College writing requires you to become a critical reader—questioning and conversing with the texts you read. When you read critically, you read with an open, curious, even skeptical mind to understand both what is said and why. And when you write critically, you respond to a text and its author, with thoughtful questions and insights, offering your judgment of how the parts of a text contribute to its overall effect.

Reading a written text actively

Outlining a written text

Summarizing a written text

Analyzing a written text

Balancing summary with analysis for a written text

Drafting an analytical thesis statement for a written text

Writing guide: Analysis essay