Reading Strategies - Interrogating Texts

Comparing and Contrasting What this handout is about This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.” Introduction In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its own requirements. Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both. Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects Two ideas or theories

Critical reading - OWLL - Massey University Critical reading is the process of reading that goes beyond just understanding a text. Critical reading involves: carefully considering and evaluating the reading identifying the reading's strengths and implications identifying the reading's weaknesses and flaws looking at the 'big picture' and deciding how the reading fits into the greater academic context (the understandings presented in other books and articles on this topic) In brief, you are actively responding to the reading. Critical reading is useful at all stages of academic study, but is particularly important when writing an article critique or a literature review. Critical reading often involves asking questions about the reading. To do this, you need to consider Each of these affects how 'strong' the argument is, that is, how convincing it is. Note: The questions here can also be used to improve your own writing, especially when you are required to construct an argument. Background What type of source is this? Is it aimed at

Integrating Quotations into Sentences You should never have a quotation standing alone as a complete sentence, or, worse yet, as an incomplete sentence, in your writing. IVCC's Style Book explains this concept well with a good analogy that describes quotations as helium balloons. We all know what happens when you let go of a helium balloon: it flies away. In a way, the same thing happens when you present a quotation that is standing all by itself in your writing, a quotation that is not "held down" by one of your own sentences. There are at least four ways to integrate quotations. 1. Example: In "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," Thoreau states directly his purpose for going into the woods: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Example: Thoreau ends his essay with a metaphor: "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in." 2. 3. 4. Watch It!

Writing Guides The following Writing Guides are available. To view guides, click on the list of catgories on the list below. You may view or hide descriptions of the guides. Writing and Speaking Research Writing & Documentation Writing in Specific Disciplines Conducting Qualitative & Quantitative Research About the Writing@CSU Guides These guides are the result of a joint effort of the Writing@CSU project and the Colorado State University Writing Center. In 2012, the guides were moved into a content management system developed for the Writing@CSU site. Thesis Statements A Formula For Writing Thesis Statements First, thesis statements have three main elements: A. The Steps Determine Your Topic What's the general category of your essay? State Your Position What is the one thing about your topic that you believe is true? Think of a Qualification Is there a valid argument against your position? Give the Reason Why do you think your position is correct in spite of your qualification? Put Them Together Arrange your steps in this order: 3+4+2 = Thesis (Qualification + Reason + Position = Thesis) This Example: Although schools of over a thousand students have flourished in America, small school populations lend themselves to building a good community of learners, and therefore we should consider limiting school populations to a hundred.)

Critical reading Critical reading is a form of language that does not take a text at face value, but involves an examination of claims put forwards well as in the text's section and selection of the information presented. The ability to readability assumed to be present in scholarships and "...a story has as many versions as it has readers. Everyone takes what he wants or can from it and thus changes it to his measure. Some pick out parts and reject the rest, some strain the story through their mesh of prejudice, some paint it with their own delight." — John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent (1961) There are no simple relations between these levels. The critical reading of a given text thus implies a critical examination of the concepts used as well as of the soundness of the arguments and the value and relevance of the assumptions and the traditions on which the text is given. "Reading between the lines" is the ability to uncover implicit messages and bias. Symptomatic reading[edit] See also[edit]

General Handouts Home Page » General Handouts To retrieve the handout, click on the link below: MLA Essay Format (PDF 12 KB)This is the format for all out-of-class processed papers. Common Revision Symbols (PDF 9 KB)Symbols we will use to guide you in your revisions Rewrite Policy (PDF 8 KB)Revision is essential to the writing process -- and a good grade. Plagiarism Contract (PDF 8 KB)You should do your best to avoid academic dishonesty. Professors' Reading List (PDF 27 KB)This extensive list was compiled through a consensus of University of Kansas literature professors as a "wish" list for high school students.

What is critical reading For a printer-friendly PDF version of this guide, click here Critical reading is an important precursor to critical writing. This Study Guide explains why critical reading is important, and gives some ideas about how you might become a more critical reader. Other Study Guides you may find useful are What is critical writing? Using paragraphs and The art of editing. What is critical reading? The most characteristic features of critical reading are that you will: examine the evidence or arguments presented;check out any influences on the evidence or arguments;check out the limitations of study design or focus;examine the interpretations made; anddecide to what extent you are prepared to accept the authors’ arguments, opinions, or conclusions. Why do we need to take a critical approach to reading? You need to be prepared to step into the academic debate and to make your own evaluation of how much you are willing to accept what you read. Critical reading does not have to be all negative Evidence