EADING
C A N BE
9
M
READING IDEAS
either passive or active. You read passively when, for example,
you pick up a piece of writing and read it straight through, starting at the beginning,
moving quickly through passages that do not interest you, and putting it aside when
you have finished. Many people read passively most of the time—and with very
good reason. Passive reading works perfectly well for getting the gist of a piece of
writing. It allows for fairly simple information to be communicated from the author
to the reader. Passive reading works just fine for skimming the status updates of
friends, browsing the Web, or curling up in bed with an entertaining novel.
College-level reading, however, usually requires a more active approach. Reading challenging texts like the ones in this book is not the same as reading the back
of a cereal box. No one can read difficult texts without some effort. People who
Austin, M. (2017). Reading ideas: Prereading and annotating. In M. Austin (Ed.),
Reading the world: Ideas that matter (3rd ed., pp. 605-611). New York, NY:
Norton.
read challenging texts successfully are not necessarily smarter than other people;
they have simply mastered a set of strategies that allow them to get the most out
of what they read.
This chapter will explore some of these active reading strategies, including prereading, annotating, identifying patterns, reading visual texts, summarizing, and
reading with a critical eye. Mastering these skills will allow you to make your way
through challenging material—and the texts in this book will give you plenty of
practice.
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606
READING IDEAS
PREREADING
E x p e r i e n c e d r e a d e r s rarely a p p r o a c h difficult t e x t s w i t h o u t a pretty g o o d i d e a of
w h a t t h e y will f i n d . T h i s m a y s o u n d o d d , s i n c e t h e w h o l e p o i n t of r e a d i n g s o m e t h i n g is to find out w h a t it s a y s . But g o o d r e a d e r s k n o w that r e a d i n g is a p r o c e s s
t h a t b e g i n s long b e f o r e t h e y physically p a s s their e y e s o v e r the w o r d s on a p a g e .
P r e r e a d i n g e n c o m p a s s e s all of t h e t h i n g s that y o u d o b e f o r e you start r e a d i n g to
i n c r e a s e y o u r c a p a c i t y to u n d e r s t a n d the m a t e r i a l . In m a n y c a s e s , t a k i n g just a f e w
m i n u t e s to learn m o r e a b o u t w h a t y o u are g o i n g t o r e a d c a n d r a m a t i c a l l y i n c r e a s e
reading comprehension and retention.
M o s t c o l l e g e t e x t b o o k s i n c l u d e a fair a m o u n t of editorial a p p a r a t u s to aid in t h e
p r e r e a d i n g p r o c e s s . In this t e x t b o o k t h e a p p a r a t u s consists of c h a p t e r i n t r o d u c t i o n s ,
h e a d n o t e s for individual r e a d i n g s , f o o t n o t e s , e n d n o t e s , a n d study q u e s t i o n s . E s s a y
a s s i g n m e n t s a l s o p r o v i d e v a l u a b l e c l u e s t o t h e t h e m e s a n d t o p i c s that are i m p o r t a n t .
You m i g h t e v e n first r e a d t h e q u e s t i o n s at t h e e n d of a r e a d i n g ; t h e y will tell y o u
s o m e of t h e t h i n g s to look for w h e n y o u r e a d t h e t e x t .
S k i m m i n g a t e x t is a n o t h e r g o o d w a y t o g e t a s e n s e of w h a t y o u a r e likely
t o f i n d in it. A q u i c k r e a d i n g , in w h i c h y o u look at t h e b e g i n n i n g , s o m e of t h e
m i d d l e p a s s a g e s , a n d t h e e n d , c a n tell y o u a lot a b o u t t h e s h a p e of t h e a r g u m e n t . P e o p l e w h o s e m a j o r r e a d i n g e x p e r i e n c e is p a s s i v e o f t e n f i n d it u n s e t t l i n g
to read the e n d of a work before reading the b e g i n n i n g . "Spoiling the e n d i n g "
is t h e w r o n g w a y t o r e a d a m y s t e r y n o v e l , t o b e s u r e , b u t it c a n b e a v e r y g o o d
w a y t o r e a d a c o m p l i c a t e d t e x t . Y o u m i g h t , for e x a m p l e , f i n d a c o m p l i c a t e d
t e x t ' s m a j o r p o i n t s s u m m a r i z e d in n e a t little p a c k a g e s at t h e e n d s of e s s a y s or
c h a p t e r s . If y o u a r e s t r u g g l i n g w i t h w h a t an a u t h o r is s a y i n g , t h e e n d is j u s t a s
g o o d a p l a c e t o s t a r t u n d e r s t a n d i n g it as t h e b e g i n n i n g . N o rule s a y s t h a t y o u
h a v e to g o in o r d e r .
T h e key to p r e r e a d i n g is t o use all of t h e r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e to y o u to u n d e r s t a n d
a t e x t before
y o u start r e a d i n g it. Your m i n d can f o c u s on only so m u c h w h i l e you
r e a d . M o s t likely, y o u try to c o n s t r u c t a " b i g p i c t u r e " w h i l e y o u r e a d s o m e t h i n g . In
t h e p r o c e s s , y o u often skip o v e r i m p o r t a n t d e t a i l s b e c a u s e y o u lack a c o n c e p t u a l
f r a m e w o r k into w h i c h y o u c a n p l a c e t h e s e d e t a i l s . If y o u build the b i g picture b e f o r e
y o u start, y o u b e g i n r e a d i n g t h e t e x t with a c o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k a l r e a d y in p l a c e .
T h e n , w h e n y o u e n c o u n t e r a n e w d e t a i l or a n e w bit of e v i d e n c e in y o u r r e a d i n g ,
y o u r m i n d will k n o w w h a t to d o with it.
Questions for Prereading
H e r e a r e s o m e of t h e k e y q u e s t i o n s that y o u s h o u l d ask a s y o u g a t h e r information
in t h e p r e r e a d i n g s t a g e of t h e r e a d i n g p r o c e s s :
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