Use This Three-Step Method to Read More Critically

When school or your job requires a lot of reading, it’s hard to stay on track and focused. You should try different reading techniques to get the most out of what you’re supposed to be consuming on your own. One such technique to try is the structure-proposition-evaluation (SPE) method, and one might work for you. It’s particularly critical and leaves room for you to come to your own conclusions, making it great for work-related tasks or the study of philosophy or more theoretical subjects.

What is the structure-proposition-evaluation method?

The structure-proposition-evaluation technique has been around since 1940, when philosopher and educator Mortimer Adler included it in his How to Read a Book: The Art of Getting a Liberal Education. Per Adler, it’s on you to figure out what the structure, author-made propositions, and your own evaluations are, but once you do, it will help you read more critically and get more out of what you’re going through—especially if it’s non-fiction.

How does SPE work?

There are three steps to using this method, and they align with the three words it’s named after. Here’s what yo do:

1. Find the structure of the text. Take note of the table of contents, subheadings, chapter titles, tables, graphics, etc. Figure out in a broad skim what this is all about and what you’re likely to learn from it. The subheadings and titles will tell you a lot about what you’re supposed to take from the text, so consider the structure overall, even noting what order information is presented in to get a hint about what is foundational and most important.
2. Look for author-made propositions. Look for what the author has to say. Key in on any propositions, assertions, and statements that come from the author and determine what message they’re trying to send in the text, not only by how they laid it out (its structure), but by what they’re saying. Figure out the relationships that connect different ideas and propositions in the text.
3. Evaluate the conclusion of the text and the message overall. Find the final summary or conclusion and use your own understanding of the text to determine if the structure and author-made propositions lend themselves to it, or whether you disagree. If the propositions you identified in step two are logically related, they should ultimately lead to a conclusion that you agree with and understand, but you may still come away with a slightly different conclusion. Only by focusing on the structure and the logic behind the author’s proposition will you determine if you agree with their ideas overall.

What you do from there depends on why you’re reading at all. Maybe you move on to further research or investigate other viewpoints, write an essay for class, or prepare a presentation for work. If your evaluation concludes the author’s propositions are no good, back up your claims with additional sourcing, but be sure to read that with the SPE method, too.