taking. Learning to Read Critically. Efficient reading isn't the only skill you need at university; you also need to read critically. This means suspending judgement on a text until you
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Learning to Read Critically • Efficient reading isn't the only skill you need at university; you also need to read critically. This means suspending judgement on a text until you • have understood the message being put forward evaluated the evidence supporting that message evaluated the writer's perspective.
If you read uncritically you may accept texts and arguments which are flawed, biased and subjectively written. Reading critically will help to make sure that your study and research activities continue as soundly as possible. To help you read in this way, you might use the critical reading checklist to help you ask the right sort of questions of the material you have to read.
Critical questions to ask • What is the author's approach/perspective? • Is there another theoretical or philosophical approach which might have been taken? • Who/what is left out of the text? • Does the author write from an insider's/outsider's perspective? How does this effect what is included/excluded from the text? • Do you agree with the points the author is making
Excerpt 1 (from an academic journal) The aim of the study was to describe how patients perceive involvement in decisions concerning their own treatment and nursing care.SampleA convenience sample of 12 patients was selected from three mixed-sex medical wards. The only criterion for inclusion in the study was a willingness to participate.
What a critical reader would say… Is the methodology valid here? Critical readers would question whether the sample size was big enough to fulfil the aim of this study. They would also question whether the sample was representative enough of the wider population, as the criterion for inclusion in the population sample perhaps created an unrepresentative group. The personality type that is willing to participate in a study of this kind may suggest subjects that are already highly involved in patient participation, thus skewing the survey results.
A critical approach to note taking • notes developed using an active and critical approach will also allow you to refine your argument before you begin writing • it is essential for providing you with the necessary evidence to inform and develop your argument
Example of Cornell Method: Essay Question:'Imagination is the basis of all mental life'. Discuss.
