Writing Spaces 3

Overview
This article walks students through how to use critical reading strategies to 
help them select credible sources for their research papers and helps them 
understand how critical reading assignments they may have completed 
earlier in the semester have prepared them for the difficult task of select-
ing sources. Through analysis of how logos, ethos, and pathos are used 
in potential sources, students will understand that these persuasive tech-
niques can influence the overall credibility of a source. Seven questions are 
presented that aid in critical reading, and examples of student writing are 
provided that demonstrate the connection between the use of persuasive 
techniques and their effect on the credibility of a particular source. The 
chapter concludes with a brief evaluation of two Internet sources on the 
topic of animal shelters, providing students with an anchor for evaluating 
sources as they prepare their own research papers.
I
n your writing course, you’re likely to encounter a variety of assign-
ments—reading, responding, writing essays—and each of these as-
signments is a building block to improved writing skills.* Research 
writing requires all of the skills learned in these kinds of assignments; it 
demands you put theory into practice, gather sources, synthesize them, 
and lend your voice to the ongoing conversation. 
* This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommer-
cial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) and are subject to the 
Writing Spaces Terms of Use. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/, email [e-mail], or send a letter to Creative 
Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. To view the Writing Spaces 
Terms of Use, visit http://writingspaces.org/terms-of-use.

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Kate Warrington, Natasha Kovalyova, and Cindy King
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