Critical Reading and Reasoning

• Critical reading is a way of reasoning.
• Critical reading involves distinguishing between factual and opinionated statements.
• It also involves constructing a paragraph on a given topic with facts, arguments, and reasons.

Critical Reading

• Thinking critically means not just accepting information.
• It means incorporating personal experiences and perspectives to form logical assertions.
• Critically reading, requires note-taking, and paraphrasing key points in one's own words.
• One should be able to use their own examples and compare/contrast with other writings.
• Readers should be able to fully analyze a text and determine its meaning.
• Developing critical reading and thinking allows readers to justify actions, thoughts, and ideas.
• Reasoning is an offshoot of critical reading and thinking.

Evidence

• Evidence supports the validity of assertions.
• Evidence includes testimony, scientific findings, statistics, and physical objects.

Fact

• A fact can be verified or proven true through objective means.
• Objective observation and experimentation can be used for verification.
• An example of a fact is that Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Opinion

• An opinion cannot be verified or proven true by objective means.
• Opinions are subjective and need facts to support them to be accepted as valid.
• An example of an opinion is that a mechanical flaw in a spacecraft could threaten an astronaut's life.

Four Forms of Reasoning

Inference

• Inference involves drawing a new conclusion from existing information.
• It can predict future events logically.
• For example, if someone is excellent at surfing, it can be inferred they should be good at skateboarding.

Generalization

• Generalization involves drawing a conclusion based on particular facts or cases.
• A generalization should be true in many cases and supported by evidence.
• For example, if every homeroom has more girls than boys, it can be generalized that there are more girls than boys in school.

Analogy

• Analogy is a comparison between things that are similar in some ways but essentially unlike.
• Complete analogies compare two different objects that share an important similarity.
• For example, a cell is like a factory because it processes raw materials, produces energy, and discharges wastes.

Cause and Effect

• Cause and effect represents a sequence where something results from prior events.
• An example is that rain occurs when a warm air mass meets a cool air mass.