Essay Sample on Critical Reading and Critical Thinking

Critical reading refers to a person's ability to apply various models, processes, theories, and questions that result in improved comprehension and clarity. In critical reading, the reader uses more effort to ensure they understand the concepts compared to skimming a text. It is an effective method of interpretation, and it involves analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting a text. Critical thinking is the ability of an individual to assess information empirically and make an informed judgment. The individual analyzes the facts, data, study findings, and observations. Careful thinking is directed to a specific goal, and an excellent critical thinker can distinguish between useful information and those that are not useful and draw rational conclusions.

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Similarities

There are a few similarities between critical reading and critical thinking. First, they both require one to use more effort to evaluate and understand a concept before concluding. They both need one to have an open mind as one seeks knowledge and evaluates the usefulness of the information. Through critical thinking and critical reading, one can develop ideas and reflect objectively and thoughtfully. Another similarity is that it requires individuals to use rhetorical and logical skills in evaluating various situations when reading or analyzing data. It is essential that one understands a reading and think critically to uncover hidden claims. Also, both critical reading and critical thinking focus on a specific goal which they work towards achieving it.

Another similarity in that they both require one to skillfully and actively conceptualizer, analyze, apply, evaluate, and synthesis the information they obtain and reflect and reason before taking action. They both require clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, consistency depth, fairness, and sound evidence. Another similarity between critical thinking and critical reading is that they both require one to have a structure and thought element to ensure they reason with purpose, question situations, avoid making assumptions before coming into a conclusion.

Differences

There are also notable differences between critical thinking and critical reading. The first difference is that while critical reading is a method used to discover information from a text, critical thinking is used to evaluate ideas and information that is used to decide what is acceptable. Another difference is that critical reading is concerned with determining the essential points in reading and how they support the text; critical thinking helps in deciding whether the selected meaning is accurate. Critical thinking enables the reader to understand what they read. In case the concept sounds irresponsible or ridiculous, the reader applies critical thinking to assess it. In contrast, critical reading enables the reader to examine the text more closely and understand it better.

Critical thinking mostly relies on critical reading as one can only evaluate a text for accuracy only if they have understood it. Before deciding what to reject or accept the information in a text, one must know why they are taking a given stance. The usefulness of critical thinking and critical reading are also different as one must understand a document based on its own merits and not making decisions based on previous information and knowledge. It ensures that the meaning of a text is not distorted.

Reflection - Critical Thinker

On evaluating myself, I feel that I am a fair-minded critical thinker as I am always fair to others and work to improve my well-being and the well-being of others. I have the motivation to improve my thoughts and actions and make the world a better place.

Values

From the quiz inventory, my three main values are self-direction, benevolence, and achievement. These values influence me as a thinker as self-direction enables me to be independent and have control over my life. Achievement value gives me the drive to set goals and work towards achieving them. I ensure that I do not stop until I have attained my set objectives. The value of benevolence allows me to care about others, and I am always willing to help.

Life Application

Critical reading and critical thinking have a significant role in my academic personal and career life. First, they will help me to read texts in a more detailed way to ensure that I understand it before coming into a conclusion. Critical thinking will then enable me to evaluate various situations and come up with the best solution to a particular life or career problem. Another application for critical reading is that it will enable me to use my rhetorical and logical skills to ensure that I identify the key concepts in a text and grasp the intentions of the author of a particular book. Critical thinking will allow me to make informed judgments and decisions by assessing the text's facts.

Personal Development

Some of the critical reading skills that I would like to improve are the development of my vocabulary and reading comprehension strategies. These are crucial skills in critical reading that will enable me to understand a text better by enhancing my comprehension. The critical thinking skills I would like to improve on are recognizing the connection between different ideas and identifying inconsistencies in reasoning. These are crucial skills that will ensure that I make informed decisions.