Developing Critical Readers in the Age of Literacy Acceleration

This article describes the results of a multisemester research study focusing on the critical reading proficiency of two-year college students who started their postsecondary coursework in a developmental reading and/or writing course. The study confirms and illustrates the challenges students faced in developing critical reading skills and engaging with sources at an advanced level while also offering instructors insight into how to scaffold reading instruction as part of first-year writing courses. All readers confront disinformation and misinformation in their encounters with source material, illustrating the importance of deepening first-year writing students’ abilities to grapple with sources in an era of accelerating literacy expectations.