Critical Reading

Quality score: 70/100 · Category: General · Sub-category: general-misc

Analytical evaluation of texts for argument quality, author purpose, bias, credibility, and rhetorical strategy. Covers the distinction between comprehension and critique, argument analysis (claims, evidence, reasoning, warrants), rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos), bias identification (selection bias, confirmation bias, loaded language, omission), source credibility evaluation (CRAAP test, lateral reading), propaganda techniques, media literacy, and multi-text synthesis. Use when evaluating arguments, identifying bias, assessing source reliability, analyzing rhetoric, or synthesizing across multiple texts on the same topic.

What this skill does

Critical Reading is a production-ready Claude Code skill (quality score 70/100) in the general-misc sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/critical-reading/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: Use when evaluating arguments, identifying bias, assessing source reliability, analyzing rhetoric, or synthesizing across multiple texts on the same topic.

Who uses this skill

The Critical Reading skill is built for Claude Code users and developers across all disciplines looking for general-purpose AI assistance. It is part of the open ClaudSkills registry, a community-curated catalog of 15,000+ capabilities you can install for Claude Code — the Claude CLI agent.

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/critical-reading
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/critical-reading/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/critical-reading/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/critical-reading/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/critical-reading/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\critical-reading\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

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Part of ClaudSkills — the open registry for Claude Code skills. · What's New · Install guide · About · llms.txt

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