1. Four Readings About Poe’s Death
Feature Menu
Introducing the Selections
Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Writing Skills Focus: Preparing for Timed Writing

2. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Introducing the Selections
How is it possible to be your own worst enemy?

3. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Introducing the Selections
The death of Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Cask of Amontillado,” is mysterious.
How did Poe really die?

4. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Introducing the Selections
These four selections present points in the debate about what killed Edgar Allan Poe.
Poor weather?
Alcohol poisoning?
Rabies?
What really happened during Poe’s final days?
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5. When you research a subject, you read many different sources.
Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Source 2
When you research a subject, you read many different sources.
Source 1
Source 3
Source 4
Then, you need to synthesize the information, or put all the pieces together, to see the big picture.

6. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Steps for Synthesizing
1. Find the main idea. Take notes about each writer’s most important point, opinion, or message.
If you encounter a difficult passage, paraphrase it—restate it in your own words.

7. Steps for Synthesizing
Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Steps for Synthesizing
Read the following passage from “Poe’s Final Days” and try to paraphrase it—restate it in your own words.
Poe being quieted, Moran began questioning him about his family and about where he lived, but found his answers mostly incoherent. Poe did not know what had become of his trunk or when he had left Richmond, but said he had a wife there, as Moran soon learned was untrue.

8. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Steps for Synthesizing
2. Look for supporting evidence. Does the writer support ideas with facts? Statistics? Examples? Anecdotes? Quotations? Logic?

9. Steps for Synthesizing
Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Steps for Synthesizing
Critics of the theory that Poe died of rabies say there is no evidence that he had suffered from an animal bite or scratch.
Data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that over the past 20 years in the United States there have been 33 reported cases of human rabies, yet only 24 percent of these victims could recall an appropriate history of animal exposure.
Data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that over the past 20 years in the United States there have been 33 reported cases of human rabies, yet only 24 percent of these victims could recall an appropriate history of animal exposure.
What evidence in the passage above helps support the “rabies theory?”

10. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Steps for Synthesizing
3. Compare and contrast. After you read, look for similarities and differences among your sources.
Listen to these two passages from “Poe’s Final Days” and “Poe’s Death Is Rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol.”
What are some similarities and differences between the two passages?

11. Steps for Synthesizing
Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Steps for Synthesizing
Try making connections, or relating what you have just read to ideas you’ve encountered in the past—from your own experience or from other texts you’ve read.

12. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Steps for Synthesizing
4. Put it together. To synthesize, or pull together, what you’ve learned, you should draw conclusions about your subject.
Use your conclusions in
a research report,
an editorial,
a speech, or
a letter.

13. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Informational Text Focus: Synthesizing Sources: Drawing Conclusions
Into Action: Fill in a chart like the one below to help you identify each writer’s main idea and support.
“Poe’s Death Is Rewritten as Case of Rabies…”
“Poe’s Final Days”
Main Idea:
Poe died of rabies.
Support:
Poe had a difficult time drinking water.
Support:
Poe was hallucinating.
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14. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Writing Skills Focus
Preparing for Timed Writing
As you read, look for ways that the writers present and support their ideas about Poe’s death.
For example, consider the following statement from “If Only Poe Had Succeeded When He Said Nevermore to Drink”:
“Dr. R. Michael Benitez is wrong to ascribe the death of Edgar Allan Poe to rabies through animal infection.”
Topic: This selection should be about why the writers think Dr. Benitez’s rabies theory is wrong.
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15. Vocabulary

16. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
insensible adj.: not fully conscious or aware.
imposing adj.: large and impressive looking.
conspicuous adj.: remarkable; notable.
chronic adj.: frequently occurring.

17. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how the word insensible is used in “Poe’s Final Days.”
Insensible from drinking too much alcohol, Poe was taken to the hospital.
Why couldn’t Poe get to the hospital himself?

18. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
Because an insensible person is not conscious or aware,
Poe would not have been able to get to the hospital by himself.

19. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
Because Tim remained insensible after his accident, his family did not know how he’d hurt himself.
How might Tim’s family learn the details of his accident?

20. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how the word imposing is used in “Poe’s Final Days.”
An imposing building, the hospital stood five stories tall.
How might the building still be imposing if it had only two stories?

21. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
An imposing building appears large and impressive looking.
A two-story building would need to be so huge that it would impress people who saw it.

22. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
Children are often intimidated by my uncle’s imposing figure.
Why might the children be intimidated?

23. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how the word conspicuous is used in “Poe’s Death Is Rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol.”
When Dr. Benitez reviewed his medical case, he noticed a conspicuous absence of modern test results.
Why might Dr. Benitez consider the lack of results conspicuous?

24. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
As a modern doctor, Dr. Benitez would expect to see certain test results for any patient.
To a doctor, missing test results would seem highly remarkable.
That doctor would note a conspicuous lack of proper medical information.

25. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
Grandma attempted to hide her opinion, but she wore a fairly conspicuous expression when she told everyone what she thought about my outfit.
What do you think Grandma’s opinion of the outfit might be? Why?

26. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how the word chronic is used in “If Only Poe Had Succeeded When He Said Nevermore to Drink.”
Although Poe promised to stop drinking alcohol, he remained a chronic drinker.
Why might Poe’s drinking be considered chronic?

27. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
A chronic problem does not go away easily. Instead, it frequently occurs or happens regularly.
Sandra, for example, suffers from chronic headaches.

28. Four Readings About Poe’s Death Vocabulary
Although she has visited a doctor about her knee, Tanya’s pain remains chronic.
Should Tanya visit the doctor again? Why or why not?

29. The End