Chapter 6 Reading Rhetorically: The Writer as Strong Reader

About Reading Rhetorically

What Makes College-Level Reading Difficult §Vocabulary §Unfamiliar Rhetorical Context §Unfamiliar Genre §Lack of Background Knowledge

Reading Processes Used by Experienced Readers §Varying Strategies to Match Reading Goals §Vary Strategies to Match Genre §Adopting a Multidraft Reading Process

Improving Your Reading Process §Slow down or speed up, depending on your goals. §Reconstruct the rhetorical context. §Join the text’s conversation by exploring your views on the issues before reading. §Lose your highlighter; find your pen. §Get in the dictionary habit.

Improving Your Reading Process §Recognize when lack of background information is the source of your difficulty. §Try “translating” difficult passages. §Read both with and against the grain. §Continue the conversation after you read.

Writing a Summary §On the first read, look for general meaning. §On the second read, write “gist statements” in the margins, summarizing each paragraph’s main point.

Writing a Strong Response §Write out questions triggered by the text. §Identify hot spots in the text. §Articulate how you differ from the intended audience. §Articulate your own purpose for reading. §Ask generic strategic questions. §Consider the purpose of your response.

Summarizing Open-Form Prose §The summary is less likely to parallel the organization of the original article. §Open-form pieces require you to create the meaning of what you read. §Use your own interpretive powers to create the unstated main points.