Critical reading allows access to the ideas underlying a text.
Critical reading is the technique or process that allows you to discover the ideas and information that underlie a written text . This requires an analytical, reflective and active reading.
Before continuing with the definition, it is important to discover the etymological origin of the two words that give shape to the concept:
- Reading , first of all, is a word that comes from Latin, more precisely from the verb legere , which can be translated as “read.”
- Criticism , secondly, is a word of Greek origins. This is demonstrated by the fact that it comes from the verb krienin , which is synonymous with “decide or separate.”
Analysis of the notion
The process of apprehending information that is stored on a medium and that is transmitted through certain codes is called reading . This code can be visual, auditory or tactile.
What we usually understand by reading is a process that involves several steps, such as visualization (looking at the words), phonation (oral articulation, whether conscious or unconscious), hearing (the information that passes to the ear) and cerebration ( understanding becomes concrete).
Criticism , for its part, is a judgment or examination that is made about something. People who specialize in making judgments about works of art, shows, and books are called critics .
Critical reading is active, reflective and analytical.
Benefits of critical reading
Critical reading is considered to be an action that requires learning and is worth mastering. Thanks to it you can obtain various benefits:
- It becomes a great tool for making text summaries as well as for undertaking the creation of guides or summaries.
- It is a good resource for making decisions and establishing ideas that have solid bases.
Critical reading, therefore, is the previous step to developing critical thinking . Only by understanding a text in its entirety, unraveling the implicit message from the content beyond the literal, is it possible to evaluate its assertions and form an informed judgment.
The understanding
The only text that can be criticized is one that has been understood. That is why critical reading is associated with a thorough understanding of the information . When this degree of understanding is achieved, the reader can accept or reject the author's idea with responsibility for his or her decision. To foster critical thinking, therefore, the necessary skills in critical reading must first be provided.
Such is the value of critical reading that, in many corners of the world, courses are developed in this regard, with the purpose that students learn to analyze any text in depth, to evaluate it based on existing verbal resources and to establish relationships. with other documents.
Typically, these training proposals focus on developing aspects such as the difference between journalistic criticism and academic criticism, the narrative style, the integration of the elements that give shape to a text, the setting, the characters and the point of view.