Reading critically does not, necessarily, mean being critical of what you read. Both reading and thinking critically don’t mean being ‘critical’ about some idea, argument, or piece of writing - claiming that it is somehow faulty or flawed. Critical reading means engaging in what you read by asking yourself questions such as, ‘what is the author trying to say?’ or ‘what is the main argument being presented?’
Critical reading involves presenting a reasoned argument that evaluates and analyses what you have read. Being critical, therefore - in an academic sense - means advancing your understanding, not dismissing and therefore closing off learning.
To read critically is to exercise your judgement about what you are reading – that is, not taking anything you read at face value.
When reading academic material you will be faced with the author’s interpretation and opinion. Different authors will, naturally, have different slants. You should always examine what you are reading critically and look for limitations, omissions, inconsistencies, oversights and arguments against what you are reading.
In academic circles, whilst you are a student, you will be expected to understand different viewpoints and make your own judgements based on what you have read.
As a critical reader you should reflect on:
What the text says: after critically reading a piece you should be able to take notes, paraphrasing - in your own words - the key points.
What the text describes: you should be confident that you have understood the text sufficiently to be able to use your own examples and compare and contrast with other writing on the subject in hand.
Interpretation of the text: this means that you should be able to fully analyse the text and state a meaning for the text as a whole.
Critical reading means being able to reflect on what a text says, what it describes and what it means by scrutinising the style and structure of the writing, the language used as well as the content.