A SIMPLE READING HABIT
Pause. Question. Look a little further.
An article can be a starting point for learning rather than the end of the process. These five questions offer a practical way to slow down and examine what you are reading.
01
Identify the type of article.
Notice whether you are reading an explanation, a report, an opinion or a commercial message. Each serves a different purpose.
A question to keep: What is this article trying to do — inform, explain, persuade or sell?
02
Ask what supports the claim.
Look for the evidence behind important statements. Consider whether it is direct, current enough for the subject and relevant to the conclusion.
A question to keep: Can I trace the central claim to a document, a named source or another verifiable record?
03
Separate detail from implication.
A document may establish one fact without proving every interpretation attached to it. Pause when a narrow observation is used to support a much broader claim.
A question to keep: What does the evidence establish, and which part is the writer’s interpretation?
04
Check the limits.
Notice what the article does not cover. A general explanation may not account for your location, circumstances or the latest developments.
A question to keep: Could a different date, place or set of circumstances change this explanation?
05
Keep a useful question.
After reading, write down one question you can investigate through a more direct or specialist source.
A question to keep: What is the most useful thing for me to check next?
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
A confident headline is not the evidence.
When a headline makes a sweeping claim, start by identifying exactly what is being claimed. Then check whether the article supports that claim, adds qualifications or describes a much narrower finding.
ONE QUESTION AT A TIME
Leave with something worth checking.
You do not need to settle an entire subject in one sitting. A more precise question is a useful outcome in its own right.