Developing Critical Reading Skills

by SPEARS

• ISBN13: 9780072982909
• ISBN10: 007298290X
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-18
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Summary

Designed for reading courses at the intermediate and advanced level,Developing Critical Reading Skillsuses practice prose similar to the kind that students will encounter in the classroom, encouraging them to analyze, interpret, question, and even challenge the words of the writer. The seventh edition continues to feature a wide range of interesting and diverse selections, excellent coverage of critical reading skills, and a concluding section on reading short stories. It now also includes coverage of reading textbooks and interpreting visuals.

Table of Contents

*New to this edition

Introduction

An Overview of the Text and the Reading Process

Defining the Reading Process

Beyond Decoding--The Requirements of Reading

Becoming a First-Rate Reader

*The Characteristics of Good Readers

*Types of Texts You Will Read in College

*How to Read This Textbook (and Other Textbooks)

Reading with a Pencil

Improving Your Vocabulary

Vocabulary in Perspective

*Daily Reading and Vocabulary Improvement

Suggestions for Vocabulary Improvement

Using the Dictionary

Using Context Clues

PART 1: Reading for Understanding: Practice in Basic Comprehension Skills

1: Reading for the Main Idea and Author's Purpose

The Main Idea of the Paragraph

Main Idea and Controlling Idea

Placement of the Main Idea

Implied Main Ideas

Levels of Support

The Author's Purpose and Modes of Discourse

Narration

Description

Exposition

Persuasion

Mixed Modes of Discourse

Chapter Exercises

E.D. Hirsch, Jr. from Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know

Eric Schlosser from Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal

*Scott Turow "To Kill or Not to Kill"

Practice Essay

Laura Hillenbrand from Seabiscuit: An American Legend

On the Web

2: Reading between the Lines: Making Accurate Inferences

Facts and Inferences

*Inferences Defined

Problems with Inferences

Using Evidence to Make Inferences

Making Open-Ended Inferences

*Making Inferences with Visual Material

*Political Cartoons

*Graphs and Charts

Chapter Exercises

Jan Yoors from The Gypsies

*Peter Bernstein from The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession

Diane Ackerman from A Natural History of the Senses

Practice Essay

*Conrad Phillip Kottak "Potlatching," from Anthropology: An Exploration of Human Diversity

On the Web

PART 2: Discovering Meaning: The Importance of Form

3: Four Methods of Paragraph Development

Modes of Discourse and Methods of Development Compared

Methods of Paragraph Development

Facts and Statistics

Examples and Illustration

*Illustration in Textbooks

Process

Comparison and Contrast

*Comparison and Contrast in Textbooks

Combination of Methods

Conclusion: Methods of Development and Patterns of Thought

Chapter Exercises

*Paul W. Ewald from Plague Time

Daniel Duane from Caught Inside: A Surfers Year on the California Coast

Suketu Mehta "Mumbai: A Lovers Embrace"

Practice Essay

Rose Del Castillo Guilbault "Book of Dreams: The Sears Roebuck Catalog"

In the Bookstore

4. Four More Methods of Paragraph Development

Methods of Paragraph Development: The Second Group

Cause and Effect

*Cause and Effect in Visual Material

Classification and Analysis

*Analysis in Textbooks

Definition

*Definition in Textbooks

Analogy

Combination of Methods

Conclusion: Methods of Development and Patterns of Thought

Chapter Exercises

James E. Rosenbaum "It's Time to Tell the Kids: If Your Don't Do Well in High School, You Won't Do Well in College (or on the Job)"

Mark Schapiro "Muddy Waters"

*Paul Ewald from Plague Time

Practice Essay

Pico Iyer "In Praise of the Humble Comma"

On the Web

5. Patterns of Paragraph Organization

Patterns of Organization Defined

Chronological Order

Spatial Order

Deductive Order

Inductive Order

Coherence in Paragraphs

Transitions

Repetition of Key Words and Phrases

Chapter Exercises

*Sandra Mackey from The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom

David Quammers "Planet of Weeds"

*Tom Bissell "A Comets Tale"

Practice Essay

Castle Freeman, Jr. "Surviving Deer Season: A Lesson in Ambiguity"

On the Web

PART 3. Discovering Meaning: The Importance of Language

6. Language and Its Effects on the Reader

Denotation and Connotation

Connotation and Synonyms

*Connotation and Levels of Language

Connotative Restrictions

*How Denotation and Connotation Work Together

Connotation in Fiction

Figurative Language

Metaphors and Similes

Uses of Metaphors and Similes

Playful Aspects of Figurative Language

Personification

Language Misused and Abused

Clichs

*Code Words

Doublespeak

Euphemisms

Jargon

Politically Correct Language

Sneer Words

Chapter Exercises

*Mark Edmundson from Teacher: The One Who Made the Difference

*Mark Abley from Beyond Forget: Rediscovering the Prairies

Margaret Atwood "The View from the Backyard"

Practice Essay

Virginia Woolf "The Death of the Moth"

In the Bookstore and At the Movies

7. Tone, Point of View, and Allusion

Point of View

An Overview of Tone

Common Varieties of Tone

Tone in Textbooks

*Tone in Fiction

Tone in Nonfiction Prose

*A Special Case: Sentimentality

Tone Continued: More Difficult Varieties

Wit

Irony

Sarcasm

Cynicism

Satire

Allusion

Special Effects

Understatement

Hyperbole

Alliteration

Repetition for Effect

Unusual Sentence Structure

Chapter Exercises

Ian Frazier from On the Rez

Sissela Bok from Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation

Gerald Durrell "The Life and Death of Cholmondeley"

Practice Essay

*Kurt Wiesenfeld "Making the Grade"

On the Web

PART 4. Reading Critically

8. Elements of Critical Reading

Critical Reading Defined

The Readers Responsibilities

Developing a Worldview

*Two World MapsTwo Worldviews

The Structure of Arguments

The Test of a Good Argument

Taking Arguments Apart

The Question of Authority

Identifying Claims

Identifying Claims in Editorials

Unstated Assumptions

The Importance of Definition in Arguments

*Analyzing Visual Images

*Charts and Graphs

*Photographs

On the Web

Evaluating Evidence

The Refutation

Chapter Exercises: Evaluating Editorials

*Jeff Jacoby "Fishing for Sport Is Cruel, Inhumane"

*David Orr "The Speed of Sound"

*Arthur Levine "CollegeMore Than Serving Time"

*Cynthia Tucker "Our Opinion: Marriage Needs Straight Talk"

*Brent Staples "Treat the Epidemic Behind Bars Before It Hits the Streets"

9. Evaluating Arguments: Problems in Critical Reading

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning

Problems with Inductive Reasoning

Hasty Generalizations and Stereotyping

Incorrect Sampling

Problems with Deductive Reasoning

Emotional Appeals in Arguments

Appeal to Authority

Appeal to Fear

Appeal to Patriotism

Appeal to Pity or Sympathy

Appeal to Prejudice

Appeal to Tradition

Bandwagon Appeal

Flattery

Just Plain Folks

Ridicule

Testimonial

Transfer

Logical Fallacies: Part I

Ad Hominem Argument

Begging the Question

Cause-Effect Fallacies

*Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

Either-Or Fallacy

Evasion

Logical Fallacies: Part 2

False Analogy

Oversimplification

Rationalization

Red Herring

Slippery Slope

Two Wrongs Make a Right

*Appeals and Fallacies in Advertising

*Political Cartoons

Bias and Other Deceptive Techniques

*Bias

Misuse of Authority

Slanting

Distortion

Chapter Exercises

*Norman Solomon "News Flash!"

*Elayne Rapping from The Looking Glass World of Nonfiction TV

*Joel Best "Mutant Statistics"

10. Analyzing Web Sites

Reading Online versus Reading Print

Search Engines

Assessing Web Sites

*The Anatomy of a Web Site

Web Sites for Critical Reading Skills

Web Sites for Online Reading

*How Others See Us--Foreign News Sources

PART 5. Reading Essays and Articles

Introduction to Reading Essays

Why Read Essays in the First Place?

The Characteristics of an Essay

The Parts of an Essay

How to Read an Essay

Analyzing Essays: Questions to Ask

Practice Essay

*Stephen Jay Gould "Preposterous: What Has Happened to the Rhinoceros Is as Hard to Fathom as the Beast Itself"

Analysis of Practice Essay

*Writing Paraphrases

Writing Summaries

Why Write Summaries?

How to Write a Summary

Sample Summary

Twelve Essays and Articles for Further Practice

Gish Jen "An Ethnic Trump"

*Salman Rushdie "On Leavened Bread"

Ryszard Kapuscinski "The Truck: Hitching Through Hell"

Andrei Codrescu "Faux Chicken & Phony Furniture: Notes of an Alien Son"

Malcolm Gladwell "The Law of the Few"

*Michael Pollan "How Flowers Changed the World"

Samuel H. Scudder "In the Laboratory with Agassiz"

Stephen L. Carter "The Insufficiency of Honesty"

*Sissela Bok "Harmless Lying"

Evan Imber-Black "Talk Show Telling Versus Authentic Telling: The Effects of the Popular Media on Secrecy and Openness"

*John McPhee "Los Angeles Against the Mountains"

*U.S. Department of Defense "Psy-Ops Patrol" (Photo Essay)

*PART 6. Reading and Studying Textbook Materials

The Structure of Modern Textbooks

Making Efficient Use of Study Time

The SQ3R Study Method

Applying the SQ3R Method

Sample Textbook Selection

Benjamin B. Lahey "Memory" from Psychology: An Introduction

PART 7. Reading Short Stories

Questions about Plot

Questions about Characters

Questions about Theme

Leo Tolstoy "How Much Land Does a Man Need?"

*Ryunosuke Akutagawa "In a Grove"

Jamaica Kincaid "Girl"

*T.C. Boyle "Chicxulub"