Table Of ContentМинистерство науки и высшего образования Российской Федерации
Южно-Уральский государственный университет
Кафедра иностранных языков
Ш143.21-9
В689
К.Н. Волченкова
CRITICAL READING SKILLS
Учебное пособие
Челябинск
Издательский центр ЮУрГУ
2019
ББК Ш143.21-923
В689
Одобрено
учебно-методической комиссией института лингвистики
и международных коммуникаций
Рецензенты:
С.В. Лескина, В.П. Новикова
Волченкова, К.Н.
В689 Critical Reading Skills: учебное пособие / К.Н. Волченкова. – Челябинск:
Издательский центр ЮУрГУ, 2019. – 58 с.
Пособие предназначено для магистрантов, аспирантов всех направлений
подготовки, молодых ученых, научно-педагогических работников, которые
читают литературу по специальности на английском языке и используют ее в
профессиональной и научной деятельности.
В пособии рассматриваются и отрабатываются на практике стратегии
критического чтения научных текстов, приемы, способствующие пониманию
научного текста, способы запоминания ключевой информации, способы
построения научного дискурса. Особое внимание в пособии уделяется
способам оценки научности текстов, приемам построения аргументации и
распознаванию логических ошибок в построении высказывания.
Пособие включает в себя теоретическую часть и практические задания на
развитие умений критического чтения научных текстов.
ББК Ш143.21-923
© Издательский центр ЮУрГУ, 2019
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Contents
Unit 1. Reading strategies ……………………….………………….. 4
Unit 2. Main ideas and supporting details ………………….……….. 10
Unit 3. Retention strategies …...…………………….…..………..…. 15
Unit 4. Reading Research Paper ………………..…………………… 19
Unit 5. Reading Comprehension ……………………………………. 26
Unit 6. The Argument ….……………….…………………………. 29
Unit 7. Argument indicator words …………………...…………….. 39
Unit 8. Argument evaluation ….………………………....………..... 41
Unit 9. Logical fallacies …………………………………………….. 45
Unit 10. Source paraphrasing ………………..…….…………............ 52
Appendix ………………………………………………………........... 57
References …………………………………………………………..... 58
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Unit 1. Reading strategies
Task 1. Tick the nearest statement below to how you feel about reading. Be honest!
Compare your choice with that of your partner.
I enjoy reading all types of things and read often for
pleasure as well as for work or study purposes
I quite like reading, depending on the subject etc,
and will get on with doing it, particularly for work/study
purposes - but I would not say it was my first priority for
pleasure purposes!
I am not very keen on reading, but will do it because
I have to for work or study purposes. I might, occasionally,
do it for pleasure!
I dislike reading, have never really enjoyed it, and try and avoid it whenever possible
If you don’t feel any of these connects with the way you feel about reading, write your
own feelings in the space below:
Task 2. Read the comments and express your agreement or disagreement with the ways
to make reading enjoyable experience.
Your feelings about reading can affect the way you approach and manage it.
People who generally enjoy the experience of reading and read for pleasure have often
learned instinctively to manage the process. They know that maintaining and enhancing their
enjoyment of reading is often about:
• finding the right time and place to read
• getting into the right mood
• getting involved actively with what they read
• …and picking the right text to read.
These basic reading practices will serve them well in higher education, work and in
their personal lives. However, many students have either mixed feelings about reading, or
dislike the experience- and do it because they have to!
If you are in this latter category, you could begin to address the issue of managing
your reading by trying to increase your enjoyment of reading. If you begin to enjoy reading
more, this will help you to develop more effective reading and reading management
techniques.
If you actively dislike the experience of reading, you will not respond as well as you
might to the techniques, as your aversion to reading can act as a barrier to change.
Three Ways of Making the Experience of Reading More Enjoyable:
1. Try going once a week to buy something to read that really interests you – a comic, a
magazine, anything! The brighter, the lighter, the more frivolous, rude, controversial or
humorous the better. Try and look forward to this moment in the week. Read it and enjoy it.
Stop when you get bored.
2. Try and encourage a friend or partner to read the same thing you selected and then have a
discussion on what you have read.
3. Set yourself strict limits for reading things you have to read. Set yourself, a limit of no
more than 40-50 minutes reading at any one stretch. And as you read, try and engage more
actively with the text.
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Task 3. Discuss in groups of three.
1. What sort of literature do you read for research?
2. What problems do you encounter when you read the research literature
in English?
3. What strategies do you use to comprehend the literature read and to
remember it better?
Task 4. Read the text and enumerate the strategies for effective reading.
Reading for research is one of the biggest
challenges in doctoral studies. However, are you
managing your reading efficiently?
Consider this cooking analogy, noting the
differences in process:
Shannon has to make dinner. He goes to the
store and walks through every aisle. He decides to
make spaghetti, so he revisits aisles and reads many
packages thoroughly before deciding which
groceries to buy. Once he arrives home, he finds a
recipe for spaghetti, but needs to go back to the store
for ingredients he forgot.
Taylor also has to make dinner. He wants lots of carbohydrates because he’s running a
marathon soon so he decides to make spaghetti. After checking some recipes, he makes a list
of ingredients. At the grocery store, he skims aisles to find his ingredients and chooses
products that meet his diet.
Taylor’s process was more efficient because his purpose was clear. Establishing why you
are reading something will help you decide how to read it, which saves time and improves
comprehension. This guide lists different strategies to try at different stages of the reading
process as well as some purposes for reading.
Before reading
Establish your purpose for reading
Speculate about the author’s purpose for writing
Review what you already know and want to learn about the topic (see the guides
below)
Preview the text to get an overview of its structure, looking at headings, figures,
tables, glossary, etc.
Predict the contents of the text and pose questions about it. If the authors have
provided discussion questions, read them and write them on a note-taking sheet.
Note any discussion questions that have been provided (sometimes at the end of the
text)
During reading
Annotate and mark sections of the text to easily recall important or interesting ideas
Check your predictions and find answers to posed questions
Use headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text
Create a vocabulary list of other unfamiliar words to define later
Try to infer unfamiliar words’ meanings by identifying their relationship to the main
idea
Connect the text to what you already know about the topic
Take breaks (split the text into segments if necessary)
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After reading
Summarize the text in your own words (note what you learned, impressions, and
reactions) in an outline, concept map, or matrix (for several texts)
Talk to someone about the author’s ideas to check your comprehension
Identify and reread difficult parts of the text
Define words on your vocabulary list and practice using them
Sample graphic organizers
Purposes for reading
People read different kinds of text (e.g., scholarly articles, textbooks, reviews) for
different reasons. Some purposes for reading might be
to scan for specific information
to skim to get an overview of the text
to relate new content to existing knowledge
to write something (often depends on a prompt)
to critique an argument
to learn something
for general comprehension
Once you have identified your purpose, then you will need to determine which reading
technique to use.
Skimming
In order to decide which sources are going to be most
useful, it is important to get the ‘gist’ of the it, without
having to read the whole thing from beginning to end.
Skimming through a book allows you to gain a general
sense of the text. Look at the index, contents page,
headings of chapters and sub-headings to give you an
idea if the information you are looking for could be
contained within the text.
Reading the first and last paragraphs and looking at any diagrams or pictures will offer more
clues. This should give you an idea which chapters/sections to read and which are not so
appropriate.
Scanning is another style of reading. This is most useful when you are searching for
something specific in the text – like a word or phrase. An example of use is when you are
looking in a telephone directory for a particular person’s name or when you look in the index
of a book to see which page contains the information you want.
In Depth Reading
Once you have located an article or a section within a book, you may then decide to read the
chapter/section in full. You may need to work your way carefully through the author’s to gain
a full understanding. This process may take time and if the text is very detailed, then it may
need to be re-read for clarity.
Critical Reading
Critical reading requires gaining a complete understanding of a text (like in-depth reading)
but it means weighing up the arguments and evidence both for and against. Critical reading
takes time and involves identifying and evaluating the ideas put forward by the author and
considering how these ideas fit with other authors in the same field.
Source: Grabe, W., Stoller, F. (2002). Teaching and researching reading. Harlow: Longman.
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Task 5. Complete the column Reading technique using the words from the box.
Skimming In-depth reading Critical reading
Scanning Rapid reading
A brief overview of Reading Techniques and their uses
What do you need to do? Reading technique What’s involved?
Gain a general overview of the ________________ Use to find main ideas and
text sequences and relationships
between chapters/sections
Locate specific information ________________ Search through the text for
specifics details such as key
words, phrases, names, dates.
Recall information ________________ Useful for revision –
confirming knowledge
Increase knowledge and ________________ High level of concentration
understanding required, slow, steady and
repetitive reading
Evaluate ideas ________________ Question and analyse author’s
perspective
Task 6. Skim the text and formulate its main idea in two or three sentences.
A team of scientists managed to teleport information across several kilometres of
optical fibre network in two cities. This form of teleportation differs from that depicted in Star
Trek: it involves transferring quantum states of a light particle, not Starfleet officers. But the
method offers huge promise. Teleportation over long distances and across optical fibre
networks is an important step towards the ultra-secure communications promised by quantum
cryptography. And the set-up described in studies published in Nature Photonics journal could
be seen as a building block for a future "quantum internet". In the paper, Dr Wolfgang Tittel
and colleagues describe how they teleported the quantum state of a photon, or light particle,
over 8.2km in the Canadian city of Calgary. The process by which information - the quantum
state of a photon - is teleported involves creating two photons at the University of Calgary.
One of these photons is sent in a "classical" way along 11.1km of optical fibre to a building
near Calgary City Hall, while the other remains behind at the university. Meanwhile, a photon
is also sent to the City Hall. This all results in the quantum state of the photon from site A
being transferred to the photon which remained behind at the university (site B) through
quantum teleportation. This teleportation process occurs via a phenomenon known as
entanglement, which describes how sub-atomic particles can be linked even if they are
separated by a large distance. The details of entanglement are not well understood; it even
befuddled Einstein, who famously described it as "spooky action at a distance".
Task 7
Scan the text from Task 6 and say where the research was published.
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Task 8. Active Reading Practice.
Study the introduction of the research paper and define its main ideas.
Motives and Aspirations for Doctoral Study: Career, Personal, and Inter-personal
Factors in the Decision to Embark on a History PhD
Ian Brailsford Centre for Academic Development,
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Introduction
Why would a mature person decide to do a PhD? It is not urban myth that a significant
number of doctoral students fail in completing their degrees, nor is the stereotype of the
lonely dissertation student toiling away for years and years to finally stagger over the
finishing line, exhausted and disillusioned. There is a body of quantitative and qualitative
research proving that deciding to do a PhD is a high-risk strategy (Golde, 2005; Lovitts, 2001;
Powell & Green, 2007). Why would someone commit several years of his or her life studying
for a degree when there was no guarantee of success at the end? These were the questions
posed in this study to 11 individuals in Australasia who took up the challenge of a History
doctorate; their answers provide, from a student perspective, qualitative data to better
understand the complex decisionmaking process.
Researchers have explored how doctoral students ‘navigate stages’ (Grover, 2007) of
their candidacy, with special Material concern over student isolation as a cause of attrition in
doctoral programmes (Ali & Kohun, 2007; Lovitts, 2008). Successfully embedding or
socialising doctoral students within their departments has been identified as a key factor in
supporting persistence (Austin, 2009). Major studies are also tracking candidates’ career paths
beyond the doctorate (Aanerud, Homer, Nerad, & Cerry, 2006; Denholm & Evans, 2009).
While our knowledge of doctoral students staying in and then exiting the ‘ivory tower’ is
advancing, less is known about the entering phase (Gill & Hoppe, 2009; Leonard, Becker, &
Coate, 2005).
This paper, therefore, deals with this less understood aspect of the doctorate: the initial
journey taken by students to enrolment. It takes its cue from Tatham and Denholm’s
provocative question in Supervising doctorates downunder: “If a doctorate is the answer, then
what was the question in relation to career development?” (Tatham & Denholm, 2007, p. 262)
This study is premised on the conjecture that PhD candidates (and their academic institutions)
might avoid (or at least alleviate) the difficulties that the existing research indicates are likely
to be encountered during the doctorate if both parties clearly understand the candidate’s
motives and aspirations from the outset.
There are a few British studies that touch upon the issue of initial motivation. Salmon’s
(1992) Achieving a PhD interwove narratives of 10 mature social science candidates
recounting their own doctoral journeys in the late 1980s, several of whom were motivated by
social justice concerns and their own sense of identity. From their discussions with successful
candidates, Churchill and Sanders (2007) in Getting your PhD established five generic
headings to categorise motives or reasons for embarking on a PhD: career development; lack
of current job satisfaction; a personal agenda; research as politics; and drifting in. Leonard,
Becker and Coate’s (2005) study, ‘To prove myself at the highest level’, using the Education
doctorate as a case study, discerned from their interview data the “powerful aspirational value
of the doctorate” (p. 139). This desire of Education doctoral holders to prove themselves
underscored both ‘personal growth’ and ‘training and qualification’ motives.
In addition to these British studies, a recent discussion on business professional
doctorates (Gill & Hoppe, 2009, p. 31) proposes five motivational ‘profiles’ (and an
associated personal objective) that could lead an individual to doctoral study: ‘traditional’
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(entry into academia); ‘advanced entry’ (professional development); ‘continuing
development’ (professional advancement); ‘transition’ (entry to a new career); and ‘personal
fulfilment’ (self-enhancement). They also suggest that the first four profiles accord with
different career stages; ‘traditional’ and ‘advanced entry’ relate to early-career candidates
while ‘continuing development’ and ‘transition’ relate more to mid- to late-career candidates.
The final profile, ‘personal fulfilment’, could apply to individuals at different stages of their
career. Finally, they note that more than one profile could motivate an individual candidate. The
empirical research in this paper builds from these earlier studies’ exploratory insights to better
understand the motives for doctoral study and the decision-making process (such as seeking
independent advice or exploring alternative options) using the History PhD as a case study.
Publicity materials on university websites offer prospective students multiple reasons for
doing postgraduate research. They represent the official inducements to attract would-be
graduate students and act as a useful digest of how universities envision the benefits of
graduate education for the student, in contrast to the research literature cited above. A sample
from four leading Australasian research-led universities gives a flavour of the marketing
messages in circulation. The University of Otago (2009) promises: “Studying at New
Zealand’s top-ranked university for research quality is a great career move. Your Otago
postgraduate experience will equip you with the skills and knowledge to be successful
anywhere in the world.” Victoria University of Wellington (2009) proclaims: “Victoria
University has a huge reputation internationally for academic excellence and calibre of its
research and postgraduate study. Our graduate programmes are flexible and continually
changing to meet your needs, developments in the research community and the demands of
the workplace.” The University of Melbourne (2009) poses the question “Why do graduate
research at Melbourne?” One of the reasons is that it “enrols and graduates more research
students than any other Australian university”. Under the heading ‘Prepare for an engaging
career’ the website states: “Graduate research does a lot more than create specialist
knowledge. Research students develop valuable professional skills for the research
environment and beyond. In Australia, the majority of research graduates take on professional
roles in business, government and other organisations, while about one third go on to careers
in academia.” The University of New South Wales (2009), under the strap-line ‘Make the leap
into postgraduate study’ proclaims: “Upgrade your qualifications and progress your career
development with a postgraduate program by coursework or research.” Ali and Kohun (2007)
have noted that these publicity materials rarely mention the challenges of graduate study, as
their purpose is to attract new students. However, they do provide a set of extrinsic motives
(better career prospects and access to a highquality research culture) for study in contrast to
the some of the intrinsic factors identified in the British studies mentioned above.
Unlike the North American PhD with its structured programme of study with taught
courses, comprehensive exams, and eventual candidacy, admission to a humanities doctorate
in Australasia is generally based on a would-be candidate applying for admission with a good
Bachelors or Masters degree coupled with an original research topic that has the support of an
academic department. While many Australasian universities will have a provisional year of
candidacy to ensure that doctorates are progressing in a timely fashion, it is fair to
characterise admittance to the Australasian doctorate as having fewer formal stages to pass
through than the North American one. The doctorate is awarded solely on the merits of (and,
in some instances, a defence of) the PhD thesis (dissertation). This state of affairs means that
would-be candidates have potentially more ownership or attachment to their research topics
from an earlier stage; however, they may miss opportunities to socialise without formal
courses.
Source: International Journal of Doctoral Studies Volume 5, 2010.
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Unit 2. Main ideas and supporting details
Task 1. Match the terms with their definitions.
A. Paragraph 1. The subject that the selection is about.
B. Topic 2. A group or specially and intentionally related sentences; a
thought unit; sentences that revolve around a single idea
and is a writer’s attempt to develop an idea or part of an
idea.
C. Main idea 3. Statement of the main idea. It is the statement under which
all other material in the paragraph – examples, reasons,
facts, details and other evidence – can fit.
D. Topic sentence 4. Chief point an author is making about a topic. It sums up
the author’s primary message.
Task 2. Define the topic of the paragraph.
Consumers concerned about the hazards or noise can reduce noise pollution in many
ways. They can purchase noisy products such as garbage disposals and lawn mowers with
reduced noise levels. They can also use sound-absorbing materials in their home. Carpeting can
be installed instead of hard flooring, and cork and fabric can be used in rooms that tend to be
noisy. Also, people can become less noisy themselves. They can learn to avoid shouting, to
close doors without slamming them, and to play radios, TV sets, and stereos at moderate levels.
Task 3. Study the material below and do the tasks after it.
Organization of a Paragraph
Statement of the main idea.
Elaboration of the main idea and supporting details.
Restatement of the main idea-summary of main ideas
or conclusions.
Location of the Topic Sentence
Topic sentences are usually in the first sentence of the
paragraph, but not always. They may also be located within
the paragraph or at the end of the paragraph. They may
even appear twice – at the beginning and at the end.
Within a paragraph
The physical complaints of neurotics – people who are overly anxious, pessimistic,
hostile, or tense – were once largely ignored by physician. Many doctors believed that the
frequent complaint of neurotic were exaggerations. However, new research shows that
neurotics are, fact, more likely to have physical problems. Specifically, researchers found
neurotics stand a grater chance of having five particular ailments: arthritis, asthma, ulcers,
headaches, and heart disease. In addition, there is evidence that people who are pessimistic
in their teens and twenties are more likely to become ill or die in their forties.
End of the paragraph
A study at one prison show that owning a pet can change a hardened prison inmate into
a more caring person. Another study discovered that senior citizens, both those living alone
and those in nursing homes, became more interested in life when they were given pets to care
for. Even emotionally disturbed children have been observed to smile and react with interest
if there is a cuddly kitten or puppy to hold. Animals, then, can be a means of therapy for
many kinds of individuals.
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