Critical Reading
Students in First-Year Seminars practice critical reading and analysis.
Reading broadly is a means of acquiring knowledge and learning—one of the hallmarks of a liberally educated person. The capacity to read critically and analytically, moreover, is closely linked to success in college and beyond. In their book Academically Adrift, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa (University of Chicago Press, 2011) provide evidence that students enrolled in courses requiring extensive reading and writing tend to fare better in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication.
First-Year Seminars support students in reading critically and analytically by providing them with concrete strategies (for example, see links below) and holding them accountable—whether by asking probing questions, inviting students to respond reflectively to a reading, or otherwise incorporating reading into seminar activities and assignments.
Student Resources:
Handout on Active Reading Strategies (Princeton University)
Checklist for Reading Analytically (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
