Critical reading is simply a more analytical version of reading. When one reads critically, they tend to be more engaged in the text simply because while they read the text, they must interpret as well as analyze what they read.
Above is an image of my first daybook entry which was a response to the article Understanding Writing Situations. I chose this as one of my artifacts to add to my blog because I thought that it was a good example of critical reading. Because this was my first daybook entry, this was the first article that I had to read and interpret this semester. This was also the first time in which I learned that readers and writers are engaged in a social act, which made this specific daybook entry a stepping stone in the process of creating my blog. After reading and interpreting the article, I realized that reading and writing is like a conversation. When first entering a conversation, it is important to learn a little bit about the topic that is being discussed. It is also important to learn who has said what about the topic so that you don't repeat what someone else has already said. Well, before writing about a subject, it is important to learn about the subject so that you at least have a basic understanding as to what it is. It is also important to research the subject and learn what others have had to say about it so that you don't write what someone else has already written. I also learned that because readers and writers are engaged in a social act, it is important for the writer to be aware of his target audience. After reading this article, it was clear to me that I would have to spend a good amount of time conducting research for my blog.
Above is my fourth daybook entry, titled Read See Listen, and is a description and analysis of an article which I found as a possible line of inquiry. I chose this daybook entry as one of my artifacts because it was my first step toward choosing a line of inquiry and because it was a good example of critical reading. When I was assigned this daybook entry, I had no clue as to what my blog's topic was going to be, and therefore, I was searching for possible blog subjects. This article focused around the issue of Minimum Wage vs Minimum Skills, which I thought would be a good topic to focus my blog around because it dealt with so much controversy. However, after reading the entirety of the article, I decided that I would not be focussing my blog on Minimum Wage vs Minimum Salary, mainly because I knew that I would run out of things to say by the time that I had written two or three blog posts. While I had been interested in the topic of Minimum Wage vs Minimum Skills, the topic seemed to be too cut and dry to me. By the time that I had finished the article, I knew that low skilled jobs did not warrant fifteen dollars an hour because entry level jobs are not meant to be a career. I then decided that if I had already come to a conclusion, this topic would not be a good choice for my line of inquiry.
Above is my seventh daybook entry, titled Read See Listen 2, and is a description and analysis of an article which I found as a possible line of inquiry. I chose this daybook entry as one of my artifacts because it was my second step toward choosing a line of inquiry and because it was a good example of critical reading. When I was assigned this daybook entry, I had already ruled out Minimum Wage vs Minimum Skills as a possible line of inquiry and was again searching for possible blog subjects. This article focussed around the issue of whether or not Caitlyn Jenner was a hero which I thought would be a good choice for a line of inquiry because this topic was also filled with controversy. By the time that I had finished reading the article, I knew that Caitlyn Jenner was being called a hero because she was open about being a transgender. Although I had learned why people were calling Jenner a hero, I did not agree with the reasoning behind it at all and knew that my opinions would, in turn, cause me to be bias when writing my blog so I decided that I wouldn't use this as a line of inquiry.
Above is my eleventh daybook entry, titled Preliminary Research, and is a description and analysis of an article which I found that dealt with my chosen line of inquiry. I chose this daybook entry as one of my artifacts because it was key in the writing of my first research post and because it was a good example of critical reading. When I was assigned this daybook entry, I had already chosen to focus my line of inquiry on cyberbullying and was conducting research that I would later use in my blog. Although I had already chosen cyberbullying as my line of inquiry, I had no idea as to what I was going to include in my blog, so I thought that the best idea would be for me to research cyberbullying statistics before anything else. After reading this article it was clear to me that cyberbullying is a big deal because over half of teens experience a form of cyberbullying at least once. This gave me the idea to focus my first research post on why cyberbullying is a big deal. I would also like to point out that I used the statistics from this article to write my first blog post.
Above is my twelfth daybook entry, titled Preliminary Research 2, and is a description and analysis of an article which I found that dealt with my chosen line of inquiry. I chose this daybook entry as one of my artifacts because it was helpful with the development of my final research post and because it is a good example of critical reading. When I was assigned this daybook entry, I had already conducted enough research to know that the mass use of technology has caused the majority of teens to experience at least one case of cyberbullying. Although I already knew why and how relevant cyberbullying was in today's society, I had not looked into any specific cases. This article focussed on a specific case of cyberbullying that eventually led to suicide. After reading the article, it was clear to me that although most cases of cyberbullying don't end in suicide, they all have the potential to. While I did not use this specific research in my final research post, this daybook entry was key in my decision to focus the blog post around a specific case of cyberbullying that ended in suicide.