Critical Reading

Is this source useful?

Purpose

• Why did the author write this article?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What is the underlying main idea or truth to this information?
• What is the author's point of view? (Pro, Con, Neutral) 
• How do you know?
• How does they type of source shape or limit the information (criteria of layout and design)?

Authority

• INTERNAL (author)
• What are the author's credentials or qualifications to write on this topic?
• AKA contributor, same as the author
• Is the author an expert in this area. or does he/she quote experts?
• Was the author a participant or an observer?
• EXTERNAL (publisher)
• Is the publication reliable and reputable?
• Do you have full publication data?
• Is the information current? Does the information need to be current for this topic?
• Is the article intended to be factual (objective) or editorial (subjective)?

Logic

• Can you identify any techniques of propaganda in the author's logic or defense?
• How has the author organized the information? Does the information flow in a logical order?
• Is the reasoning behind the information logical (expected) and valid (supported by fact)?
• What, if any, irrelevant (doesn't belong) material or arguments are presented?

Bias

• Is the author biased or objective?
• What other points of view may exist on this topic but have not been discussed? (card-stacking)
• What, if any, emotionally loaded language (connotations) does the author use?
• Do the author's ideas and conclusions relate to your own experiences? (employ common sense)
• Does the author's conclusion align with any previous reading you have done on this topic? (triangulation)

Evidence

• Are the statements int his source mostly fact (objective), opinion (subjective) or a combination of both? Are there enough objective details to consider this source useful?
• Is the evident documented or undocumented? Should you consider it credible?
• Has the author provided necessary background material on the topic?
• If the answer above is "no," would the needed information be difficult to find?
• The RET test?
• Is the evidence the RIGHT kind of evidence?
• Is ENOUGH evidence given?
• Is the evidence TRUE?
• FIRES
• Facts
• Incidents
• Reasons
• Examples/Evidence
• Statistics

Gain

• What, if any, are the author's affiliations or associations?
• What does the author gain?
• What other factors may have influenced the author's writing?