Critical reading also means that you are able to distinguish the information that is clearly stated (explicit) in the text from ideas that are suggested (implicit). This will help you make inferences about what you read.

How can you tell whether something is implicit or explicit? As you have observed, explicit information is clearly written and explained in the text so the reader will not be confused.

Meanwhile, which ideas are implied? Implicit information is something that is implied but not stated outright in the text. Because the idea is not written in the text, you need to use the clues in the text to make an inference on what you have read. An inference is a conclusion that you make based on explicit information and your reasoning and background knowledge. For example, based on the given text’s description of Filipinos today, some things have not changed, especially if you consider things that you see on the news.