STRATEGIES TO CRITICALLY
READ ACADEMIC TEXTS
Academic
reading
|
When you read an academic text, you recreate or co-create
the meaning of the text, together with the author. In other words, you
negotiate the meaning with the author. Reading is a process shaped partly by
the text, partly by the reader's background, and partly by the situation the
reading occurs in.
Reading an academic text does not simply involve finding
information on the text itself. You need to work with the text. You can only
achieve this if you can use a series of categories of analysis, some of which
are specific to each academic discipline. Thus, working with a text and
recreating its meaning entail both non discipline-specific and specific strategies.
General
strategies
|
The following general strategies –formulated as questions- will help
you to critically read your texts.
1.
Why do you read the
text? What is the purpose of your reading?
a.
What do you need this
text for? Try to formulate the purpose in the form of questions.
b. What information are you looking for in the text?
2.
What is the context of
the text?
a.
Who is the author? Is
she a critical author? Does the author's opinion reflect the mainstream school
of thought?
b. When was the text written?
c. Where was it published? US? Canada? Europe?
d.
Who is the audience?
3.
What is the main thesis
of the text?
a.
What are the main claims
dealing with the issues you are interested in?
b. What is the author's main argument?
c.
What does the author
intend to do? Does she intend to challenge an existing position? Does she want
to consider a variable that previous researchers have missed? Apply a theory or
a concept in a new way?
d. What are the different positions used by the author?
e. What are the arguments used to hold these positions?
f.
What are the
counter-arguments?
4.
Are there any
assumptions hidden in the text? If so, you need to deconstruct them.
a.
Are there any concepts
taken for granted? If so, look for these concepts in the textbook, an
encyclopedia, or other reference book.
b.
Are there some debates
that are taken for granted?
c.
Is the author responding
to another article or book? If so, briefly read that other article or book.
5. What is the strength or validity of the author's
argument?
a.
Don't take the author's
argument at face value.
b.
Try to evaluate the
argument's effectiveness in making its claims.
c.
What evidence
does the author offer in support of her claim?
d. How convincing is the evidence? What about the
counter-arguments used?
e. What logical reasoning, if any, does the author use?
f.
Is there consistency of
thought?
g. Are the examples and evidence relevant?
6. What are the non immediate consequences of the
arguments used by the author?
a.
What are the
implications of the author's thesis?
b. What are the applications of the author's thesis?
c.
What connections can you
make to other texts?
d. How does this relate to other topics you learned
about?
e. Can you relate the author's thesis or arguments to
your own experience?
Specific
strategies: legal texts
|
Here are
some discipline- specific strategies for reading legal texts:
1. What is the approach to law underlying the legal
argument (e.g., positivism, socio-legal, etc.)?
a.
If positivist, determine
the validity (e.g., look at the jurisdiction) and currency of the argument
(e.g., law repealed).
2. What legal theory is the author using in her analysis
(Positivist, Feminist, Critical Legal Studies, Sociological Jurisprudence?
3. What is the structure or rationality of the reasoning
behind the legal argument (e.g. authority, logical, none)?
4. What is the legal tradition the author is referring
to?
5. What are the legal solutions to this same issue in
Comparative law?
6. What are the policy implications and social
consequences of the author’s thesis and claims?
Specific
strategies: Criminology and Criminal Justice texts
|
The
following are specific strategies for reading Criminological and Criminal
Justice texts.
1. What is the criminology theory or Criminal Justice
model underlying the analysis of the text?
2. What is the validity of the criminology theory or the
Criminal Justice model used to explain the problem or issue in the text?
3. What is the structure or rationality of the reasoning
behind the criminological or Criminal Justice argument (e.g. authority,
logical, none)?
4. What is the solution to this problem in other
countries or societies?
5. If the author relies on crime statistics, what are the
possible flaws in the collection of criminal data?
6. What are the policy implications, legal issues, and social
consequences of the author's thesis and claims?
Reading
techniques
|
The
following are some techniques that may help you with academic reading.
1.
Pre-read
the text.
a.
Look
for clues in the text.
b.
Begin
by reading the title, abstract, headings, subheadings, introduction, and
conclusion.
2.
Identify
the main ideas of the text.
a.
Recognize
the topic sentences. The topic sentence states the point of the paragraph, and
all of the other sentences support, develop, and explain that point.
b.
Recognize
summary, support, and transitional sentences.
i.
Summary
sentences state a general idea or concept. As a rule, topic sentences are
summary sentences.
ii.
Support
sentences provide the specific details and facts that give credibility to the
author's point of view. They give examples, explanations, arguments, and offer
evidence.
iii.
Transitional
sentences connect the paragraphs in the text in order to suggest the
relationship between one point to another.
3.
Mark the text while you
read it.
a.
Summarize main ideas.
b.
Underline relevant
information that helps you answer your questions.
c.
Take notes.
4.
Write a summary of the
answer to your questions (purpose).
a.
Include your reaction to
it.
b.
Identify other issues
which you think are worth exploring.