por What is evaluative reading?
The evaluative reading It is a reading technique that focuses on the comprehension and analysis of texts. It is about more than just reading a text; involves analyzing the content and looking for meaning in it. This may mean identifying important themes, looking for underlying ideas, or understanding the author’s purpose.
Evaluative reading is an important skill for the students, since it allows them to explore the texts in a deeper and more critical way. It also helps them build their vocabulary and improve their general reading skills.
List of characteristics of evaluative reading
– The most important characteristic of evaluative reading is that it focuses on the reader and not on the text. The goal is to help the reader analyze, interpret, and evaluate the text.
– At the end of the evaluative reading process, the reader must be able to formulate an opinion on the topic of the text.
– By value reading, the reader not only tries to understand the literal meaning of the text, but also to appreciate its beauty and depth.
– Unlike informative reading, which focuses on objective facts, evaluative reading is more subjective.
– The reader not only has to be able to identify the main ideas and details of the text, but also to judge its validity, importance and persuasiveness.
Importance of evaluative reading
There are different reasons that explain the importance of this type of reading:
– Learning to value read is an essential skill for anyone interested in cultivating critical thinking.
– Having the ability to evaluate the texts that are read is essential to make informed decisions on important issues.
– It helps us discern which sources of information are reliable and which are not, and also allows us to better understand other people’s arguments.
– Through evaluative reading, readers learn to evaluate the value of a text and extract key ideas from it. This ability is essential in a world in which there is more and more information available, and where it is necessary to know how to discern what information is truly useful and what is not.
How is an evaluative reading done?
Step by step to do an evaluative reading:
Choose a text that catches your eye or intrigues you. It can be a news item, an essay, a novel, etc.
Read the text carefully and carefully. Take notes as you read to highlight what seems important to you.
Make an outline of the argument of the text. This will help you get a general idea of what the text is about and make it easier to read.
Identify which key ideas/concepts appear in the text and seek additional information to broaden your understanding of them.
Reflect on what you have read and formulate your own opinions about it. Do you agree with what the author says? What aspects of the text surprise you?
Other points:
Keep an open mind while reading. Try not to judge the text or material before you finish reading it. Let the reading lead you to new ideas and ways of thinking.
Take notes as you read to help you understand and remember the material.
Evaluative reading techniques
Some of the most common evaluative reading techniques are:
marginal notes: Write down reflections or ideas.
Underlined: it is about underlining the fragments of the text that we consider important or relevant, to facilitate their later review.
reading break: stop reading to reflect on an idea.
Critical analysis: the reader analyzes the text from a critical perspective, analyzing the arguments presented in it.
Comparison: the reader compares the text with other similar works to assess its quality and originality.
rereading: consists of reading the text several times, to have a deeper understanding of it. It is useful for dense or technical texts.
What risks does not make an evaluative reading imply?
Not doing an evaluative reading can involve several risks:
First, it can lead to arbitrary decision-making and a failure to consider the ethical consequences of those decisions.
Second, it can lead to increased vulnerability to the adverse effects of misinformation.
Third, it can limit the scope of possible solutions to the identified problems, since not all relevant information is taken into account.
Examples of evaluative reading
– Read an article on the death penalty: the reader must consider the different values at stake, such as justice, life and death.
– Read a novel about interracial relationships: the reader must consider the values of tolerance and acceptance. You must evaluate what is right or wrong from your own point of view.
– Read an article on euthanasia: the reader must consider the values of life and death. You must evaluate what is right or wrong from your own point of view.
– A literary critic may evaluate a poem to determine if it is artistically successful.
– Analysis of a newspaper article: students in a class read a newspaper article and then analyze it from different points of view. They can evaluate the tone of the article, the veracity of the sources cited, the impact of the article on the reader, etc.