critical reading model
批 判 式 阅 读 模 式

Critical thinking is the way how human knowledge is accrued. Most refer it literally to asking counter questions. This is wrong, unfortunately.

There are only two fundamental ways of thinking-to compare and to contrast. We compare things for their accordance and contrast for discordance. Accordance and discordance are recorded to compare and contrast in further occurrences. To think critically is to compare and contrast the objects.

To read critically, is to compare and contrast the information presented in a passage, being it a narration, description or persuasion. It is necessary that you understand this before you prepare the critical reading tests. However, it is not enough that you just understand this. You need a framework in order to read critically with efficiency, at least for preparing your test and at most for your life.

You may not have heard that all efficient readers (they read faster than everyone else) apply a critical reading framework similar to ours subconsciously. That they don’t tell doesn’t mean they don't have it. As we just said, it is subconscious. Here it is: 
  1. First they search and capture the subject and topic immediately, often from the title and beginning lines.
  2. Second, they grab key words (seemingly) related closely to the subject and topic.
  3. Compare and contrast these words with the subject and each other, then assort them into two (or more) categories-the accordance and discordance.
  4. They reason and predict what they didn’t and haven’t read. As new key words grabbed along reading, there may be one (or two) time they flip the prediction during the process.
  5. They confirm or disconfirm the predictions with the concluding section.
The table below visualizes our Critical Reading Model that can help you expedite your learning curve. This is what we use in training students. Ideas and evidences are information by the key words and shall be recorded and assorted according to their accordance and discordance. An idea and its evidence is put in the non-shaded side when they are in accordance with the topic, and on the shaded side when in discordance. Sometimes, they may be flipped to the opposite side as shown in the red arrow.
Try the Critical Reading Model yourself. Make sure only read some key words while you are reading the passage. You may want to hide the entire passage except the first sentences in each paragraph. Here below is a typical reading job that my students do. Almost the entire passage is blocked and they are still able to complete at 100% of the questions.
mind2learn_sample_reading.pdf
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If you are not sure how to practice the model, click to contact us.