Getting a Head Start on Academic Papers: Critical Reading towards Critical Writing

Given the title of this post, you are probably expecting the usual lecture about avoiding procrastination, starting papers weeks before they are due, and giving yourself time to edit your work. No dice – I will save that lecture for later! Instead of focusing on critical writing, the focus of this post is critical reading, which is the first step to great academic writing, and a skill that is helpful for students of every discipline.

 When your instructor assigns a paper, the subject is likely one that has been discussed or studied in class, which means that you may have already done some serious reading on the topic. However, in order to get everything you can out of the time you spend reading, you need to engage with the text on a critical level; after all, why read something for class in September, and then have to read the same thing all over again before you write your paper in November? Critical reading is a great way to ensure that you are engaged the first time you read a text, making the re-reading and note-taking easier down the road. Here is how it works:

 It all starts with critical thinking; after all, that’s what this whole university thing is about, right? Critical thinking involves engaging with a subject on a deeper level, questioning assumptions (your own and the author’s) to discern whether an argument is valid. There are two aspects to critical thought:

analysis: the ability to decipher and understand ideas. You will often need to break ideas down into parts, separate important points from the rest of the argument, and then analyze the parts, understanding each aspect of the theory or idea to comprehend how they work as a whole. Analysis comes in handy when you are reading a scholarly article full of complex arguments – it may take you a while to read all 18 pages, but when you finish, you have a good sense of what the author is saying.

synthesis: the ability to unite several different ideas. This is where you and your brilliant brain bring multiple sources together to inform your opinion on a subject to support your thesis. You will need to assess the pros and cons of each source, develop an understanding of the theories presented in each, and find a way to bring them all together.

This all sounds pretty complicated, but if you approach each source critically by reading actively rather than passively, it’s just a walk in the park.

 Active reading entails the following:

1.      Have a purpose when you read:

a.       Ask questions before reading: what do you know about the author? In what context (time, place) was the text produced? How does the text relate to your topic? How do you intend to use the text in your paper?

2.      Ask questions of the text:

a.       Assess the argument as you read: how well does the author support her thesis? What are the strongest points? What are the weaknesses?

b.      Determine how the author develops his argument: what connections does he make? Are these logical connections?

3.      Use your margins:

a.       Next to each paragraph, note key vocabulary and the central idea of the paragraph.

b.      Make note of quotations you may want to use in your writing, and indicate important connections, central points, and assertions that you question.

c.       Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t understand a word or statement; mark vocabulary that you need to look up in a dictionary, and make note of sentences that are difficult to understand. Unpack challenging sentences carefully, and translate it into terms that you will easily understand when you return to the text. Ignoring these little details can have a negative impact on your understanding of the author’s argument as a whole.

4.      Examine the author’s source:

a.       What kind of sources is the author using?

b.      Have you heard of any of the author’s sources, or the authors?

c.       Would any of these sources be helpful to you?

5.      Write up reading notes:

a.       This is something you can do as you read, or after you have finished; they can be as formal or informal as you like. Writing out the important points of the text will help you absorb and remember the information.

b.      Start with analysis: summarize the text in your own words, note the central ideas, and assess any weaknesses in the argument. Then, finish with some synthesis: making connections to other sources and determine how it can all fit into your perspective on the subject.

Now that you have completed the active reading process, you will likely find that you have more fully absorbed the writer’s argument: you fully understand its strengths and weakness, any confusing vocabulary or sentence structure, and how the logic of the argument works as a whole. To top it all off, you have great notes and marginalia to refer to when you return to the text: a quick review of the article and your reading notes should provide you with all you need to know to use this source in your writing.