Reading critically includes all of the following:

• asertaining your purpose
• asking prereading questions
• reading and rereading
• taking notes as you read
• looking up words
• making connections
• summarizing
• using concept maps

A Case-Based Approach to Argumentative Writing (in Chapter 10) encourages, as a critical step step in learning, the act of reflection, which they break into stages.

In the real world, you may often have occasion to explain a process or report facts, as, for example, when recently a home inspector reviewed for Prof. Sonheim the defects in his air conditioning unit and and explained how refrigeration works.

CAAW distinguishes these 2 activities from constructing an argument.

Where in the U.S. Constitution are we guaranteed due process under the law?

To get good at critical thinking, you need to ask a lot of questions. You also will do well to be self-aware of the kinds of questions you ask. CAAW tells us there are three kinds of question.  The question above about "due process" is a question of preference.

The text A Case-Based Approach to Argumentative Writing tells us that because "cases are deliberately messy and contain multiple points of view, as well as stakeholders with different and sometimes competing needs, they will challenge you to go beyond the surface of the issue" (5). This fact about case studies--that they are messy with multiple perspectives--is one big reason why Prof. Sonheim chose CAAW for English 101. 

When you read critically, you should read the text as if you were a writer, which means noticing and describing

CAAW claims that because journal articles are written by scholars for other scholars, they will be difficult for undergraduate students to grasp and should be avoided in the interest of time management. 

Here at Calvin, you will immerse yourself wholeheartedly in an academic and intellectual culture. Calvin faculty affirm this culture as part of our Christian calling (you might remember this from Core 100?).  A Case-Based Approach to Argumentation claims that academic arguments are a way

•  to connect to audiences and
• to better understand a topic. 

This claim in CAAW is not overtly Christian, but Prof. Sonheim thinks connecting to audiences and seeking to better understand topics is a deeply Christian posture. 

When you are writing an argument in an academic setting, you should make the following rhetorical move: 

Some arguments can be made without using words, as was demonstrated in CAAW with an argument in the genre of an advertisement (a public service announcement) that you might see on a billboard, on public transit, or in a popular magazine whose audience is young people.