Greetings,
below is a summary of the short lecture I gave on Wednesday. I am including this in the blog because section 8 missed the lecture due to me becoming ill and going home.
II. Interpretive Reading
You have skimmed through the essay briefly in the previous step. Now it is time to read through the entire essay slowly and carefully, reading every single sentence, every single word.
Look for:
--recurring words
--unknown words
--oddly used words
When you encounter passages that are difficult, paraphrase these passages in your own words. Readers do not intellectually possess the subject matter until they make it their own by translating it into their own, familiar terminology.
III. Critical Reading
Here I want to clear up a common misconception. Critical reading is NOT simply doubting everything we read. Critical reading is different than skeptical reading. Critical reading is the deliberate act of testing concepts, trying ideas on for size. A critical reader tries not only to think of arguments to refute what he reads, he tries to think of extra arguments to support it. Only then does he weigh the argument carefully and come to a decision. Rather then merely seeing to "trash" an argument entirely, the wise reader acknowledges that some parts of an argument are more compelling than others, and tries to figure out why.
--Talk back to the text
--Ask questions of the text
--Ask questions about yourself
--Ask questions about context
--Ask questions about broader implications
--Seek relevant connections (so what? Why does it matter?)
IV. Synoptic Reading
Seek confirmation. If the author's argument relies heavily on certain matters of factuality, double chekc to make sure those facts are accurate.
V. Post-Reading
Restate the main argument and the conclusion of the essay in a single sentence. As ad agents say, if you cannot write down the idea on the back of a business card, you probably do not have a clear idea.
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