To engage with the text that I am reading, I use varying active and critical reading techniques. This is because I start the process messy before making it more sleek and understandable to others. To start, I read the text through, really only picking up on things that interest me. I comment on these things first, highlight them, and continue on. These annotations don’t usually connect with each other, as I try to treat everything as a single idea at first. Usually, this consists of any ideas that grab my attention or I agree with. I also like to mark the places where I see an argument that I disagree with. For those I ask questions, trying to conclude why it is that the author came to their decision. Then, I reread it a second time. This time, I read closer to the text. I use a technique that one of my English teachers in high school also called glossing. It’s when you summarize a larger paragraph with only a few sentences in your own words. I find that this helps me collect my thoughts and find my place later on when looking for quotes when writing essays. It is like what Susan Gilroy says, “Take the information apart, look at its parts, and then try to put it back together again in language that is meaningful to you.” She uses this to explain drafting an outline, but I like to use it when pursuing critical reading. This can be seen in my annotated pages. After that, I put any repeated ideas in a notebook and try to connect them as best as I can. They don’t always fit together, so those I leave out.
Looking at my critical thinking techniques, it seems like I like to integrate my own ideas with the text’s author. I think by drawing connections and coming to conclusions within your own thoughts and the authors, it brings you closer with the reading and leads you to a better understanding. Annotations help start this process and mark the beginnings of ideas.
