LITERARY MEANING IN CONTEXT

AND CRITICAL READING

STRATEGY
1. P R E V I E W I N G

• LEARNING ABOUT A TEXT BEFORE REALLY READING IT

GET A SENSE OF WHAT A TEXT IS AND HOW IT IS ORGANIZED BEFORE

READING IT CLOSELY

SEEING WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE HEADNOTES OR OTHER

INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL

SKIMMING TO GET AN OVERVIEW OF THE CONTENT & ORGANIZATION

THEN IDENTIFYING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION
2. C O N T E X T U A L I Z I N G

• PLACING A TEXT IN ITS HISTORICAL, BIOGRAPHICAL, AND CULTURAL

CONTEXTS

READING THROUGH THE LENS OF YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE.

TO RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR CONTEMPORARY

VALUES AND ATTITUDES AND THOSE REPRESENTED IN THE TEXT
3. Q U E S T I O N I N G TO U N D E R S TA N D
ANDREMEMBER

• ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTENT

EACH QUESTION SHOULD FOCUS ON A MAIN IDEA, NOT ON

ILLUSTRATIONS OR DETAILS, AND EACH SHOULD BE EXPRESSED IN
YOUR OWN WORDS, NOT JUST COPIED FROM THE PARTS OF THE
PARAGRAPH
4. R E F L E C T I N G ON C H A L L E N G E S TO
YOURBELIEFSANDVALUES

• EXAMINING YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSES

CHALLENGING YOUR ATTITUDES , YOUR UNCONSCIOUSLY HELD BELIEFS,

OR YOUR POSITIONS ON CURRENT ISSUES
5. O U T L I N I N G A N D S U M M A R I Z I N G
• IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEAS AND RESTATING THEM IN YOUR OWN WORDS

OUTLINING - REVEALS THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT

• SUMMARIZING - SYNOPSIZES A SELECTION'S MAIN ARGUMENT IN BRIEF.

THE KEY IS TO THIS IS BEING ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWERN MAIN IDEAS, THE SUPPORTING IDEAS,
AND EXAMPLES.

WHEN OUTLINING, DON'T USE THE TEXT'S EXACT WORDS.

• SUMMARIZING RECOMPOSES THE MAIN IDEAS TO FORM A NEW TEXT.

OUTLINING DEPENDS ON A CLOSE ANALYSIS OF EACH PARAGRAPH

SUMMARIZING REQUIRES CREATIVE SYNTHESIS

PUTTING IDEAS TOGETHER IN CONDENSED FORM & IN YOUR OWN WORDS CAN LEAD TO A DEEPER
UNDERSTANDING OF ANY TEXT
6. E V A L U A T I N G A N A R G U M E N T

• TESTING THE LOGIC OF A TEXT AS WELL AS ITS CREDIBILITY

AND EMOTIONAL IMPACT

NEVER ACCEPT ANYTHING ON FACE VALUE BUT RECOGNIZE

EVERY ASSERTION AS AN ARGUMENT THAT MUST BE CAREFULLY
EVALUATED

CONCERNED WITH REASONING AND TRUTHFULNESS

7. C O M P A R I N G A N D C O N T R A S T I N G
RELATED READINGS

• EXPLORING LIKENESSES AND

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TEXTS TO
UNDERSTAND

FITTING A TEXT INTO AN ONGOING

DIALECTIC
 M A I N I D E A S

•FORM THE BACKBONE, THE

STRAND THAT HOLDS THE
VARIOUS PARTS AND PIECES
OF TEXTS TOGETHER
 A R G U M E N T

• HAS 2 ESSENTIAL PARTS:

CLAIM AND SUPPORT
TO BE ACCEPTABLE, THE SUPPORT MUST BE
APPROPRIATE TO THE CLAIM AND THE
STATEMENTS MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH ONE
ANOTHER
 C L A I M

• ASSERTS A CONCLUSION--AN IDEA,

OPINION, JUDGMENT, OR A POV--
THAT THE WRITER WANTS YOU TO
ACCEPT
S u p p o r t
• Includes:
Reasons (shared beliefs, assumptions, and
values) and
Evidence (facts, examples, statistics, and
authorities)

Gives readers the basis for accepting the

conclusion