Critical Reading #1
Critical reading involves making connections and patterns while you read across texts. I chose to include an in class daybook entry to exemplify my growth in critical reading and making connections across different types of multimodality and research. In my entry, I wrote, “I have represented the doctor/pediatrician/parent side in my argument, but have not read anything from a food company’s side.” By reading different types of sources by different perspectives in my line of inquiry I am making a common connection: childhood obesity. Making connections between sources is imperative to a well-written research assignment. For example, my growth and use of reading across texts for connections can be seen in my blog post, The French Fry Heard ‘Round the World, as I use two different scholarly journals, researched in two different parts of the world, to exemplify the prevalence of pediatric obesity in different settings. Also, the diagram I made in my daybook easily documents my growth and understanding of critical reading. For example, I chose six different perspectives on childhood obesity that I could have researched, written about, and commented on. My perspectives included: parents (Read Cradle to Grave to find out their role), teachers, doctors, food companies (Read Cradle to Grave to find out their role), relatives/friends, and psychologists (Read Cradle to Grave, and Is This Legit? to find out their role). Many of these perspectives can also be found in the same blog post because I have made connections between the perspectives through my research. I did not use every single perspective in my inquiry blog posts, but I did find perspectives of over half of my list, which is essential in order to have a well-rounded completed product. Reading across texts to find connections and patterns is a skill every writer needs, and can be shown in my work through various examples.
Critical Reading #2
I chose to include an in-class daybook entry, in which I reflected on research I had conducted and what type of questions it drew for me. Being able to evaluate your research and analyze it for evidence as well as opinion is a crucial ability in a writer. In my daybook entry, I stated what I collected from my research, for example, “In my research, I have learned that kids meal toys have been an influencing factor in the decision to buy and eat fast food.” I was able to comprehend the information I was reading, in my research, and collect evidence that would be beneficial to my blogs, such as the influencing factor of kid’s meal toys. Evaluating your research can also lead to newly formed questions that you may not have thought about prior to your research. For example, I posed many questions after my second preliminary research: “Are toys media?” “Why are they such an influencing factor?” I also wrote, “I still want to know if Happy Meal toys (or kids fast food toys in general) correlate to the consumption of fast food.” All of this sparked interest in a new perspective are critical reading skills that are important for every writer. Evaluating your own research to find new perspectives and also interpreting your texts to find information to use as collected evidence can be seen in my in class blog posts, and also shows my growth as a writer this semester.
Critical Reading #3
I picked the first daybook entry I wrote to include into my reflection for the growth of my writing in correlation with critical reading. Critical reading is crucial in analyzing, evaluating, interpreting, and synthesizing any type of information you come across. I critically read the article Understanding Writing Situations to analyze the information and form an opinion and response to the information. For example, I wrote, “Writing is like a conversation because you must think about what your reader wants to hear/what they need to hear/what they already know/ and how they’re reading it (internet, book, etc.).” I read the article and interpreted the information into my own words to answer a question that was prompted. Critically reading a piece of work specifically to answer questions has been a skill that I have been developing throughout my education. I am able to understand and analyze the information that I read, and then form my own opinions and interpretations of the information. For example, I provided an alternative model to an concept, “If I write a thank you note for a gift, I must think of why they sent me a gift, what the gift was. Also, if I text asking someone to hang out I need to write what we’re doing, where we’re going, and when we’re doing it.” I clearly understand the question being posed and can provide an interpretation of my own, which indicates a development and growth of my writing when I am critically reading information and text.