Abstract
All journal articles have an abstract, which is a paragraph summarising the purpose and
conclusions of the article. Reading this should give you a good idea of the relevance of the
text for you.
Contents
A list of the main chapters or sections. This should tell you how much space is devoted to the
topic you are researching.
Introduction or preface
This is where the author often explains the aim or purpose of the paper, and also how the
text is organised.
References
This list shows all the sources used by the author and referred to in the text. It may give you
some suggestions for further reading. (In the USA, this is usually called the bibliography.)
Index
An alphabetical list of all the topics and names mentioned in a book. If, for example, you are
looking for information about a person, the index will tell you if that person is mentioned,
and how often.
Assessing texts critically
You cannot afford to waste time on texts that are unreliable or out of date. If you are using
material that is not on the reading list, you must assess it critically to ensure that the writer
can be trusted and the material is trustworthy.
Compare these two texts on a pharmaceutical company. Which is the more reliable?
1.2:Critical Reading 171
Our success is based on a commitment to discovery, finding new ideas that are
inspired by life and which in turn help to inspire the lives of our stakeholders. We
discover new medicines that are designed to improve the health and quality of life
of patients around the world – medicines which are innovative, effective and which
offer added benefits such as reduced side effects or better ways of taking the
treatment. We also focus on getting the best from every medicine we make by
exploring all the ways it can be used or improved. With a global business comes a
global responsibility for consistently high standards of behaviour worldwide. We
aim to effectively manage that responsibility and help to find new ways of bringing
benefit to society to ensure that Medmax continues to be welcomed as a valued
member of the global community.