wia1elp_ch09

9a Preview the text.

Preview the text.

Find out all you can about a text before beginning to look closely at it, considering its context, author, subject, genre, and design.

previewing the context

Where have you encountered the work? Are you encountering it in its original context? For example, an essay in a collection of readings may have been previously published in a magazine; a speech you watch on YouTube may have been delivered to a live or televised audience; a painting on a museum wall may have been created for a wealthy patron in a distant country centuries earlier.
What can you infer from the original or current context of the work about its intended audience and purpose?

learning about the author or creator

What information can you find about the author or creator of the text?
What purpose, expertise, and possible agenda might you expect this person to have? Where do you think the author or creator is coming from in this text?

previewing the subject

What do you know about the subject of the text?
What opinions do you have about the subject, and on what are your opinions based?
What would you like to learn about the subject?
What do you expect the main point to be? Why?

considering the title, medium, genre, and design

What does the title (or caption or other heading) indicate?
What do you know about the medium (or media) in which the work appears? Is it a text on the Web, a printed advertising brochure, a speech stored in iTunes, an animated cartoon on television, or some combination of media? What role does the medium play in achieving the purpose and connecting to the audience?
What is the genre of the text—and what can it help illuminate about the intended audience or purpose? Why might the authors or creators have chosen this genre?
How is the text presented? What do you notice about its formatting, use of color, visuals or illustrations, overall design, general appearance, and other design features?