Hal Menarik untuk Membangkitkan Semangat Membaca

Berikut ini adalah 10 hal menarik untuk membangkitkan semangat membaca:

• 1.Sesuaikan tingkat bacaan dengan tingkat kosakata, sebab keengganan meneruskan bacaan seringkali dikarenakan kita sulit memahami arti katanya.
• 2.Luangkan waktu secara rutin untuk membaca (misalnya setengah jam per hari) karena langkah ini lambat laun akan meningkatkan kemampuan memahami berbagai gaya tulisan dan kosa kata baru.
• 3.Mencoba menulis tentang apa pun yang dianggap menarik, misalnya tentang perasaan, pengalaman, cara memandikan kucing, menanam pohon, membuat kue, dan lain sebagainya. Mencoba menulis akan meningkatkan minat membaca.
• 4.Berusaha menggunakan waktu untuk membaca dengan selalu membawa bahan bacaan di mana pun berada. Simpan buku atau majalah dalam tas, ruang keluarga atau tempat yang sering Anda gunakan, sehingga memungkinkan Anda menjangkau dan membaca .
• 5.Tentukan berapa banyak buku yang ingin Anda baca dalam kurun waktu tertentu. Mulailah memasang target dengan disiplin tinggi, karena langkah ini melatih kemampuan meluangkan lebih banyak waktu untuk membaca lebih banyak hal.
• 6.Buatlah daftar buku yang sudah Anda baca dan catatan isi buku tersebut. Simpanlah catatan tersebut dengan rapi di tempat favorit Anda, misalnya di buku harian, di komputer, di lemari, dan lain sebagainya.
• 7.Matikan televisi, karena televisi tidak mengajak kita aktif belajar dan berpikir kreatif. Daripada waktu terbuang untuk memindah channel televisi mencari acara televisi yang bagus, bisa jadi waktu tersebut sudah cukup banyak untuk menyelesaikan membaca sebuah buku.
• 8.Bergabunglah dengan kelompok baca, di mana dalam periode tertentu para anggotanya berkumpul untuk mendiskusikan topik bacaan yang telah sama-sama ditentukan sebelumnya. Berkomitmen terhadap kelompok baca memberikan momentum yang lebih besar untuk menyelesaikan bacaan buku, dan menciptakan forum yang luar biasa untuk berdiskusi dan bersosialisasi seputar tema buku.
• 9.Sering-seringlah mengunjungi toko buku atau perustakaan, karena kesempatan melihat-lihat buku akan melatih mental membaca sebagai kebutuhan dan menginspirasi banyak hal baru yang menarik untuk dibaca .
• 10.Bangunlah strategi, yaitu dengan menentukan sendiri cara yang baik menurut Anda untuk meningkatkan aktivitas membaca, sehingga Anda semakin rajin membaca dan mendapatkan manfaat yang lebih besar dari buku yang Anda baca. Kembangkan terus minat baca Anda, karena membaca dapat meningkatkan kemampuan, terutama kemampuan untuk menjalani kehidupan dengan lebih bijaksana. Tingkatkan intensitas membaca dengan memanfaatkan waktu luang semaksimal mungkin untuk membaca.ingatlah bahwa Membaca merupakan salah satu investasi yang baik dari waktu yang kita miliki.

sumber : http://komunitasngejah.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/pentingnya-membaca-dalam-kehidupan-sehari-hari/

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5 Alasan Mengapa Anda Harus Membaca

Kebanyakan orang begitu sibuk dengan pekerjaannya sehingga tidak memiliki banyak waktu untuk membaca buku. Untuk menyegarkan fikirannya, orang lebih senang menonton film, jalan-jalan ke mall atau bermain games di gadgetnya. Padahal membaca tidak hanya memperkaya wawasan tetapi juga bermanfaat untuk kesehatan. Setidaknya ada 5 Alasan Mengapa Anda Harus Membaca?
1. Melatih otak
Salah satu manfaat membaca buku adalah sebagai latihan otak dan pikiran. Membaca dapat membantu menjaga otak agar selalu menjalankan fungsinya secara sempurna. Saat membaca, otak dituntut untuk berpikir lebih sehingga dapat membuat orang semakin cerdas. Tapi untuk latihan otak ini, membaca buku harus dilakukan secara rutin.
2. Meringankan stres
Stres adalah faktor risiko dari beberapa penyakit berbahaya. Keindahan bahasa dalam tulisan dapat memiliki kemampuan untuk menenangkan dan mengurangi stres, terutama membaca buku fiksi sebelum tidur. Cara ini dianggap bagus untuk mengatasi stres.
3. Menjauhkan risiko penyakit Alzheimer
Membaca benar-benar dapat meningkatkan daya ikat otak. Ketika membaca, otak akan dirangsang dan stimulasi (rangsangan) secara teratur dapat membantu mencegah gangguan pada otak termasuk penyakit Alzheimer.
Penelitian telah menunjukkan bahwa latihan otak seperti membaca buku atau majalah, bermain teka-teki silang, Sudoku, dan lain-lain dapat menunda atau mencegah kehilangan memori. Menurut para peneliti, kegiatan ini merangsang sel-sel otak untuk dapat terhubung dan tumbuh.
4. Mengembangkan pola tidur yang sehat
Bila Anda terbiasa membaca buku sebelum tidur, maka itu bertindak sebagai alarm bagi tubuh dan mengirimkan sinyal bahwa sudah waktunya tidur. Ini akan membantu Anda mendapatkan tidur nyenyak dan bangun segar di pagi hari.
5. Meningkatkan konsentrasi
Orang yang suka membaca akan memiliki otak yang lebih konsentrasi dan fokus. Pembaca memiliki kemampuan untuk mendapatkan perhatian penuh dan praktis dalam kehidupan. Ini juga mengembangkan keterampilan objektivitas dan pengambilan keputusan.
Bagaimana, tidak ada alasan lagi untuk tidak membaca kan? Buku bisa menjadi salah satu pilihan cerdas untuk me-refresh pikiran ketika penat atau kelelahan. Kebiasaan baik itu tidak hanya akan menyegarkan pikiran tetapi juga memberi manfaat untuk kesehatan.

sumber : http://media.zoya.co.id/inspirasi/5-alasan-mengapa-anda-harus-membaca 

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Pentingnya Membaca dalam Kehidupan Sehari-hari

Membaca adalah kegiatan yang sarat manfaat dan sangat penting dalam kehidupan kita. Banyak orang sukses dan cerdas karena kecintaan mereka membaca buku dan belajar. Oleh sebab itu tingkatkan intensitas membaca terutama di waktu senggang Anda

Manfaat membaca dalam kehidupan sehari-hari:

• 1.Membaca membangun pondasi yang kuat untuk dapat mempelajari dan memahami berbagai disiplin ilmu sekaligus mengaplikasikan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.
• 2.Senang membaca meningkatkan kecerdasan verbal dan lingusitik karena membaca memperkaya kosa kata dan kekuatan kata-kata.
• 3.Membaca mencegah rabun mata, karena membaca melatih dan mengaktifkan otot-otot mata.
• 4.Membaca mencegah kepikunan karena melibatkan tingkat konsentrasi lebih besar,mengaktifkan, dan menyegarkan pikiran.
• 5.Kegemaran membaca membantu meningkatkan kecerdasan, serta meningkatkan daya kreativitas dan imajinasi.
• 6.Membaca membantu memperbaiki rasa percaya diri, mengembangkan kemampuan memanajemen emosi, dan meningkatkan kemampuan melakukan interaksi sosial positif di mana pun dan kapan pun.>p
• 7.Membaca membentuk karakter dan kepribadian, sampai-sampai ada pepatah yang mengatakan, “Apa yang kita baca sekarang, seperti itulah kita 20 tahun yang akan datang”.
• 8.Membaca menjadikan kita lebih dewasa, lebih arif dan bijaksana dalam menjalani kehidupan.

SUMBER : http://komunitasngejah.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/pentingnya-membaca-dalam-kehidupan-sehari-hari/

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Skimming And Scanning: Two Important Strategies For Speeding Up Your Reading (PART II)

What Is Scanning?

Scanning is another useful tool for speeding up your reading. Unlike skimming, when scanning, you look only for a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything. You scan when you look for your favorite show listed in the cable guide, for your friend’s phone number in a telephone book, and for the sports scores in the newspaper. For scanning to be successful, you need to understand how your material is structured as well as comprehend what you read so you can locate the specific information you need. Scanning also allows you to find details and other information in a hurry.
How to scan.  Because you already scan many different types of material in your daily life, learning more details about scanning will be easy. Establishing your purpose, locating the appropriate material, and knowing how the information is structured before you start scanning is essential.
The material you scan is typically arranged in the following ways: alphabetically, chronologically, non-alphabetically, by category, or textually. Alphabetical information is arranged in order from A to Z, while chronological information is arranged in time or numerical order.
Information can be also be arranged in non- alphabetical order, such as a television listing, or by category, listings of like items such as an auto parts catalog. Sometimes information is located within the written paragraphs of text, also known as a textual sense, as in an encyclopedia entry.
Learning to use your hands while scanning is very helpful in locating specific information. Do you do anything with your hands to locate a word in a dictionary? To find a meeting time on your calendar? To read a train or bus schedule? Using your hand or finger is extremely helpful in focusing your attention and keeping your place while scanning a column of material.
    Your peripheral vision can also help you scan effectively. When your hand moves down a list of names, you see not only the name your finger is pointing to, but also the names above and below. Let your eyes work for you when searching for information.
    Keep the concept of key words in mind while scanning. Your purpose will determine the key words. Suppose you are looking for the time a train leaves from New York City for Washington, D.C.The key words to keep in mind are “from New York City” and “to Washington,D.C.” If you are looking for the cost of a computer printer with the code number PX-710, the key word to locate in a list of many printers is “PX-710.”
When to scan.?You scan when your aim is to find specific pieces of information. If you were doing the research for an oral presentation, you could scan the index of books, web sites, and reference materials. You would discover whether they contain any information you want and the pages where the information can be found.
In the past, you probably scanned without knowing you were doing it. Now with the information provided in this section, you can use scanning more intentionally and frequently. The more you practice, the more effective scanning will become. Finally, the most important benefit of scanning is its ability to help you become a more flexible reader. Scanning adds another high gear to your reading.
Permission to not read everything.?Because you may be used to reading every word and may be uncomfortable leaving some words out, you need to give yourself permission to overlook some words by skimming, scanning, and skipping material according to your reading purpose. I give you permission to NOT read everything!

source : http://www.howtolearn.com/2013/02/skimming-and-scanning-two-important-strategies-for-speeding-up-your-reading/

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Skimming And Scanning: Two Important Strategies For Speeding Up Your Reading (PART I)

Skimming and scanning are two very different strategies for speed reading.

They are each used for different purposes, and they are not meant to be used all the time. They are at the fast end of the speed reading range, while studying is at the slow end.
People who know how to skim and scan are flexible readers. They read according to their purpose and get the information they need quickly without wasting time. They do not read everything which is what increases their reading speed. Their skill lies in knowing what specific information to read and which method to use.

What Is Skimming?

Skimming is one of the tools you can use to read more in less time. Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas, and works best with non-fiction (or factual) material. With skimming, your overall understanding is reduced because you don’t read everything. You read only what is important to your purpose. Skimming takes place while reading and allows you to look for details in addition to the main ideas.
How to skim.?Many people think that skimming is a haphazard process placing the eyes where ever they fall. However, to skim effectively, there has to be a structure but you don’t read everything. What you read is more important than what you leave out. So what material do you read and what material do you leave out?
Let’s say you are doing research on a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few paragraphs in detail, you will get a good idea of what information will be discussed. Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea of the paragraph. If you do not get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the paragraph greatly interests you, then you may want to skim more.
At the end of each topic sentence, your eyes should drop down through the rest of the paragraph, looking for important pieces of information, such as names, dates, or events. Continue to read only topic sentences, dropping down through the rest of the paragraphs, until you are near the end. Since the last few paragraphs may contain a conclusion or summary, you should stop skimming there and read in detail. Remember that your overall comprehension will be lower than if you read in detail. If while skimming, you feel you are grasping the main ideas, then you are skimming correctly.
When to skim.Because skimming is done at a fast speed with less-than-normal comprehension, you shouldn’t skim all the time. There are many times, however, when skimming is very useful.
Suppose you are taking a presentation skills class and have to deliver an oral report in a few days about the first computers ever made. You locate six books and four newspaper articles about this topic. Because you must be ready soon, you do not have time to read each word, but you need a large quantity of solid information.
Skimming will help you locate the information quickly while making sure you use your time wisely. It will also increase the amount of usable material you obtain for your research.
Suppose you have an exam in a few days. You need to review the material you learned, but you don’t want to reread everything. By skimming, you can quickly locate the information you haven’t mastered yet and study only that material.
While reading, ask yourself the following questions to help you decide whether or not to skim. If you answer yes to any of these, then skimming is a useful tool.
?    Is this material non-fiction?
?    Do I have a lot to read and only a small amount of time?
?    Do I already know something about this?
?    Can any of the material be skipped?
If you have sufficient background knowledge or believe you don’t need the information, then skip it! That’s right—don’t read it at all! Believe it or not, skipping material may sometimes be the best use of your time. Just because someone wrote something doesn’t mean you have to read it.  If you pick and choose carefully what you skim and skip, you will be pleasantly surprised at the large amount of information you can get through in a short period of time.

SOURCE : http://www.howtolearn.com/2013/02/skimming-and-scanning-two-important-strategies-for-speeding-up-your-reading/

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How to Learn Speed Reading (PART 1)

Part 1 of 3: Learning to Read Faster

1. Understand the purpose of these tips. These instructions are great for increasing your reading speed without losing too much comprehension. They are the best way for anyone to begin increasing their reading speed, including someone who wants to become an extreme speedreader.

a. If you're trying to cram for a test faster or browse magazines more quickly, take a look at the section on Skimming Text Faster.

b. If you want to learn to read books extremely quickly and don't need to understand them fully, browse these tips first before moving on to Further Speedreading Exercises.

2. Stop imagining the spoken word. Even if you don't mouth the words silently as you read them, chances are good you "subvocalize," or imagine the words being spoken aloud.^[1] This is useful for difficult texts, but mostly just slows you down needlessly.

a. Stop yourself whenever you notice this happening. Being conscious of the habit can be enough to minimize it.

b. If you can't stop, try quietly chanting something repetitive such as "1 2 3 4" or "A E I O U."^[2] Stop if the chanting distracts you from reading.

c. Groups of words are harder to vocalize, so practice reading in blocks using the techniques below to help with this issue as well.

d. If you are physically moving your lips as you read, hold a finger against them while reading to stop this habit.

3. Take in groups of words. Instead of reading each word separately, train yourself to understand a group of words at once. This requires less eye movement, which in turn makes reading much faster.[3]

a. Hold the book or screen a little farther from your eyes than you are used to as you read to take in more words at once.

b. Soften your gaze and relax your face. If you are too focused and tense, you won't be able to see the words farther from your center of vision.

c. Follow along with a pencil or other object as you read, but hold it slightly above the text to make your eyes focus on a wider area.

4. Train yourself not to read the same passage twice. Most people frequently stop and skip back to words or sentences they just read to try to make sure they understood the meaning. This is usually unnecessary, but it can easily become a habit, and many times you will not even notice you're doing it.

a. Use an index card or pen to hide the words you've already read, training your eyes not to move backward.

5. Find a quiet, well lit environment. Even if you think you read better when you have music playing or when you're in a crowded coffee house, you will understand the text much better if you reduce distractions to a bare minimum. Try to find a solitary, well lit place to read, and turn off the TV, radio, and cell phone.[4]

a. If no solitary place is available, try using earplugs to block out any distractions around you.

b. Light is important even when reading on a computer screen.

c. Reading in bed makes many people sleepy. Try sitting up at a desk, with your book tilted at a 45º angle away from you.^[5]

6. Read when you're alert and engaged. Some people function well in the morning, while others think better in the afternoon. Save important reading for those times of day.[6]

a. Start a reading session by reading the important material first, when your eyes and brain aren't tired out.

b. Ask questions to yourself as you read the text or the chapter headings, and search for answers as you read. This keeps you focused and avoids daydreaming or other mental distractions.^[7]

7. Adjust reading speed depending on the material. Even this one article probably contains advice you've already heard as well as some that's completely new to you. A good reader slows down to understand something complex and speeds up through familiar sections.

a. Don't be afraid to fall back on "bad habits" to understand a text better. If you are reading a difficult book and don't have a time limit, feel free to reread sections or read them aloud in your head. In fact, you can use these tools to better effect now that you're aware of them!

^{SOURCE : http://www.wikihow.com/Learn-Speed-Reading} 

 

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Reading for information: Motivating learners to read efficiently

This is the first in a series of four-articles which propose a four stage methodology for teaching reading.

What is efficient reading?
What happens when you read a book, a newspaper or magazine for information on a topic that interests you, or when you are reading as part of a course of study? If you are a good reader you almost certainly don't read every word carefully. You read with a purpose, and as your eye skims over the page you take from it whatever you need, predicting what is likely to come next and adjusting your predictions as you go along.
We want our students to learn to read like this in English. We want them to be able to skim through pages on the worldwide web identifying relevant information with speed and efficiency. We hope that one day many of them will read quickly and efficiently enough in English to use the language as a medium of study at university level or beyond. More and more schools and Ministries of Education are interested in Content and Language Integrated Learning (Clil), recognising the importance of learning a language, in our case English, as a means to studying other subjects more effectively. If we want to encourage this kind of reading in the English language classroom we need to provide a reason for reading and we need to recreate the circumstances in which readers operate in the real world outside the classroom. I am going to look at a task-based approach to reading which will enable us to do this.

Providing a context and a reason for reading
First we need to provide a context. When we read in real life we usually have some expectations about what we are going to read. Perhaps we know quite a lot about a topic and we want to check on a few details. Or perhaps we have just heard about something and are curious to know more about it. We rarely set out to read something without knowing anything at all about the topic and without having any expectations about what we are going to read. So in the classroom we need to provide learners with a context. Before they begin to read they will have some idea what it will be about and what to expect from it.

Secondly we need to provide a reason for reading. Sometimes in our reading we are looking for very specific information. We may have certain beliefs which we want to confirm or perhaps to reconsider. Or perhaps our curiosity has been aroused by a newspaper headline or the title of an article in a magazine, and we want to satisfy that curiosity. We should try to put our students in the same situation when they approach a reading. What exactly do they expect to get out of the reading? What gaps in their knowledge do they want to fill? What expectations do they have which they want to check against their reading?
Let's set up a reading activity like this for learners. One which provides a context and a reason for reading. Let's start by asking the question: Are sharks dangerous to humans? The fact that we start with a question is interesting in itself. It provides one reason for reading: to find an answer to the question. But it may be that some of our learners know the answer already. We can begin by asking them to work in pairs or groups to answer the question on the basis of their general knowledge. Then we can lead a class discussion to share the results of this pair/group work.
My guess is that they will answer the question by saying that some but not all sharks are dangerous to humans. They may even give examples. But it is also likely that their discussion will raise more questions than it answers. Which sharks are dangerous? Are most sharks dangerous, or is it only a small minority? How big are sharks? Where do they live?
Let's move on to provide a questionnaire which will focus on some of these questions:
Here are eight statements about sharks. Say whether each one is true or false.

1. There are nearly two hundred different species of sharks.
2. The smallest sharks are about 20 centimetres in length.
3. Most sharks are less than a metre in length.
4. The biggest sharks are around 6 metres in length and weigh up to 2000 kilograms.
5. The biggest sharks are the most dangerous of all.
6. Sharks are found in rivers as well as in the seas and oceans.
7. Only about two hundred people are killed by sharks each year.
8. More people are killed by dogs than by sharks.

We will go through these questions to make sure they have been properly understood, but without giving any clues as to the answers, then we will ask learners to discuss the questions in pairs or groups. Finally we will review their answers and find out how many pairs or groups answered true and how many answered false on each question. And what is the answer to the big question? Are sharks dangerous to humans?
Priming before readingLet's review what has happened in our lesson so far:

• We have introduced a topic and provided a context by getting our learners to engage their own knowledge of sharks.

• We have provided a reason for reading in two ways. First we have aroused their curiosity. It is quite likely by now that they are eager to know whether the eight statements given above are true or false. Secondly we have probably aroused a spirit of rivalry. Some pairs or groups will have offered one answer, others will have offered quite a different answer. They will be anxious to know who is right and who is wrong.

• We have covered most of the vocabulary which the learners will come across in the reading which is to follow. We will have done this in two stages: first in discussing the general question: Are sharks dangerous to humans?; and secondly in introducing the statements and making sure learners have understood them.

• Learners have had a good deal of language practice centring on the topic to be covered in the reading. We have had pair/group discussion and general class discussion led by the teacher.

These things make up what I think of as the Priming stage of the reading lesson: getting learners ready for reading by providing a context, a purpose and necessary language input. It is important to note that even though this is a preparatory stage there has been a lot of student participation and that all of the language used in these activities has been used with a purpose. Learners can now go on to read the text.
I hope that by now like the students your curiosity has been aroused. Are there really two hundred species of shark? Are sharks found in rivers as well as in the oceans? Are dogs more dangerous than sharks? To find the answers read the text Are Sharks Dangerous to Humans? at end of article.
After learners have finished reading you will be in a position to lead a class discussion on the text. Check the answers with them. How many answers did they get right? Have they learned anything else from the text? Is there anything else they would like to know about sharks?
We have now achieved quite a lot of language use, finishing with reading and discussion. But there are two things we have not done - two things that we need to do after the reading. First we need to provide a focus on language by looking at some important linguistic features of the text, at the grammar and vocabulary. Secondly we need to do something to make the text memorable. All too often learners read a text and then forget all about it. If we can recycle the text in a way that makes it memorable they will remember not only the content of the text, but also some of the language it contains.
So in my next article I will outline a four stage process. We have looked at a lesson illustrating the first two stages:

• Priming
• Reading

In the next article Form focus and recycling: getting grammar I will illustrate the next two stages:

• Form focus
• Recycling

In a third article Techniques for priming and recycling I'll look at a variety of techniques which you can use for yourselves to apply the processes of priming and recycling in the classroom, and in my fourth and final article Techniques for form focus after reading I will describe a range of techniques for form focus.

source : http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/reading-information-motivating-learners-read-efficiently

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7 CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

1.  Previewing: Learning about a text before really reading it.

Previewing enables readers to get a sense of what the text is about and how it is organized before reading it closely. This simple strategy includes seeing what you can learn from the headnotes or other introductory material, skimming to get an overview of the content and organization, and identifying the rhetorical situation.

 2.  Contextualizing: Placing a text in its historical, biographical, and cultural contexts.

When you read a text, you read it through the lens of your own experience. Your understanding of the words on the page and their significance is informed by what you have come to know and value from living in a particular time and place. But the texts you read were all written in the past, sometimes in a radically different time and place. To read critically, you need to contextualize, to recognize the differences between your contemporary values and attitudes and those represented in the text.  

3.  Questioning to understand and remember: Asking questions about the content.

As students, you are accustomed (I hope) to teachers asking you questions about your reading. These questions are designed to help you understand a reading and respond to it more fully, and often this technique works. When you need to understand and use new information though it is most beneficial if you write the questions, as you read the text for the first time. With this strategy, you can write questions any time, but in difficult academic readings, you will understand the material better and remember it longer if you write a question for every paragraph or brief section. Each question should focus on a main idea, not on illustrations or details, and each should be expressed in your own words, not just copied from parts of the paragraph.  

4.  Reflecting on challenges to your beliefs and values: Examining your personal responses.

The reading that you do for this class might challenge your attitudes, your unconsciously held beliefs, or your positions on current issues. As you read a text for the first time, mark an X in the margin at each point where you feel a personal challenge to your attitudes, beliefs, or status. Make a brief note in the margin about what you feel or about what in the text created the challenge. Now look again at the places you marked in the text where you felt personally challenged. What patterns do you see?  

5.  Outlining and summarizing: Identifying the main ideas and restating them in your own words.

Outlining and summarizing are especially helpful strategies for understanding the content and structure of a reading selection. Whereas outlining reveals the basic structure of the text, summarizing synopsizes a selection's main argument in brief. Outlining may be part of the annotating process, or it may be done separately (as it is in this class). The key to both outlining and summarizing is being able to distinguish between the main ideas and the supporting ideas and examples. The main ideas form the backbone, the strand that holds the various parts and pieces of the text together. Outlining the main ideas helps you to discover this structure. When you make an outline, don't use the text's exact words.

Summarizing begins with outlining, but instead of merely listing the main ideas, a summary recomposes them to form a new text. Whereas outlining depends on a close analysis of each paragraph, summarizing also requires creative synthesis. Putting ideas together again -- in your own words and in a condensed form -- shows how reading critically can lead to deeper understanding of any text.  

6.  Evaluating an argument: Testing the logic of a text as well as its credibility and emotional impact.

All writers make assertions that they want you to accept as true. As a critical reader, you should not accept anything on face value but to recognize every assertion as an argument that must be carefully evaluated. An argument has two essential parts: a claim and support. The claim asserts a conclusion -- an idea, an opinion, a judgment, or a point of view -- that the writer wants you to accept. The support includes reasons (shared beliefs, assumptions, and values) and evidence (facts, examples, statistics, and authorities) that give readers the basis for accepting the conclusion. When you assess an argument, you are concerned with the process of reasoning as well as its truthfulness (these are not the same thing). At the most basic level, in order for an argument to be acceptable, the support must be appropriate to the claim and the statements must be consistent with one another.  

7.  Comparing and contrasting related readings: Exploring likenesses and differences between texts to understand them better. 
Many of the authors we read are concerned with the same issues or questions, but approach how to discuss them in different ways. Fitting a text into an ongoing dialectic helps increase understanding of why an author approached a particular issue or question in the way he or she did.

source : http://www.salisbury.edu/counseling/new/7_critical_reading_strategies.html

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