Critical Reading of An Essay's Argument:

Educated adults exist in a delusional state, thinking we can read. In the most basic sense, we can. After all, we've made it up to this point in the sentence and understand it all, right? And what about all those hundreds of books we read before now? These statements are only partly true; I am here to tell you the opposite. Odds are, some of us can't read, at least not as well as we would like. Too many college students are capable of only some types of reading, and that painful lack reveals itself when they read a difficult text and must talk critically about it.

Mortimer Adler speaks of an experience while teaching an honors course that illustrates the problem perfectly:

It was clear from context that the student above had read the entire work, and the student clearly understood the conclusion of Saint Thomas's argument. However, he did not understand the most important part: how Saint Thomas reached that conclusion. He grasped the external features of the treatise, but he did not comprehend its internal anatomy of ideas. Though intelligent and possessing a keen memory, the student had learned to read in a certain way that was only useful for extracting information. He had not learned how to read beyond that level. He had not practiced reading in a way that allowed him to grapple substantively with an idea. Thus he could not provide any useful commentary of his own, only summary.

The act of reading to extract information and reading critically are vastly different. The current educational system in American primary schools (and many colleges) heavily emphasizes the first type of reading and de-emphasizes the latter. In many ways, this tendency makes sense. Reading to extract information allows a student to absorb the raw materials of factual information as quickly as possible. It is a type of reading we all must engage in frequently. However, each type of reading calls for different mental habits. If we do not learn to adjust from one type of reading to another when necessary, we cripple our intellectual abilities to read critically. If we cannot read critically, we cannot reach the ultimate goal of reading synoptically or syntopically* (which we will discuss later in this webpage).

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. What are the differences between (1) reading to extract information and (2) reading critically? Why are the differences between the two skills so important?

Ultimately, what we want is the conscious control of our reading skills, so we can move back and forth amidst the various types of reading. How do we do that? The techniques will vary from reader to reader, but in a surefire way to achieve critical reading and true understanding of a text is to be systematic and thorough. The following outline contains five general stages of reading. You should follow this with every assigned text. (Each label in the outline is anchored to a fuller description. You can go directly to the term by clicking on it, or leisurely scroll down to read each in turn).

II. Interpretive Reading (Understanding what the author argues, what the author concludes, and exactly how he or she reached that conclusion)

III. Critical Reading (Questioning, examining, and expanding upon what the author says with your own arguments)

IV. Synoptic or Syntopic Reading (Putting the author's argument in a larger context by considering a synopsis of that reading or argument in conjunction with synopses of other readings or arguments)

V. Post-Reading (Ensuring that you won't forget your new insights)

Click here for A Brief Outline of the Material Above

I know what your initial response is: "Five stages! For each essay? Isn't that excessive?" Not at all. It is necessary if you want to truly understand an essay's argument, rather than merely extract a conclusion. "But that will take hours!" Indeed, it may at first. But keep in mind three important factors:

(1) The reward doesn't come from finishing the essay first or speed-reading through the text in breath-taking time. The reward comes from actually understanding new material, from learning and thinking. Student A (Johnny) zips through an assigned reading in thirty minutes, but after two days (or even two hours), he can't remember what he read when he arrives in class. That zippy fellow wasted thirty minutes of his life. He might as well have spent that time cleaning his toenails. In contrast, Student B (Janie) spends an extra half-hour with the text, re-reads it, and actually sets aside time to systematically explore it. She has a far greater chance of retaining the material, and better opportunity for some profound thinking to germinate in her skull.

(2) Some of these reading habits actually save readers time and mental effort. Many students naively pick up a difficult text, plunge into it without preparation, and find themselves reading the same paragraph five times trying to understand it. If they had taken five minutes of time for Pre-Reading (Stage One), and systematically looked for the overall structure of the essay with Interpretive Reading (Stage Two), they might be able to puzzle out that tricky paragraph the first time rather than the fifth. Many of these stages, especially Pre-Reading and Post-Reading, only take four or five minutes to do.

(3) The process of critical reading gets faster the more you do it. Once the habit becomes ingrained, critical readers do not slavishly need to follow the five stages I've outlined above. They finish up the Post-reading Tasks (Stage Five) while still working on Synoptic Reading (Stage Four). They simultaneously work on Stage Three and Two. They leave out parts of Stage One because they realize it won't be useful for this particular reading. They move back and forth between stages with the ease of a god because they have mastered the methodology. That state will happen for you too, but first you must work on each individual stage, sequentially.

Let's cover each stage, one by one, in outline format.

I. Pre-reading

You can save yourself time by taking five to ten minutes to skim and "pre-read" the text before you read the whole essay through. It will give you some context for the argument, which will help you understand difficult passages and get a general sense of where the essay ends up before you dig into a reading of the whole work.

B. Classification

The human mind has an easier time dealing with material if it can classify it. As you skim, determine the following as best you can:

C. Skimming for Structural Analysis: "Seeing the Skeleton"

• Overt Subdivisions: As you skim, look for sub-divisions clearly marked within each chapter or essay. Identify areas with extra space between lines or paragraphs, which may indicate a change in subject matter.
• Outline: As you read, scratch out an outline of the major parts of the essay.
• Relations: When you have a complete outline of the major parts of the essay, think about the relation of each major part to the others. (Mortimer Adler calls this "seeing the skeleton.") What is the effect of presenting the parts in that order? Was that order necessary? Why? Is it organized chronologically? From least important to most important? Does it use one premise as the foundation of later arguments and build each argument afterward on the premise that came before?
• The Basic Problem: What is the author's point? Define the problem the author is trying to resolve in a single sentence. If you can't define it in a single sentence, you probably don't have a clear idea of what the essay's purpose is.
• Ask Questions About the Essay Before Reading It: As soon as you determine what the author is trying to do, make a list of questions that will help you spot important bits. For instance, after reading the opening and closing of an essay about poverty, you might think. "That's an odd conclusion. How does the author reach the conclusion that 4% poverty is necessary for economic health? Why that percentage? How did the author deal with the ethics of intentionally leaving people poor? Why did the author avoid talking about attitudes toward the poor until so late in the essay?" Write questions down as they occur to you, and when you have finished with the essay, see if you can come up with an answer to them.

Doing this sort of Pre-Reading only takes five or ten minutes, and it prepares you to read the entire essay with much greater odds of understanding it on the first shot, letting you focus much more energy on making connections between each section. It also prepares your mind to begin thinking about the main issues before they appear within the text. Then you can move below to Stage II: Interpretive Reading.

II. Interpretive Reading

You've skimmed through the essay briefly to get the gist of it. Now, Interpretive Reading requires you to read through the whole essay slowly and carefully, looking at every single sentence, every single word. Don't skim now! You had your chance for that during Pre-Reading. In practical use, Interpretive Reading can sometimes be done at the same time as Stage III (Critical Reading). However, the two are distinct in their purposes. Interpretive Reading occurs when we make sure we really understand the author's ideas. Too many students agree or disagree with an author's conclusion without really understanding how the conclusion was reached. It is pointless to agree or disagree with an idea we don't understand. In the words of Wayne Booth, readers must "understand" the argument (or see how the argument works) before they can "overstand" it (take a meaningful position concerning the merits or flaws of the conclusion).

B. Paraphrase and Summarize

• Paraphrase: Ever read through a difficult passage seven times in a row? Find that your eyes slide over the words, but at the bottom of the paragraph you can't remember a single bit of what you read? To avoid this tragedy, make a habit of repeating passages in your own words. Readers do not intellectually possess the subject-matter until they make it their own by translating it into their own, familiar terminology. Do it aloud, or write brief paraphrases of hard passages in the margin.
• Summarize: If you are truly reading critically, at the end of each paragraph you should be able to give a one-sentence summary of what that paragraph said. You might also make a two or three word summary at the top of every couple of pages, then a longer two- or three- sentence summary at the end of the reading.

C. Locate and Identify the Parts You do not Understand.

• Mark Confusing Sections: Many students read through a tough essay all the way through. When it is complete, they are confused, but they are unable to indicate what confused them. As you read, keep note of whether or not you are understanding the material. As soon as you realize you are lost, make a note in the margin or jot down a question-mark so you can try to remedy your confusion at the specific moment you start getting confused.
• Reread Confusing Sections: Sometimes, rereading the passage after some thought is all it takes to make a confusing passage clear. Take the time to slowly re-read it. Try rewriting the passage in your own words once more.
• Talk it over with other Readers: Ask other students who have read the passage to explain it to you. If you are both confused, talking about it may be all you need to break the mental barrier.
• Sleep on it: Sometimes putting the essay aside for the day and returning to it fresh in the morning is a good way to cure confusion. It gives your subconscious mind a chance to chew on the problem.

III. Critical Reading

If we have finished interpretive reading successfully, and we fully understand every tidbit of the author's argument, we can now do a fair and honest job of critical reading (at last!). It is important, however, that the reader fully understands how the author reached his conclusion before determining whether or not the reader agrees. It is also important not to fall into the common misconception that critical reading is "doubting everything you read." As our good friend Mortimer J. Adler again reminds us: we must understand and then assess the debate, and there is no reason we must find fault in every argument:

Let us clear up that misconception. Critical reading is not simply the act of doubting everything we read. Certainly, healthy amount of skepticism is an important part of intellectual rigor, and it is better than naïve acceptance of every printed statement. Still, critical reading is more than paranoid doubt, or trying to "slam" every essay the reader finds. Critical reading is different than skeptical reading. Critical reading is the deliberate act of testing concepts, trying ideas on for size. A critical reader tries not only to think of arguments to refute what he reads, he tries to think of extra arguments to support it. Only then does he weigh the argument carefully and come to a decision. He also tries to determine in what ways the argument may be relevant and relate those idea to his own life. Rather than merely seeking to "trash" an argument entirely, the wise reader acknowledges that some parts of an argument are more compelling than others, and tries to figure out why. Consider three scenarios and ask yourself which one illustrates the most thoughtful and respectful reading:

(2) You show it to a friend #2, asking him for input. He reads through it for several hours, and marks up all the margins with comments like these: "Why should I trust the figures from the safety commission about the number of deaths? Why should I care about traffic safety issues? Human error will always exist. Frankly, I don't see much point in trying to obsess over the problem. You have not convinced me, and I doubt that you ever will. The whole issue is boring."

(3) You show it a friend #3, asking him for input. He reads through it for an hour, then says, "The part about human lives being more valuable than the costs of machinery makes sense to me. I wonder, however, about the issue of consumer choice. Shouldn't different individuals have the right to make individual decisions about their own safety? If you can convince me that consumers rarely make good choices, I will agree that legislation should step in and enact new laws. Until then, I will only be partly convinced."

Of course, most people would quickly agree that friend #1 is the least critical. He is convinced too easily, and he doesn't appear to be doing much thinking about the issue.

Many students might think that friend #2 (the one who is questioning every fact and statistic) is the most critical of the readers. He is probably the most difficult to convince, but that's not because he's being critical. Being hostile and suspicious of everything is not critical thinking. Critical thinking is knowing when to be suspicious and when to be accepting. Friend #2 is asking questions of the author, but they aren't necessarily very good questions. He clearly cannot make mental connection as to why the issue is important. Why should he care about issues of traffic safety? Egad! His very life depends upon it if he ever drives! He asserts that human error will always exist. True, but that doesn't mean safety is irrelevant, or that we can't take steps to reduce human error in drivers, even if we can't eliminate these errors entirely. That would be like arguing we should eliminate fire departments since fires will never be 100% preventable.

Of the three responses, I would find friend #3 to be the most critical because he is willing to change his mind about the proposed argument. Mindlessly chanting "no no no you can't convince me" is no more intelligent than mindlessly asserting "I agree with everything." However, the key is that reader #3 is only partially convinced. He will immediately change his mind if the writer can convince him of certain points first, and he makes it clear what those points are. He is critical in that he has clear criteria that must be met before he is convinced, not because he has the habit of questioning everything. You can be critical and open-minded at the same time. To achieve this state, follow these suggestions:

 B. Make your Mark, Answer Your Own Questions

• Make Notes in the Margin: When you underline or mark important passages, jot down quick reactions like "wow!" Or "huh?" Or "maybe." Yes, it will reduce the resale value of that textbook by ten or twenty dollars at the end of the term, but consider that you are paying thousands of dollars more in tuition in order to extract the information within it. Making notes will help you extract and remember that material more effectively, as well as find the exact passage that confused or dazzled you. Active reading implies a reaction on your part. If you have prejudices against marking up a book (they are, after all, holy objects), use a notepad, or jot down some ideas on stickit notes. Or compromise and write your notes on the inside cover, or the back of the book, rather than on every page.
• Make Notes to Bring to Class: When it comes time to write responses to what you have read, you will dazzle the class with your brilliance if you take the time to jot down your profound thoughts so you don't forget them. It will also make it easy to review. Active Reading implies activity on your part.

IV. Synoptic or Syntopic Reading

Congratulations! At this juncture, you are probably a better reader than 90% of students, and you stand to gain much more from the material you read. The next level of expertise is synoptic or syntopic reading. The term is Mortimer Adler's. It means the student juxtaposes one reading with other works or arguments on the same subject. Think about it. If you wished to truly understand a subject, say the history of the civil war, would you pick one book and read only it? Of course not. That would result in a limited understanding at best, at worst the skewed viewpoint of only one author. Synoptic reading occurs when an individual does a close reading of several sources, and then compares and contrasts them. Many of the readings in this class will serve well for synoptic readings. Several of them address similar issues but present radically different conclusions.

B. Seek Disagreement

• If two people agree completely on everything, one of them is redundant. One way of getting closer to the "truth" is through dialectic and debate. Juxtapose the author's argument with arguments from people who disagree. Often, multiple points of view will complement, complicate and enrich your understanding of the problem.

C. Seek Synthesis

• Of course, disagreement merely for the sake of disagreement is pointless if all that results is a jumble of clashing ideas. It is up to you to wade through discordant writings and re-harmonize them by weighing the various arguments, incorporating them into a whole, and adding to it your own thoughts.

If you have done all of these steps, you are a critical reader. The only item remaining is wrapping up the process with post-reading.

V. Post-Reading

Post-Reading is the stage that wraps up this long process. Here, you attempt to create a conclusion to all the previous work. When you post-read, do the following things.

B. Summarize:

• Restate the main argument and the conclusion of the essay in a single sentence. As advertising agents say, if you can't write down the idea on the back of a business card, you probably don't have a clear idea. If you can't summarize the argument in a single-sentence, go back and re-read the essay at Stage II: Interpretive Reading.
• Assess your reaction. What convinced you and what did not? Why? How did you respond to the essay as a whole? Why?

C. Explain:

• Explain, in your own words, how the author reached his conclusion.
• Explain why you found it convincing or not.
• Explain how it matches or doesn't match what other writers have to say on the same topic from your synoptic reading.

This technique involves time and effort on your behalf, but it will pay off in making you the best reader possible.

If you are interested in further improving your ability to read, I would recommend How to Read: the Art of Getting a Liberal Education by Mortimer J. Adler. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1940). It is a bit dated, and its section on reading poetry is a bit simplistic and touchy-feely for my tastes. However, it is central to my thinking about what constitutes critical thinking in this website. You will find it is still valuable for thinking about how to improve yourself as a careful and close reader of texts and for obtaining the best education possible from your assigned readings in any class.

Click here for A Brief Outline of Critical Reading (the material covered in this webpage)

Click here to go back to Composition Resources.

Note: The terminology used for the fourth stage varies in Adler's sources. His original 1940 publication referred to it as syntopic. It implies several topics placed side by side for analysis. However, in 1972, Mortimer Adler teamed with Charles Van Doren to create a heavily revised version published with Touchstone Books. Here, in the first print-run, the two switched to the term synoptic, which implies several items seen together at once. I have arbitrarily chosen synoptic here for my handouts because my personal copy is an edition using the later term.