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Summary
Although the world has changed a lot since the first edition, the underlying premise of Developing Critical Reading Skillshas not. The premise of the text is that good reading and clear thinking go hand in hand. For this reason, it emphasizes practice in sustained, analytical reading. Students first work with high-quality short passages before moving on to more substantive pieces of greater complexity. The readings explore diverse subjects: anthropology, sports, human behavior, politics, social policy, education, ethics, autobiography, personal reminiscence, the minority and immigrant experience, humor, satire, and so forth. The passages also reflect diverse writing styles, thereby giving students the experience of reading high-level prose by its best practitioners. This book succeeds when students become more self-assured about their reading and when they recognize that reading wellwith confidence, fluency, and enjoymentis a significant part of their emotional and academic lives. As the book's epigram by Tobias Wolff says: "A true piece of writing is a dangerous thing. It can change your life." Students will feel genuine excitement when they encounter a writer who shows them a new way of looking at their lives and at the world. It is this feelingthis inspirationthat Deanne Spears imparts.
Table of Contents
Preface
Preface to the Student
An Overview of the Text
Sequence of Skills
The Characteristics of Good Readers
Online Learning Centers
Becoming a First-Rate Reader
College Reading Assignments
How to Read This Textbook (and other Textbooks)
Getting the Most out of This Text
*Some Thoughts on E-Readers
Part I reading for Understanding: Practice in Basic Comprehension Skills
Chapter 1 Building a Foundation: Vocabulary, Annotating, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
Improving Your Vocabulary
Vocabulary in Perspective
Daily Reading and Vocabulary Improvement- A Personal Sidenote
Further Suggestions for Vocabulary Improvement
Using the Dictionary
Using Context Clues
Annotating- Reading with a Pencil in Your Hand
Writing Paraphrases
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Michele Simon, from Appetite for Profit
Selection 2: Steven Shapiro, “Cancer World”
Selection 3: Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
Practice Essay: Laura Hillendbrand, from Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Writing Summaries
Chapter 2 Reading for the Main Idea and Author’s Purpose
Main Idea in Paragraphs
Main Idea and Controlling Idea
Placement of the Main Idea
Implied Main Ideas
Levels of Support—Major and Minor Supporting Details
The Author’s Purpose and Modes of Discourse
Narration
Description
Exposition
Persuasion
Mixed Modes of Discourse
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American
Meal
Selection 2: David Orr, “Verbicide”
Selection 3: Tim Butcher, from Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
Practice Essay: Bill Buford,"Among the Thugs"
On the Web
On DVD
Chapter 3 Reading Between the Lines: Making Accurate Inferences
Facts and Inferences
Definition of Inferences
Inferences in the Real World
Problems with Inferences
Using Evidence to Make Inferences
Making Open-Ended Inferences
Making Inferences in Literature
Making Inference with Visual Material
Cartoons
Graphs and Charts
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: “Good Idea” Utne
Selection 2: Jan Yoors, The Gypsies
Selection 3: Diane Ackerman, The Natural History of the Senses
Practice Essay: Gregory David Roberts, "The Standing Babas" from Shantaram
Practice Short Story: Edward P. Jones, “The First Day”
Part 2 Discovering Meaning: The Importance of Form
Chapter 4 Methods of Paragraph Development
Modes of Discourse and Methods of Development Compared
Methods of Paragraph Development—The First Group
Facts and Statistics
Examples and Illustration
Process
Comparison and Contrast
Contrast in Textbooks
Methods of Paragraph Development—The Second Group
Cause and Effect
Cause and Effect Relationships in Visual Material
Analysis and Classification
Analysis in Textbooks
Definition
Definition in Textbooks
Analogy
Combination of Methods
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Sam Harris, The End of Faith
Selection 2: Daniel Duane, Caught Inside: A Surfer’s year on the California Coast
Selection 3: James E. Rosenbaum, “It’s Time to Tell the Kids: If Youd Don’t Do
Well in High School, You Won’t Do Well in College (or on the Job)”
Practice Essay: Richard Selzer, “The Pen and the Scalpel”
In the Library
Chapter 5 Patterns of Paragraph Organization
Patterns of Organization Defined
Chronological Order
Spatial Order
Deductive Order
Inductive Order
Coherence in Paragraphs
Achieving Coherence: Transitions
Achieving Coherence: Repetition of Key Words and Phrases
Achieving Coherence: Pronouns
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Greg Critser, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in
the World
Selection 2: Barry Glassner, from “What Made America Fat?” The Gospel of Food
Selection 3: Edward O. Wilson, “The Power of Story”
Practice Essay: : Henry Petroski, “Design Rising”
On the Web
Part 3 Discovering Meaning: The Importance of Language
Chapter 6 Language and Its Effects on the Reader
Denotation and Connotation
Connotation and Synonyms
Connotation and Levels of Language
Connotation in Reading
How Denotation and Connotation Work Together
Denotation and Connotation in Nonfiction Prose
Connotation in Fiction
Figurative Language
Metaphors and Similes
Figurative Language and the Imagination
Figurative Language and Inferences
Uses of Metaphors and Similes
Personification
*Figurative Language and Poetry
*Figurative Language and Politics
Connotation and Our Perception of the Issues
How Word Choice Influences Our Perceptions—The Media
Language Misused and Abused
Clichés
Code Words
Jargon
Euphemisms
Politically-Correct Language
Sneer Words
Doublespeak
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Mark Spragg, from Where Rivers Change Direction
Selection 2: H.G. Bissinger, “Sisters” Friday Night Lights
Selection 3: Margaret Atwood, “The View from the Backyard”
Practice Essay: Brian Doyle, “Joyas Voladoras”
On the Web
Practice Short Story: Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”
Chapter 7 Tone, Point of View, and Allusions
Point of View
An Overview of Tone
Common Varieties of Tone
Tone in Textbooks
A Special Case: Sentimentality
Tone in Nonfiction Prose
Tone and Mood in Fiction
Tone Continue: More Difficult Varieties
Wit
Irony
Sarcasm
Cynicism
Satire
Parody
Allusion
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Sissela Bok, Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation
Selection 2: Gerald Durrell, “The Life and Death of Cholmondeley”
Selection 3: Ian Frazier, from On the Rez
Practice Essay: Kurt Wiesenfeld, “Making the Grade”
*Practice Short Story: Paul Theroux, “Eulogies for Mr. Concannon”
Practice Poem: Alexandra Teague, “Adjectives of Order”
Part 4 Reading Critically
Chapter 8 Elements of Critical Reading- Analyzing Arguments
A Definition of Critical Reading
The Reader’s Responsibilities
Developing a Worldview
Two World Maps—Two Worldviews
Analyzing 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
Evaluating Evidence
The Refutation
Analyzing Visual Images
Charts and Graphs
Photographs
Chapter Exercises: Evaluating Editorials
Selection 1: Arthur Levine, “College—More Than Serving Time”
Selection 2: Alvaro Huerta, “More Than a Village”
Selection 3: Ruben Navarrette, Jr., “Don’t Surrender Your Dream”
Selection 4: Naomi Schaefer Riley, “Not By Tuition Breaks Alone”
Chapter 9 Problems in Critical Reading—Evaluating Arguments
Two Types of Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning
Deductive Reasoning
Analyzing the Component Parts of Arguments
Analyzing the Component Parts of Arguments
Analyzing a Current Issue—The Problem with Plastic Shopping Bags
Putting It All Together: Analyzing an Opinion Piece
Problems with Arguments
Hasty or Unqualified Generalizations and Stereotyping
Incorrect Sampling
Appeals in Arguments
Emotional Appeals
Appeal to Authority
Appeal to Fear
Appeal to Patriotism
Appeal to Pity or Sympathy
Appeal to Prejudice
Appeal to Tradition
Other Manipulative Appeals
Bandwagon Appeal
Flattery
Just Plain Folks
Name Calling
Ridicule
Testimonial
Transfer
Legitimate Appeals in Arguments
Logical Fallacies: Part I
Ad Hominem Argument
Begging the Question
Cause-Effect Fallacies
Either Or Fallacy
Evasion
Logical Fallacies: Part 2
False Analogy
Oversimplification
Rationalization
Red Herring
Slippery Slope
Two Wrongs Make a Right
Summary of Emotional Appeals and Logical Fallacies
Detecting Bias
Bias or Point of View—What’s Acceptable and What’s Not
Identifying Point of View in Two Editorials
Paul Krugman, Against Learned Helplessness
Kathleen Parker, Eat, Drink and Watch Out
Constructing a Worldview of Your Own
CHAPTER EXERCISES: EVALUATING EDITORIALS
*Selection 1: Bob Herbert, How Many Deaths Are Enough?
*Selection 2: Michelle Malkin, “ ‘Undocumented’ Folly: A Liberal Reporter’s Illegal Alien Sob Story
*Selection 3: Bill McKibben, A Link between Climate Change and Joplin Tornadoes? Never!
*Selection 4: Elizabeth Bernstein, How Facebook Ruins Friendships
Chapter 10 Practical Applications in Evaluating Arguments
Analyzing Advertisement
Analyzing Public Service Announcements
Analyzing Editorial Cartoons
Evaluating Political Speeches
Barack Obama’s Political Stump Speech
*Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream”
Evaluating Websites
Reading Blogs
Chapter Exercises: Evaluating EditorialsShould American Youth Be Required to Perform National Service?
Selection 1 YES
*William A. Galston, Compulsory National Service Would Strengthen American Citizenship