Imagine that you are in an unfamiliar city and are trying to find a parking spot.  You notice one on the side of the road, use your parallel parking skills to park, and then immediately read every sign you can find to make sure that you really can park there.  You read carefully to make sure that it’s okay to park on this day and at this time, you check to make sure that it isn’t reserved as a fire lane or that there won’t be street cleaning, and you look for a meter to pay.  This isn’t an event that you encounter often, so you have to take more time to read all of the information and make sure that you read correctly.  You might even reread material or ask a passerby to confirm that you understand.

When you do this, you’re engaging in a close reading!  This type of critical reading is one that we use often in our everyday lives.  We slow down to read an email that gives details for an interview, a newspaper article about the stances of those running in a local election, or the discharge instructions from a doctor after a procedure.  We are encountering new material that is unfamiliar but is important, so we spend more time and effort to understand it.

Critical reading is a kind of detective work we do as we read in academic settings. We look for clues, gather evidence, and ask questions; we re-read and talk with others to confirm that we understand.  We look for symbols and patterns throughout the reading, and we might use a different lens to see the material in a new perspective.  We could even argue with the author or look again at his/her credentials to provide context for the reading!

All of these actions are important in guiding you to become a more critical reader who interprets and engages with the text.  This type of reading is important as you insert your voice into the conversation, and this module provides suggestions and details as you begin this journey.