AIM: Why is being an Active Reader important to comprehension?

Being an ACTIVE reader means being a CRITICAL reader. Being critical in this context does not mean criticizing for the sake of being argumentative. It means understanding how ideas have been arrived at, and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses. Here are some of the main features of critical reading.

• Recognizing the writer’s purpose.
• Recognizing the writer’s assumptions and underlying values
(social, cultural and historical influences).
• Recognizing patterns of argument.
• Linking ideas in the text to other ideas and texts.
• Understanding how language choices reflect values and indicate power relations.

(Is the language that of a psychologist? A feminist? Is the writer intimidating the reader by using obscure words or jargon? Is the writer persuading with emotive words, such as ‘statistics’, ‘democracy’, ‘moral’, ‘should’?)
• Recognizing how the text positions the reader.

(Is the reader being addressed as an academic colleague or as a prospective teacher? Does the writer want the reader to agree or does the writer invite debate?)
• Exploring alternatives to the stated idea.
• Recognizing the assumptions and underlying values that you bring to your reading.