A critical reading checklist
Note: This was a handout I got when taking a writing workshop at McGill University. I found it today while cleaning old filing boxes. I want to credit the author but there is no one indicated. I felt compelled to put out there. It’s valuable.
In the light of the U.S. election and the role the media played in it, including the media company Facebook, this checklist should be distributed among anyone who uses the Internet in general.
When you click on a link that catches your eye and you feel yourself reacting strongly and reaching for the retweet, share, like or send button go through this checklist and reconsider if it is indeed WORTH sharing.
- Authority of the writer
a. What knowledge does the writer have about the subject?
b. Do people think of this person as an authority?
2. Bias/objectivity of the writer
a. Does the writer belong to any group that might influence her/his point of view?
b. Does the writer have anything to gain if you take what s/he says as a fact? Does s/he have an axe to grind?
c. Does the writer present both sides of the issue? Even if the writer is trying to persuade you to her/his point of view, does s/he admit that “the other side” has some positive points?
d. Does the writer purposefully leave out the points that are negative for her/his side?
3. Purpose and attitude of the writer:
a. What is the writer’s purpose?
- to point out a problem
- to teach or explain
- to accuse or tear down
- to make you laugh
- to make you cry
- to make you feel sorry
- to persuade
-to call to action
b. Does the writer feel angry, serious, sad, happy, sympathetic, or unsympathetic towards the subject?
c. Who is the audience that the writer is writing to? How does the writer feel about his audience (equal to, better than, or inferior to it)?
4. Up-to-dateness/validity of the material
a. When was the selection written?
b. Are the facts current? (Even if the writer might have written the article in 1990, it may be based on old information)
c. What sources are given for the “facts”?
d. What else was going on at the time that the selection was written?
e. Is the information generally accepted? By whom?
f. Can the ideas expressed apply to other situations?
g. Is the material fact of fantasy?
5. Use of reasoning and support
a. How much of the selection is factual? Are facts used to back up general statements?
b. How much of the selection is opinion? Are the writer’s opinions supported by facts or only by additional opinions?
c. What emotional words does the writer use to try to influence you?
d. What propaganda devices does the writer use?
e. Does the sequence of events make sense?
f. Does one idea lead to another in a way that makes sense?
h. Does the writer’s conclusions follow from the facts given?
i. What conclusions can you draw from the information that the writer presents?
6. Bias/objectivity to the reader
a. Do you have background knowledge about the topic that will help you to read about this subject critically?
b. Do you have ideas/opinions about the topic that might keep you from reading critically?
c. Are you interested enough in the subject to spend the time and energy necessary to read critically?
Reading critically is a difficult exercise. We are clicking, reacting and spreading things, ideas, images, etc too fast. Are we still intelligent beings? Or are we no longer?
