1. Critical Reading
AP English Lit. & Comp.

2. Where do you read?
Maintaining the concentration that good reading requires often demands that we forget about the distractions around us.
We often need to be “alone with our thoughts” while we are doing critical reading.
A quiet, somewhat isolated environment.

3. Being an “Active” Reader
Authors of literary texts expect that readers will bring interpretive ideas to their words.
An active reader – someone who actively engages with the text – does the following:
Asks Questions
Takes Notes
Challenges and Evaluates the writer’s ideas
Thinks about how ideas are presented
Reading is not an “isolated” activity. You can’t simply lose yourself in a story if you are reading critically.

4. Reading for Meaning:
Literary texts – poems, plays, short stories, novels – have more beneath the surface.
We must be prepared to interpret.
Literature often uses figurative language, metaphors, and symbolism.
We must read with an eye for detail and think while we are reading.
There is often a distinction between what the author says and what the author means.
Some writing – newspapers, history or science textbooks, magazine articles – give us facts, and that is why we read it.

5. Metacognition
“What does this mean?” AND “How do I know what this means?”
Thinking about your thinking.
As you read, monitor what you are thinking and feeling, what memories are triggered, what questions are raised, etc.

6. Tools Preview the Text Exact Title Author’s name Table of Contents
Preface, Introduction, or Prologue (often have valuable information – don’t skip them!)
Context

7. Tools Note Taking What is the author’s main idea? (How do you know?)
What are you thinking as you read?
What are your initial reactions?
Words or passages that strike you as important, challenging, or confusing. (What? Why?)
Questions you may have.
Things you think the author said well. (Why?)
Your background knowledge that is relevant.
Images you find interesting or powerful. (Why?)

8. Tools:
Reflection
Stop every now and then and think. Is there a distinction between what the author is saying and what the author means?

9. Tools: Reading Journal Two columns side by side
Author’s words, your thoughts
Even if you mark something in the book, it is often helpful to summarize or paraphrase in a notebook.
The simple act of writing something down will often help you remember it.
It is good to make sure you can articulate the main idea of a passage in your own words – shows that you really understand the text.

10. Tools:
Dictionary
Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed if you don’t know the meaning of a word. Also, remember that words can have more than one meaning, and looking it up might help you understand the text even better.

11. Tools:
Read Aloud
Slows you down, so you have time to pay attention to subtleties of meaning.
Some works (poetry, drama) are meant to be read aloud, and in some cases, the sound that words make is just as important as the meaning of the words.

12. Interpretive Ideas Coming up with questions is one way to interpret.
Theme and Plot:
In order to understand theme, you must first understand the plot (the story – what happens)
What is the author’s central theme?
What sources of conflict are present while the plot unfolds?

13. Interpreting Ideas Characters What are the characters like?
What are their personalities?
Why do we find them in their particular setting?
What kind of relationships do the characters have?
What do the characters want or need from each other?
What is the main conflict between characters?

14. Interpreting Ideas Point of View
How would the piece change if it came from a different vantage point?
If we were to change any elements of the setting or mood of the piece, would its meaning change?

15. Interpreting Ideas Style
Does the author use figurative language such as similes, metaphors, or personification?
Is the figurative language appropriate or confusing, inexact, or even purposefully misleading? Why?

16. Interpreting Ideas Tone
Provides and important glance into the meaning of the piece.
Is the author sad, melancholy, angry, or depressed?