Summa Cum Laude

Evaluating a text is the third component of a close, critical reading for a critical reader. Having understood and responded to a text, we are in a position to investigate its strengths and weaknesses, that is to evaluate it. We will not find every text to be of equal value: equally accurate, equally useful, equally convincing, equally well written. As a critical reader, you should determine the extent to which an author has succeeded or failed in presenting material. We should be able to explain why we and the author agree or disagree.

We have four goals in reading to evaluate:

1. Distinguish between an author’s use of facts and opinions. When we are reading to evaluate, we want to be alert to an author’s use of facts, opinions, and definitions, and his or her assumed views of the world. We will also want to know if an author’s purpose is primarily to inform or to argue, so that we can pose specific questions accordingly.
2. Distinguish between an author’s assumptions (fundamental beliefs about the world) and our own. An assumptions is a fundamental belief that shapes people’s views. Sometimes assumptions are based on clearly defined reasons, and other times they are based on ill-defined feelings. Either way, the opinions that people have can be better understood by indentifying the underlying assumpions.
3. Judge the effectiveness of an explanation.
4. Judge the effectiveness of an argument.