Lateral Reading Worksheet

Lateral reading is the technique of evaluating a source by researching the source itself. This includes moving away from the publisher’s site and doing your own independent research on the author, the website or organization that published the source, and fact-checking the article when appropriate. 

Now briefly skim the article. While you are looking at (or listening to/watching if it is audio/video) keep these questions in mind:
  • Is it free from obvious or distracting spelling and grammar errors?
  • Does the author link out to or cite relevant sources when appropriate?
  • Is the language professional?  

Based on this skim of the article, rate the overall quality of the article (this may be more of a “best guess” at this point- that’s OK).