Guidelines for active reading
Familiarize yourself with the basic features and structure of a text
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What kind of text are you reading? An essay? An editorial? A scholarly article? An advertisement? A photograph?
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What is the author’s purpose? To inform? To persuade? To call to action?
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Who is the audience? How does the author attempt to appeal to the audience?
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What is the author’s thesis? What question does the text attempt to answer?
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What evidence does the author provide to support the thesis?
Note details that surprise, puzzle, or intrigue you
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Has the author revealed a fact or made a point that runs counter to what you had assumed was true? What exactly is surprising?
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Has the author made a generalization you disagree with? Can you think of evidence that would challenge the generalization?
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Are there any contradictions or inconsistencies in the text?
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Are there any words, statements, or phrases in the text that you don’t understand? If so, what reference materials do you need to consult?
Read and reread to discover meaning
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What do you notice on a second or third reading that you didn’t notice earlier?
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Does the text raise questions that it does not resolve?
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If you could address the author directly, what questions would you pose? Where do you agree and disagree with the author? Why?
Apply critical thinking strategies to visual texts
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What first strikes you about the image? What elements do you notice immediately?
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Who or what is the main subject of the image?
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What colors and textures dominate?
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What is in the background? In the foreground?
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What role, if any, do words play in the visual text?