Guidelines for actively reading a written text

• Who
  A-supp-1
  is the author? What are the author’s credentials?
• What is the author’s purpose: To inform? To persuade? To call to action?
• Who is the expected audience?
• When was the text written? Where was it published?
• What kind of text is it: A book? A report? A scholarly article? A policy memo?

• What surprises, puzzles, or intrigues you about the text?
• What question or problem does the text attempt to answer or solve?
• What is the author’s thesis, or central claim?
• What type of evidence does the author provide to support the thesis? How persuasive is this evidence?

• What are the strengths and limitations of the text?
• Has the author drawn conclusions that you question? Do you have a different interpretation of the evidence?
• Does the text raise questions that it does not answer?
• Does the author consider opposing points of view? Does the author seem to treat sources fairly?

• Why does the author’s thesis need to be argued, explained, or explored? What’s at stake?
• What has the author overlooked in presenting this thesis? What’s missing?