8 Questions Students Can Ask While Reading Critically
A practical classroom reference for examining claims, evidence, sources, omissions, inferences, and interpretations.
A Question-Based Critical Reading Guide
Critical reading becomes more manageable when students know what to look for. The questions below can be used during annotation, discussion, source analysis, independent reading, or written response. For a fuller explanation of the concept, see TeachThought’s definition of critical reading .
Why Am I Reading This?
Identify the purpose for reading and decide what information, understanding, or perspective the reading should provide.
What Is The Text Claiming?
Identify what the author states, implies, argues, explains, or wants the reader to accept.
What Is Fact, Inference, Or Interpretation?
Distinguish verifiable information from conclusions, explanations, judgments, predictions, and interpretations.
What Evidence Supports The Claim?
Identify the examples, data, quotations, observations, or reasoning the text uses as support.
Who Created This Text, And Why?
Consider authorship, expertise, purpose, audience, publication context, and possible limitations.
What Can I Reasonably Infer?
Draw conclusions from the available evidence without claiming more than the text can support.
What Is Missing?
Look for gaps, omissions, unanswered questions, missing evidence, and perspectives that are not represented.
How Has My Understanding Changed?
Return to important sections to clarify confusion, test an interpretation, and revise an initial conclusion.
Ways To Use These Questions
Students can keep the questions beside a text, select one as an annotation focus, apply several during source comparison, or use them to prepare for discussion and written response.
The questions can also be combined with these reading strategies that work across content areas when students need additional support before, during, or after reading.