Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VII, Central Visayas
DIVISION OF MANDAUE CITY
Jose L. Briones St.,Mandaue City

CRITICAL READING
STRATEGIES
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC
AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES
FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

SELF-LEARNING KIT
 Critical reading skills help you to untangle the significance
behind a written piece of text. This skill can be especially useful to
a student when undertaking a writing competition, answering an
essay assignment, or responding to writing questions on an exam.
This module will enable you to improve your critical reading
skills. Critical reading involves posing a reasoned argument that
evaluates and analyses what you have read. Being critical,
therefore – in an academic sense – means progressing your
comprehension, not rejecting and therefore closing off learning.
This material is enclosed with a topic that is coupled with
several activities and exercises to unlock that critical reading skills
to your potential.

This Self-Learning Kit is divided into three parts:

A. What happened? Where they will perform different activities

related to the learning competency.
B. What to Know? This is the part wherein the competencies will
be elaborated further.
C. What have you learned? The part where we will determine
their knowledge on the learning competency.

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 The learner acquires knowledge of appropriate reading strategies
for a better understanding of academic texts.

The learner produces a detailed abstract of information gathered

from the various academic texts read.

CS_EN11/12A-EAPP-Ia-c-2: Differentiates language used in

academic texts from various disciplines.

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

 Define and explain critical reading;
 Determine the purpose of critical reading;
 Use critical reading strategies in reading
academic texts; and,
 Annotate some academic texts in different
disciplines.

You’re back,
WELCOME!

3 Image: mycutegraphics.com
 I. What Happened?
PRE-ASSESSMENT
Directions: Sentence Completion: Encircle the letter of the best word
that fits the sentence on each items below.

1. Roger said the report was significant; Heather contradicted him, saying
that all the information shown was _____________.
a. Contemporary b. Objective c. Irrevocable d. Immaterial
2. We anticipated the winner of the race to be jubilant about his win, but he
was _____________ instead.
a. Triumphant b. Mature c. Culpable d. Talkative
3. Feeling _____________ about her latest successes, the basketball champion
looked arrogantly down at the row of trophies on his ledge.
a. Downcast b. Agitated c. Indifferent d. Complacent
4. Although eighteenth-century English society did not encourage learning
for its own sake in women, nonetheless it inconsistently _____________
women’s sad lack of education.
a. Palliated b. Postulated c. Decried d. Brooked
5. An individual thunderstorm usually lasts 45 minutes, but under certain
situations the storm may _____________, becoming more severe for as long as
four hours.
a. Wane b. Moderate c. Persist d. Vacillate
6. Because his manner was _____________, the effect of his speech on the
voters was nonexistent.
a. Halting b. Plausible c. Moving d. Respectable
7. Some linguists argue that when the term “unique” is used inaccurately, the
idea becomes _____________, losing its power to recognize people, things, or
concepts that are one of a kind.
a. Conservative b. Diluted c. Domestic d. Scarce
8. We ran out of food toward the middle of the day, so by the time we
returned to camp that late afternoon we were _____________.
a. Footsore b. Ravenous c. Envious d. Reckless
9. As a child, Maria was considered a _____________, gifted with astonishing
musical talent.
a. Heretic b. Prodigy c. Mendicant d. Renegade
10. After a tragedy, many people claim to have had a _____ of disaster.
a. Deviation b. Brink c. Presentiment d. Verdict

Standard test from:

https://www.baschools.org/pages/Critical%20Reading%20Review.pdf

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 II. What to Learn?

Image: mycutegraphics.com
When reading academic texts, you will be faced with the author’s version
and construal. Various authors will, unsurprisingly, have different viewpoints.
You, as a student of academic writing, should put in mind the content of the
material and look for limits, lapses, irregularities, inaccuracies and arguments
against what you are reading. That way, you are not bounded only by the
idea of one single author but of many scholarly persons. This will help your
writing rich and deep.

Reading critically does not, necessarily mean being critical of what you
read. Both reading and thinking critically don’t mean being ‘critical’ always
about some idea, argument, or piece of writing - claiming that it is somehow
faulty or flawed. Critical reading means engaging in what you read by asking
yourself questions such as, ‘what is the author trying to say?’ or ‘what is the
main argument being presented?’. To read critically is to exercise your
judgment about what you are reading – that is, not taking anything you read
at face value.

In academic circles, whilst you are a student, you will be expected to

understand different viewpoints and make your own judgements based on
what you have read.

Heads up!
Critical reading goes beyond than just being satisfied with what
a text says, it also encompasses reflecting on what the text refer to,
and analyzing what the text implies, in the context of your
readings.

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After critically reading, as a critical reader you should reflect on:

 Insight of the text: you should be able to transcribe, rephrase - in your own
words - the main or central points.
 Portrayal of the text: you should be assertive that you have comprehend
the text adequately to be able to use your own case in point and
compare side by side with other academic texts on the subject in hand.
 Significance of the text: you should be able to fully scrutinize the text and
assert a sense for the text as a whole.

Critical Reading
Thinking Strategies

Efficient
Reading

Image: mycutegraphics.com

Critical thinking is being sensible and cognizant of your own state of mind
on the subject – sorting out your thoughts, preceding knowledge and grasp
to accommodate new concepts or viewpoints. Putting it in the context of
reading, if you would exercise it with proper reading strategies would result to
maximizing comprehension and reading efficiency any academic texts on
any form of disciplines.

So let’s try to learn these reading strategies on the next pages!

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 It is essential that you know how to properly use these reading strategies
for you to successfully use the information on any academic texts you read.

Good question, Rey!

It’s before, during,
Hey, Joan! I wonder and after reading.
what are the different Let’s try to see what
stages of reading? strategies are to be
employed on each
stages.

Image: mycutegraphics.com
According to the words of Dr. Jessie Barrot and Philippe Sipacio (2016) on
their book, these are some strategies you can employ on Before-During-After.

Before Reading (Pre-reading)

• Determine which type of academic text (article, review, thesis, etc.) you
are reading.
• Determine and establish your purpose for reading.
• Identify the author’s purpose for writing.
• Predict or infer the main idea or argument of the text based on its title.
• Identify your attitude towards the author and the text.
• State what you already know and what you want to learn about the topic.
• Determine the target audience.
• Check the publication date for relevance. It should have been published
at most five years earlier than the current year.
• Check the reference list while making sure to consider the correctness of
the formatting style.
• Use a concept map or graphic organizer to note your existing ideas and
knowledge on the topic.

During Reading (Reading and/or Rereading)

• Annotate important parts of text.

 Annotating a text can help you determine vital information, main ideas,
or arguments, and new concepts. Here are some ways to annotate a text.
 Write keywords or phrases on the margins in bullet form.
 Write something on the page margin where important information is found.
 Write brief notes on the margin.
 Write questions on information that you find confusing.
 Write what you already know about the ideas.
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 Write the limitations of the author’s arguments.
 Write notes on the reliability of the text.
 Comment on the author’s biases.
 Use a concept map or any graphic organizer to note down the ideas
being explained.
 React on the arguments presented in the text.
 Underline important words, phrases, or sentences.
 Underline or circle meanings or definitions.
 Mark or highlight relevant/essential parts of the text.
 Use the headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text.
 Create a bank unfamiliar or technical words to be defined later.
 Use context clues to define unfamiliar or technical words.
 Synthesize author’s arguments at the end of chapter or section.
 Determine the main idea of the text.
 Identify the evidence or supporting arguments presented by the author
and check their validity and relevance.
 Identify the findings and note the appropriateness of the research method
used.
A SIMPLE SAMPLE OF AN ANNOTATED TEXT

After Reading (Post Reading)

• Reflect on what you learned.

• React on some parts of the text through writing.
• Discuss some parts with your teacher or classmates.
• Link the main idea of the text to what you already know.

This part usually answers the following questions:

o What do you think is the significance of the text?
o What is its implications?
o How does it affect you, your community or the world?

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 In addition to the given BDA strategies in reading, there are other reading
strategies that you can utilize on your own pace to guarantee critical
reading not only of academic texts, but also of other texts in general.

SQ3R Method of Reading

SQ3R is a reading comprehension method named for its five steps: survey,
question, read, recite, and review.

Recite aloud Review your

Turn headings Read each in your own
Skim the text – and answers
section with words the periodically
survey the subheadings the purpose answer to without using
title, into questions of answering each your notes. If
subheadings, using the the questions question. you get stuck,
images, words how, you’ve just Make notes reread the
charts what, where,
posed. on your text and
why, and
when answer in your review your
own words. notes and try
again.

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/3j4kfKy

KWL Method of Reading

K-W-L (Ogle, 1986) is an instructional reading strategy that is used to guide

students through a text. You begin by coming up with everything you Know
about a topic. This information is recorded in the K column of a K-W-L chart.
Then, you generate a list of questions about what you Want to Know about
the topic. These questions are listed in the W column of the chart. During or
after reading, students answer the questions that are in the W column. This
new information that they have Learned is recorded in the L column of the K-
W-L chart.

What I What I What I

w
K

[K]now [W]ant to Have

Learn [L]earned

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 #1 Annotation includes adding purposeful notes, key words
and phrases, definitions, and connections tied to specific
sections of text. Annotating text promotes student interest in
reading and gives learners a focused purpose for writing. I
guess you know what you’re going to do by now. Yes, it’s to
annotate the rationale from the study of Mrs. Ma. Theresa
Tatang during her graduate studies. Do you think you can do
it? I think you do! Good luck!
Image: mycutegraphics.com

Research Title: The Character’s Status In A Socially Stratefied World: Paul

Dumol’s Ang Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio
Author: Ma. Theresa P. Tatang
Rationale:

Inequalities structure social relationships and shape every aspect of life – social
stratification. Social stratification involves the hierarchal arrangement and establishment of
social categories – social groups, statuses, and their corresponding roles. It may also be
viewed as a social process, as a social structure, and as a social problem (Panopio, 322).
These inequalities are evident in most Filipino social plays. In the Philippines, social plays trace
their beginnings from the Zarzuela and the Moro-moro. These artistic creations depicted
contemporary problems, as well as the abuses of the officials in power. In fact, Yu (1) states
that the history of social-protest drama will necessarily have to be the history of Philippine
theater itself. The reason for this lies in the fact that the criticism of the social reality has been
a central element in the tradition of Philippine theater ever since its awakening into self-
consciousness in the closing years of the nineteenth century.
However quintessential the themes that are depicted from these plays, people, may of be
a Filipino race, probably do not learn from the mistakes of its society. Change has become
the motivation by inculcating social consciousness in dramas, like Paul Dumol’s Ang Paglilitis
ni Mang Serapio.
Despite being a play about a syndicate of beggars who have almost nothing, Ang
Paglilitis seems a brand of experiential theater that is very in-your-face in every identifiable
aspect. However, its allegory to corruption in its very essence became the basis of this
research. The blinding of Mang Serapio shows how powerful are those people with higher
stands than a beggar. How those people contaminate their selves with vainglory pushing the
weak just to save their faces. They could handicap another man and limit his or her actions
symbolizing the blind man, where a person in the lower class is limited to see – the truth and
eventually fight his or her right.
This research could be a mouthpiece of the true ambiance of the structure of society,
especially the masses who, for more than a century, have advocated for social reforms.
Moreover, since some institutions often remain deaf to the troubles of these people who are
unable to express themselves fully with their fellowmen because of the divisive social
stratification, the commitment of the researcher remains viable.
Karl Marx (248) believes that through class consciousness- an awareness of their true class
identifies a revolutionary movement would likely emerge to eliminate class differences. This
reason moves the researcher to pursue the study to hopefully inspire all teachers of literature
to raise awareness and open their student’s eyes towards the on-going issue of social
stratification in Philippine society.

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 #2 Before actually beginning to read, it is important to know
the purpose of reading, that is, why the reading is being
done. Knowing the purpose greatly enhances the
effectiveness of the reading. Also, knowledge of the purpose
can help one adopt a style of reading best suited for the
purpose. So here’s the abstract of the same study from the
first exercise you had. Read the article with the purpose you’ll
be choosing below and keep it in mind. In reading the text,
use the KWL Method of Reading Strategy. Write your
response on the table provided.
Image: mycutegraphics.com

Research Title: The Character’s Status In A Socially Stratefied World: Paul

Dumol’s Ang Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio
Author: Ma. Theresa P. Tatang
Abstract:

Inequalities structure social relationships and shape every aspect of

life – social stratification. The study looks into the situations of
“oppression” and Mang Serapio’s experiences in Paul Dumol’s ang
Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio. Specifically, it studies the characterization of
different characters from various social stratification, their behaviors in
a socio-cultural milieu; and collective Filipino behavior. This research
utilizes the qualitative research in data-gathering, the content analysis
of the literary text using the Marxist and Sociopsychological critical
analyses for interpreting the data. The first phase is the characters,
around whom the social situation revolves are analyzed in terms of
their characterization. The second phase is the social and cultural
milieu, where the behavior is shaped. The last phase summarizes the
behavioral traits most frequently associated with class structure. It is
concluded that Paul Dumol’s Ang Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio reveals
situations of “oppression” in Mang Serapio’s experiences in Paul
Dumol’s ang Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio. It is recommended that this
literary piece should be taught in literature classes as it helps raise
awareness in the battle of “oppression” happening in the lower class.

What I Know What I Want to Learn What I Have Learned

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III. What Have You Learned?
Directions: Apply your critical reading strategies in reading the passages.
Then, answer the questions that follow. Encircle the letter of the correct
answer.
In the 16th century, an age of great marine and terrestrial exploration, Ferdinand
Magellan led the first expedition to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble,
he served the king of Portugal, but he became involved in the quagmire of political
intrigue at court and lost the king’s favor. After he was dismissed from service by the king
of Portugal, he offered to serve the future Emperor Charles V of Spain.
A papal decree of 1493 had assigned all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W
longitude to Spain and all the land east of that line to Portugal. Magellan offered to
prove that the East Indies fell under Spanish authority. On September 20, 1519, Magellan
set sail from Spain with five ships. More than a year later, one of these ships was exploring
the topography of South America in search of a water route across the continent. This
ship sank, but the remaining four ships searched along the southern peninsula of South
America. Finally they found the passage they sought near 50 degrees S latitude.
Magellan named this passage the Strait of All Saints, but today it is known as the Strait of
Magellan.
One ship deserted while in this passage and returned to Spain, so fewer sailors were
privileged to gaze at that first panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Those who remained
crossed the meridian now known as the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521
after 98 days on the Pacific Ocean. During those long days at sea, many of Magellan’s
men died of starvation and disease.
Later, Magellan became involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines and was
killed in a tribal battle. Only one ship and 17 sailors under the command of the Basque
navigator Elcano survived to complete the westward journey to Spain and thus prove
once and for all that the world is round, with no precipice at the edge.

1. The 16th century was an age of great ______ exploration.

a. cosmic b. land and sea c. mental d. common man
2. Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved
in a political ________.
a. problem b. discussion c. negotiation d. entanglement
3. The Pope divided New World lands between Spain and Portugal
according to their location on one side or the other of an imaginary
geographical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a _________
direction.
a. north and south c. north and west
b. crosswise d. south east
4. Four of the ships sought a passage along a southern ______.
a. coast c. body of land with water on three sides
b. inland d. border
5. The passage was found near 50 degrees S of ________.
a. Greenwich b. The equator c. Spain d. Portugal

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 Marie Curie was one of the most accomplished scientists in history. Together with her
husband, Pierre, she discovered radium, an element widely used for treating cancer,
and studied uranium and other radioactive substances. Pierre and Marie’s amicable
collaboration later helped to unlock the secrets of the atom.
Marie was born in 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, where her father was a professor of
physics. At an early age, she displayed a brilliant mind and a blithe personality. Her great
exuberance for learning prompted her to continue with her studies after high school. She
became disgruntled, however, when she learned that the university in Warsaw was
closed to women. Determined to receive a higher education, she defiantly left Poland
and in 1891 entered the Sorbonne, a French university, where she earned her master’s
degree and doctorate in physics.
Marie was fortunate to have studied at the Sorbonne with some of the greatest
scientists of her day, one of whom was Pierre Curie. Marie and Pierre were married in
1895 and spent many productive years working together in the physics laboratory. A
short time after they discovered radium, Pierre was killed by a horse-drawn wagon in
1906. Marie was stunned by this horrible misfortune and endured heartbreaking anguish.
Despondently she recalled their close relationship and the joy that they had shared in
scientific research. The fact that she had two young daughters to raise by herself greatly
increased her distress.
Curie’s feeling of desolation finally began to fade when she was asked to succeed
her husband as a physics professor at the Sorbonne. She was the first woman to be given
a professorship at the world-famous university. In 1911 she received the Nobel Prize in
chemistry for isolating radium. Although Marie Curie eventually suffered a fatal illness
from her long exposure to radium, she never became disillusioned about her work.
Regardless of the consequences, she had dedicated herself to science and to revealing
the mysteries of the physical world.

6. The Curies’ _________ collaboration helped to unlock the secrets of the

atom.
a. friendly b. competitive c. courteous d. industrious
7. Marie had a bright mind and a ______ personality.
a. strong b. lighthearted c. humorous d. strange
8. When she learned that she could not attend the university in Warsaw, she
felt _________.
a. hopeless b. annoyed c. depressed d. worried
9. Marie _________ by leaving Poland and traveling to France to enter the
Sorbonne.
a. challenged authority c. behaved
b. showed intelligence d. was distressed
10. _________ she remembered their joy together.
a. Dejectedly b. Worried c. Tearfully d. Happily

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SCHOOLS DIVISION OF MANDAUE CITY
NIMFA D. BONGGO, Ed.D., CESO V
Schools Division Superintendent

ESTELA B. SUSVILLA, Ph.D., CESO VI

Assitant Schools Division Superintendent
JAIME P. RUELAN, Ph.D.
Chief, Curriculum Implementation Division

ISMAELITA N. DESABILLE, Ed.D.

Education Program Supervisor (LRMDS)

DR. MERCEDITA M. DEMORAL

Education Program Supervisor, ENGLISH

DEAL B. DEMETILLO
Writer

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
REGIONAL OFFICE VII

SALUSTIANO T. JIMENEZ, ED.D, JD, CESO V

OIC, Regional Director

CRISTITO A. ECO
OIC, Assistant Regional Director
MAURITA F. PONCE
LRMDS, Education Program Supervisor

English, Education Program Supervisor

14
 SYNOPSIS

Critical reading skills help you to untangle the significance behind a

written piece of text. This skill can be especially useful to a student when
undertaking a writing competition, answering an essay assignment, or
responding to writing questions on an exam.

This module will enable students to improve their critical reading skills.
Critical reading skills play an important role in the success of a student. A
student who has excellent critical reading skills can evaluate a piece of
writing as he or she reads and asks questions about the validity of facts in a
written piece. Therefore, this skill will teach a student to be always vigilant
and watchful to whatever he or she is reading before be certain of it.

There are several exercises and tests that will guide and track the Senior
High School students’ progress while still enjoying their journey on this module.
They will find several critical thinking activities that will make the learning fun
and challenging.

Writer: MA. THERESA P. TATANG. Graduated Bachelor of Arts

in English Major in Applied Linguistics at Cebu Technological
University – Main Campus. Took 30 units in Master of Arts in
Literature at Cebu Normal University – Main Campus. A
Senior High School Teacher at Cabancalan National High
School.

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 ANSWER KEY
I. PRE-ASSESSMENT:
A.
1. d
2. c
3. d
4. c
5. d
6. a
7. b
8. d
9. b
10. c
II. EXERCISES
- Refer to the rubric given. Can be modified
III. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED
1. b 6. a
2. a 7. b
3. a 8. b
4. c 9. a
5. b 10. a

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 RUBRIC FOR
WRITING ACTIVITY

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/38Yk0Mq

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/3gZ0TVt

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barrot, Ph. D., Jessie Saraza. “Fundamentals of Reading Academic Texts.”

Essay. In Communication Today: English for Academic and Professional
Purposes, edited by Philippe John Fresnillo Sipacio, 17–22. Quezon City,
Quezon: C & E Publishing, Inc., 2016.

Harida, M.Pd, Eka Sustri. “Igniting a Brighter Future of EFL Teaching and
Learning in Multilingual Societies.” Using Critical Reading Strategies: One
Way for Assessing Students’ Reading Comprehension, 2016.
https://bit.ly/2CDYBfw.

Columnas, Anjenette. “Detailed Lesson Plan (Reading and Writing)

Techniques in Critical Rea...” LinkedIn SlideShare. SlideShare, October 19,
2017. https://bit.ly/2Wo0tA6.
Unknown. “Before-During-After (BDA) Reading Strategies,” 2018.
https://bit.ly/3jbomEC.
Unknown. “Critical Reading,” 2019. https://bit.ly/3fznw2x.
Unknown. “Critical Reading and Reading Strategy.” Critical Reading &
Reading Strategies | SkillsYouNeed. SkillsYouNeed.com, 2011.
https://bit.ly/32mmjI3.
Unknown. “Developing Critical Reading Skills: How To Improve Critical
Reading Skills.” EduNova. EduNova: Innovations from Leading Education
Experts, February 4, 2013. https://bit.ly/3h2cEdG
Unknown. “Reading Comprehension Practice Test 1.” Test Prep Review.
Mometrix: Test Preparation, October 19, 2018. https://bit.ly/2OpxUho.

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 It is hoped that you have understood and mastered the
competencies covered in the Self-Learning Kit. The skills you have
learned will be of great help as you take part in the challenging
demands of society.
The enriching experiences you have gained through this learning
material enable you to know more about yourself, especially your
capabilities. Hence, you are ready to extend your horizons.
Learning the essential competencies in English for Academic and
Professional Purposes is to prepare you to become globally
competitive in the future. As you meet the complex demands of the
global world, you stand confident because of the wide range of
competencies you have mastered which made you more expressive
of your thoughts and ideas.
Bringing up rear, as productive learners, you are equipped with the
21st century skills which you need to be ready for tomorrow’s world.

Learning Resource Management and

Development Center (LRMDC)
Curriculum Implementation Division
Division of Mandaue City