Critical Reading and Reasoning

Critical Reading

• Critical reading involves active analysis and questioning of a text and its author's claims.
• Readers actively evaluate, analyze, and interpret the text.
• Critical reading allows for a deeper and more complex understanding of a text.
• Critical reading enables the reader to analyze a text critically, understand the author's purpose, and question the arguments presented.
• Critical reading assesses the validity of textual evidence rather than aiming to criticize.

Reasoning

• Reasoning is providing statements for justification and explanation.
• It is the ability to defend something.

Critical Reading Strategies

• Annotating involves adding explanatory notes or comments to the text.
• Outlining is identifying the main points of the text.
• Summarizing entails extracting the main gist or point of the text.
• Evaluating involves questioning the purpose, intention, and assumptions of the text Steps in Critical Reading as Reasoning Identifying assertions involves recognizing common types of assertions such as fact, convention, opinion, and preference.
• Formulation of counterclaims involves rebutting a previous claim.
• Determining evidence involves identifying the details provided by the authors to support their claims.

Hedges

• Hedges show courtesy in a text.
• Different forms of hedges include:
• Modals: may, could, would, should, might, certain, must
• Frequency adverbs: usually, generally, commonly
• Probability adverbs: probably, possibly, presumably

Assertions and Counterclaims

• Assertions (Joey F. Valdriz, 2016) are declarative sentences that claim something is true, and can be either true or false.
• Assertions are expressed as an argument and should remain stable throughout.
• Assertions must be supported with evidence.

Common Types of Assertions

• Fact: objectively proven through direct experience or verified by witnesses/research.
• Convention: a way something is done, similar to traditions/norms, depends on historical precedent, laws, rules, usage and customs.
• Opinion: based on facts but difficult to objectively verify due to uncertainty of producing satisfactory proofs of soundness.
• Preference: based on personal choice, subjective, and cannot be objectively proven or logically attached Preference is always an opinion, but an opinion is not always a preference.

Logical Fallacies

• Ad Hominem: faulty reasoning based on the arguer's feelings instead of logic, evidence, and reasons, often attacking a person's character.
• Hasty Generalization: conclusions based on a small sample size rather than statistics and data.
• False Dilemma: limiting options to two despite the existence of countless possible outcomes or sides.

Writing a Resume

• A resume summarizes education, employment history, and experiences relevant to a specific job.
• It's a compilation of education, work experience, credentials, and accomplishments, presented factually.
• Resumes are typically formatted with bullet points and sections, giving a general overview of your career.
• A resume focuses on listing accomplishments and key skills and serves as an advertisement to potential employers.
• It serves as a valuable tool in marketing oneself to prospective opportunities.
• A cover letter is a personalized introduction to an employer, explaining why you are a good fit for the job and highlighting relevant skills.
• Cover letters explain why you are a good fit for the position in a narrative style.

Things to Write in a Resume

• Resumes should be tailored to each specific job application, including details about how your experiences relate to the job requirements
• A resume will introduce yourself.
• A resume will highlight strengths, skills, and qualities.
• A resume will showcase relevant experiences.
• A resume will detail the potential for scholarship or volunteer opportunities.

Components of a Resume

• Contact Information: includes name, address, contact number, and professional email address.
• Summary of Qualification: use if you have at least five years of professional experience, consisting of 1-4 sentences highlighting experience and accomplishments, written in the third person and in an active voice.
• Objective Statement: an optional part including job title, function, industry, and what you can offer; appropriate for recent graduates.
• Employment History: start with the most recent experience, including the name and address of the employer, dates, and brief job description, omitting past and present salary.
• Each job mentioned in employment history must include the name and address of the employer, the inclusive dates, and a brief job description.
• Responsibilities, if similar in more than one job, the details should be in the most recent one.
• Educational Attainment: start with the most recent, including name and address of the school, years attended/graduation year, degree, and specialization.
• Omit high school educational attainment after graduating from college.
• List academic honors, scholarships, and extracurricular activities.
• Skills: show your skills through past events, be clear with your strengths, and include transferable qualities.
• Trainings: include only those relevant to the job, the title of the training, organizer, date, and venue
• Start professional/civic affiliations with most recent.
• Organization: List name, position, and inclusive dates.
• Professional Licensure and Examination: include name of certification, rating, date, and place of issuance.
• Honors and Awards: list your recognized achievements.
• Do not list achievements that have nothing to do with work.
• Include the title of the award or honor, inclusive date, sponsor, or award giving organization.
• References and Signature: include the list of references, it should not be included in the resume.
• Simply state “References available upon request."

Resume Format

• If you decide to include references, do not exceed three.
• Inlcude their name, position, company, and contact details.
• You do not have to sign your resume.
• A resume has to be on letter size paper, printed on one side (limit to 1-2 pages), using plain type fonts, and avoiding italics, underlining, lines, shadow, or graphics if the resume is to be scanned.
• Make the your name the largest item on the page.
• Do not include irrelevant/extraneous information.
• Do not include salary or wages.
• Consider margins and spacing.
• Bullet points should be used to highlight accomplishments and responsibilities using action verbs.
• Proofread the formatting including the spelling and grammar.

Resume Keypoints

• Line Spacing: 1.0-1.15 is the standard
• Margins: 1 inch in all sides
• Headings: Double space
• Font Size: 10-12 points

Things to Avoid in a Resume

• Double spacing
• Inconsistent spacing
• Overly large margins should be avoided when making a resume.