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
The 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
Selection 1: E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know
Selection 2: Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
Selection3: 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
Interferences Defined
Problems with Inferences
Using Evidence to Make Inferences
Making Open-Ended Inferences
Making Interferences with Visual Material
Political Cartoons
Graphs and Charts
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Jan Yoors, The Gypsies
Selection 2: Peter Bernstein, The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession
Selection 3: Diane Ackerman, The Natural History of the Senses
Practice Essay: Conrad Phillip Kottak, "Potlatching"
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
Contrast in Textbooks
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Paul W. Ewald, Plague Time
Selection 2: Daniel Duane, Caught Inside: A Surfer's Year on the California Coast
Selection 3: Suketu Mehta, “Mumbai: A Lover's Embrace,” Granta
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 Relationships in Visual Material
Classification and Analysis
Analysis in Textbooks
Definition
Definition in Textbooks
Analogy
Combination of Methods
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: 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)"
Selection 2: Mark Schapiro, “Muddy Waters”
Selection 3: Paul Ewald, 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
Selection 1: Sandra Mackey, The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom
Selection 2: David Quammers, “Planet of Weeds,” Harper's
Selection 3: Tom Bissell, “A Comet's Tale,” Harper's
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
Clichés
Code Words
Doublespeak
Euphemisms
Jargon
Politically-Correct Language
Sneer Words
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Mark Edmundson, Teacher: The One Who Made the Difference
Selection 2: Mark Abley, Beyond Forget: Rediscovering the Prairies
Selection 3: 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
Exercises
Selection 1: Ian Frazier, On the Rez
Selection 2: Sissela Bok, Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation
Selection 3: 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 Reader's Responsibilities
Developing a Worldview
Two World Maps—Two 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
Evaluating Evidence
The Refutation
Chapter Exercises: Evaluating Editorials
Selection 1: Jeff Jacoby, “Fishing for Sport Is Cruel, Inhumane”
Selection 2: David Orr, “The Speed of Sound”
Selection 3: Arthur Levine, “College—More Than Serving Time”
Selection 4: Cynthia Tucker, “Our Opinion: Marriage Needs Straight Talk”
Selection 5: 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
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
Appeals and Fallacies in Advertising
Political Cartoons
Bias and Other Deceptive Techniques
Bias in the Media
Bias in Visual Material
Misuse of Authority
Slanting
Distortion
Chapter Exercises
Selection 1: Norman Solomon, “News Flash!”
Selection 2: Elayne Rapping, from The Looking Glass World of Nonfiction TV
Selection 3: Joel Best, “Mutant Statistics”
10. Analyzing Websites
Reading Online versus Reading Print
Search Engines
Assessing Websites
Anatomy of a Website—The World Wildlife Federation
Websites for Critical Reading Skills
Websites 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
Selection 1: Gish Jen, “An Ethnic Trump”
Selection 2: Salman Rushdie, “On Leavened Bread”
Selection 3: Ryszard Kapuscinski, “The Truck: Hitching through Hell”
Selection 4: Andrei Codrescu, “Faux Chicken & Phony Furniture: Notes of an Alien Son”
Selection 5: Malcolm Gladwell, “The Law of the Few”
Selection 6: Michael Pollan, “How Flowers Changed the World”
Selection 7: Samuel H. Scudder, “In the Laboratory with Agassiz”
Selection 8: Stephen L. Carter, “The Insufficiency of Honesty”
Selection 9: Sissela Bok, “Harmless Lying”
Selection 10: Evan Imber-Black, “Talk Show Telling Versus Authentic Telling: The Effects of the Popular Media on Secrecy and Openness”
Selection 11: John McPhee, “Los Angeles Against the Mountains”
Selection 12: World Wide Web Photo Essay “Psyops Patrol,” U.S. Department of Defense News About the War on Terrorism
PART 6. Reading and Studying Textbook Material
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,” Psychology: An Introduction
PART 7. Reading Short Stories
Questions about Plot
Questions about Characters
Questions about Theme
Selection 1: Leo Tolstoy, “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”
Selection 2: Ryunosuke Akutagawa, “In a Grove”
Selection 3: Jamaica Kincaid, “Girl”
Selection 4: T. C. Boyle, “Chicxulub”
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2006 McGraw-Hill Higher Education