Lecture 1 - Critical Reading Skills I - Student

FHEL 1012
English for Academic

Study
Lecture 1
Critical Reading Skills
Lecture Notes: Updated Semester
201505
Topics to be covered today:

Barriers to Critical Thinking
Making inferences and drawing
conclusions
Identifying themes and main ideas of texts

201505
Aims of Lecture 1
The main goal is to develop in students
the skills and the confidence to approach a
piece of academic text, read it efficiently
and critically, and extract main ideas and
key details.
But the goal of academic reading is more
than just retrieve information. It is also the
development of academic writing.
201505
Assessment for EAS

Assignment 1
(Written)
20%
Assignment 2
(Presentation)
Mid Term
15%
Final Exam
50%
15%

201505
Barriers to Critical
Thinking

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Barriers to Critical Thinking

(Why do people find Critical Thinking so
difficult? What prevents people from
thinking critically?)
1. Egocentrism
2. Sociocentrism
3. Unwarranted Assumptions and
Stereotyping
4. Relativistic Thinking
5. Wishful Thinking
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1.
Egocentrism
- inability to see other peoples viewpoint
- focus on self: I, ME, MYSELF selfish

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Two common forms of Egocentrism are:
Self-interested Thinking
- To accept and defend beliefs that serves your
own interest / benefit / convenience
Eg. In UTAR: car park vs. poor bus service
Critical Thinker Objective
Self-serving Bias
- To think you are better than others
- Overrating yourself (view yourself better than you
actually are) show off
Eg. I can do this, I can do that
Critical Thinker Honest

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2.
Sociocentrism
- group-centered thinking: focus on group
(family, friends, community, society)
Two common forms of sociocentrism:
Group Bias / Ethnocentrism

- To think your own group (race, religion, culture,
country, etc.) as being inherently better than
others
- People absorb this unconsciously, usually
from childhood
Conformism
- Tendency to follow the crowd
- The Lecture
desire
to be a part of the inNotes: Updated Semester
201505
group
3. Unwarranted Assumptions
and
Stereotypes
Assumption
- An assumption is something we belief to be true

without absolute proof or evidence
Eg. taking an umbrella when you go out in

the
evening assume it may rain
Unwarranted Assumption
- An unwarranted assumption is unreasonable.

Something taken for granted without good reason
Eg. just because you are attracted to

someone, you
assume that person is likewise attracted
to you
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10
Assumptions
LEADS TO
Stereotypi
ng
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11
Stereotype
- assuming that all people within a group
share all the same qualities; So a
particular individual who belongs to this
group has the same qualities
Stereotypes are arrived at through the
process of generalization, i.e. drawing
conclusions about a large group from a
small sample.
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12
4. Relativistic Thinking
(or
relativism)
- viewing truth as a matter of opinion
Two forms of relativism:-
Subjectivism
- the view that truth is
a matter of
individual opinion;
what one thinks is true, is true for that person
Cultural Relativism
- the view that truth is a matter of
cultural opinion; what is true for
person A is what person As culture or society
believes to be true.
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13
Relativism in some important

domains
Moral Subjectivism: The view that what is
morally right for person A is what person A thinks is
morally right.
Eg. abortion, pre-marital sex
Cultural Moral Relativism: The view that what a

culture thinks is morally right to do, is morally right to
do, in that culture.
Eg. drinking alcohol
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14
5. Wishful
Thinking
- believe in what we want to be true (despite

contradicting evidence)
A man hears what he wants to
hear and disregards the rest.
- Paul Simon
(American musician, singer & songwriter
of Simon & Garfunkel)
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15
Other barriers to
Critical Thinking
Lack of relevant
Denial
background
Short-term thinking
information
Selective
Poor reading
perception
skills
Selective memory
Superstition
Overpowering
Peer pressure
emotions
Narrow Self-deception
mindedness
Face-saving
Closedmindedness
Fear of change
Distrust in reason
Scapegoating
RationalisationLecture Notes: Updated Semester
16
201505
Making Inferences
and Drawing
Conclusions

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17
Inferencing and Drawing

conclusions
An inference is a claim that can be made on
the strength of some information or evidence.
To infer means to draw a conclusion.
The word infer means (a) to derive by
reasoning (b) to conclude (c) to guess
intelligently.
When we infer we use imagination or
reasoning to provide explanations for
situations in which all the facts are not yet
determined.
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18
Read the text below. Identify facts and based

on these facts, draw some inferences
Doctors investigating an outbreak of food
poisoning discovered that all the people who
were affected had eaten fish at the Bayside
fish restaurant the day before reporting sick.
There is a legal obligation on any
establishment that may be linked to cases of
food-related sickness to close while it is
being investigated, and not to open again
until it has been given a certificate of fitness
from hygiene inspectors (Butterworth, p45)
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Ask yourself these

questions.
Did they only eat at Bayside restaurant and no
where else?.
What does all mean? Three, four, a large number?
Were they people who did not report sick?
Is there enough evidence to say fish was the
cause? Restaurants serve other things beside fish.
Were the people exposed to other sources like
contaminated water, lack of hygiene in the
restaurant kitchen, surroundings outside the
restaurant?

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What conclusion can you draw from

the inferences?
1. There is just suspicion that the
Bayside Restaurant may have caused
the food poisoning. You need other
evidence.
Will you eat at the Bayside
Restaurant?
Yes / No. Why?

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Exercise
Making Inferences and
Drawing Conclusions

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22
Read the passage below and draw

inferences and conclusions from the short
texts.
When the Barbie doll first

appeared in pre-feminist 1959,
she had large breasts, a tiny
waist, rounded lips, shapely
legs, and her little feet were
shod in high-heeled shoes.
Barbie wore heavy make-up and
her gaze was shy and downcast.
She was available in only two
options: airline stewardess or
nurse. .
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1. What do you think is meant by feminist?

2. Why did Barbie doll take such a physical form?
3. Why was her gaze made to be shy and
downcast?

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24
In 1960, Barbie had her own car and

house. A Barbie Goes to College play
set was also available. In 1967,
Barbies face was updated to sport a
more youthful, model-like appearance
with a direct and fearless gaze.
.

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1. In what way did Barbies physical

appearance change?
2. What does this tell you about the social
environment of that time?

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By the 1970s, Barbies career

options had expanded to include
doctor and Olympic medalist. She
also got another facelift that left
her with a softer, friendlier look.
She now had a wide smile and
bright eyes. .

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1. When were women allowed to take part

in the
Olympics?
2. What do you think led to the change in
the
physical countenance of Barbie?

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28
During the 1980s and 1990s, when girls

were encouraged to grow up to be
independent wage earners, Barbies options
increased even more to include professions
such as business executive, aerobics
instructor and firefighter. Today, Barbie has
a thicker waist, slimmer hips, and smaller
breasts and she comes in black, Asian and
Latina versions.

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1. What does this passage reflect about the

social and educational environment of
America in the 1990s?
2. Why was Barbie doll introduced in other
coloured versions?

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30
Identifying Themes and

Main Ideas of paragraphs

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31
Identifying Themes and Main Ideas of

paragraphs
In order to understand a paragraph,
whether easy or hard, a reader must be
able to identify first the topic or the central
theme.
In an easy paragraph the theme would be
easily identified. However, in a more
challenging paragraph a reader may have
to analyze the paragraph to identify the
theme.
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The theme is usually a broad idea of a

paragraph.
To figure out the theme, ask yourself this
question: What is the paragraph about?
The main idea is the point of the paragraph.
The most important thought about the topic.
To figure out the main idea, ask yourself this
question: What is being said about the
person, thing, or idea (the topic)?
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Example
Crabs may have either a hard shell or a
soft shell. The soft shell-crabs are those
who shed their shells now and then.
Their skins do not have a chance to
become hard. As they grow older, some
do not shed for three to four years.
Their shells become very hard.
1. Identify the theme and main idea of the
paragraph?
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Exercise
Refer to Worksheet for
exercises on Identifying
Themes and Main Points.

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MAIN TEXTS
Cooper, S & Patton, R.(2012). Writing Logically, Thinking

Critically. (7th ed.). London: Pearson.
Basham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H. & Wallace, JM. (2008).

Critical Thinking: A Students Introduction. (4th ed.) New
York: McGraw-Hill.Epstein, RL.
Cox, K. & Hill, D. (2011). EAP Now! English for Academic

Purposes. (2nd ed.). Australia: Pearson Longman.
Jordan, R.R. (1999) Academic Writing Course: Study Skills

in English. (3rd ed.). London: Pearson Longman.
201505
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FHEL 1012

English for Academic

Topics to be covered today:

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Assessment for EAS

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Barriers to Critical Thinking

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Two common forms of Egocentrism are:

Critical Thinker Objective

Critical Thinker Honest

Two common forms of sociocentrism:

Group Bias / Ethnocentrism

- An assumption is something we belief to be true

Eg. taking an umbrella when you go out in

- An unwarranted assumption is unreasonable.

Eg. just because you are attracted to

- viewing truth as a matter of opinion

Two forms of relativism:-

Relativism in some important

Cultural Moral Relativism: The view that what a

- believe in what we want to be true (despite

A man hears what he wants to

hear and disregards the rest.

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Inferencing and Drawing

Read the text below. Identify facts and based

Ask yourself these

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

What conclusion can you draw from

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Read the passage below and draw

When the Barbie doll first

1. What do you think is meant by feminist?

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

In 1960, Barbie had her own car and

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

1. In what way did Barbies physical

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

By the 1970s, Barbies career

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

1. When were women allowed to take part

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

During the 1980s and 1990s, when girls

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

1. What does this passage reflect about the

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Identifying Themes and

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Identifying Themes and Main Ideas of

The theme is usually a broad idea of a

Lecture Notes: Updated Semester

Cooper, S & Patton, R.(2012). Writing Logically, Thinking

Basham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H. & Wallace, JM. (2008).

Cox, K. & Hill, D. (2011). EAP Now! English for Academic

Jordan, R.R. (1999) Academic Writing Course: Study Skills

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