Student Resources

Succeeding in Composition

Strategies for Reading and Analyzing

Reading, examining words and characters to understand their meaning, can take several forms because what we read and why we read influence how we read. We might quickly read over, or scan, newspaper headlines to glean the main points or ideas of articles. Or, we might peruse, or carefully read, an essay to clearly determine the author's points and support of an argument.

Scanning and perusing are steps toward analyzing. The American Heritage College Dictionary defines analyzing as "separating into parts or basic principles so as to determine the nature of the whole; examining methodically." So, when an instructor asks you to analyze a reading, you should plan to determine not only the main idea--the central claim or thesis--but also the structure of the reading, including major points and the examples and other supporting details.

The following guidelines are designed to help you read difficult and lengthy books and academic articles, to retain what you read, and to analyze your readings. Scroll through these tips and guidelines, or choose the one of the headings below to jump to the information you are most interested in.

General Reading Tips
Reading Books
Reading Academic Articles
Analyzing Readings

And if you have a tip for reading or analyzing that you would like to share on our Web site, send us a brief description of your tip.

1. Establish your purpose. Before beginning, decide what you are trying to achieve by reading the material. If you are reading for pleasure, you can read at your own pace. If you are reading for a general idea of the material, you may be able to scan the reading, taking note of the central claim and topic sentences. If you are reading for details, you will need to read more slowly and may want to take notes or annotate your reading.

2. Choose an environment conducive to reading. Don't try to read in a noisy room if you need silence and few distractions to concentrate. Choose a place with good lighting and comfortable seating. Reading in bed may only cause you to fall asleep.

3. Take short breaks between reading sessions. If you are reading a long book or chapter, consider taking a 15 or 20 minute break every 45 minutes to an hour. Short breaks can help you avoid straining your eyes and falling asleep or drifting off while reading. Get up and walk around, get a drink or snack, or just talk with friends or watch a bit of television.

1. Preview the Table of Contents and Index. Begin by quickly reading over the table of contents in the front of the book. Consider how many chapters make up the book and what topics are covered in each chapter. The organization of topics on the contents page can give you an idea of the book's focus and development. Then, turn to the back of the book and read over the index. The index will show the range of topics covered in the book as well as the depth of coverage for each topic.

2. Quickly read through the Preface. The preface usually precedes the table of contents and generally explains the author's purpose for writing the book. It may also describe the research involved in writing the book and the book's intended audience. In many textbooks, two prefaces appear--one addressed to instructors, the other addressed to students. In this case, the instructors' preface introduces the pedagogy, or teaching method and objectives underlying the book content and offers information about supplemental texts and approaches to the textbook. The student preface, which will be of interest to you, explains the book design and features as well as skills that can be learned in various sections of the book.

   

3. Read the Introduction. The introduction is a vital part of the book--it functions much like the introduction of an essay, yet it is more developed and thus longer. Along with revealing the central idea, or thesis, of the book, the introduction provides an explanation of the book's focus and significant background information about the overall subject. For instance, a book of literary criticism will often explain why the literature addressed in the book is significant, who the author is and how he or she lived, and what approach to the literature will be taken in the book. Introductions also reveal the relationships between and focuses within the book chapters.

   You can use the book's introduction as a guide for reading. If you own the book, annotate the paragraphs of the introduction, marking the thesis of the book, biographical and other background information, and important themes and topics to be addressed in later chapters. If the book belongs to the library, consider making an outline or notes of important introductory material. Refer back to your annotated introduction or notes as you begin to read each chapter of the book, noting what the author has indicated about the chapter's focus and significance.

   

4. If the book is difficult, consider reading the conclusion next. The conclusion summarizes the information discussed in the chapters and clearly defines the relationships between chapter content. You might want to save the conclusion of a literary novel for the end since the events that develop throughout the book are written to build up to the final scene, or chapter. But in non-fiction books, many of the concepts and major points of the earlier chapters are restated and woven together, which can help you understand what you have read previously or, if you read the conclusion after the introduction, guides you through the significance of the chapters you are yet to read.

5. Divide the book into smaller, more manageable, sections to be read. If the book is a collection of essays or chapters, consider reading one essay or chapter during a setting. And if you become distracted or tired, stop at a natural break in the text, such as the end of a paragraph or before a new subheading, but be sure to mark your place. Textbooks often include subheadings and boxed or shaded material, which allow you to easily break up your reading sessions and return to material after taking a break.

6. Look for summaries at the end of chapters. At the end of each chapter, many books, including textbooks, provide summaries of the information discussed in the chapter. You can use the summary to check your own understanding of what you have read, or if the information is difficult, you might want to read the summary before tackling the chapter. But remember that the summary only gives the main points, not details, examples, and extensive explanations of terms and ideas.

   

7. Pay attention to boxed or shaded information. Important checklists, pictures with captions, graphs and charts, and case studies or excerpts from other texts (among other things) are often drawn out of the main text and highlighted. These elements have been highlighted because they are important, so make sure that you read or scan over these. You might want to use a paper clip to mark the pages that include useful charts, graphs, case studies, or summaries so that you can quickly refer to them later.

8. Write summaries of book chapters in your notes or journal. By summarizing chapter content in your own words, you can ensure that you have understood the chapter and identify points that you are having difficulty with. You will also have a brief summary of the reading that you can refer to before tests or when writing a book report.

9. Answer questions at the end of chapters, or use them to guide your reading. Textbooks often provide questions at the end of each chapter, or at the end of certain sections, that are designed to help you engage and understand what you have read. Answering these questions in your notes or journal after reading the chapter will help you retain what you have read and will give you a reference for further study. If the chapter is difficult, consider using these questions to guide your reading. They can help you identify important points within the chapter.

1. If the article is difficult, read the abstract or conclusion first.
   Some articles are preceded by an abstract, or summary, that highlights the thesis and major points of the article. This abstract can give you an idea of the article's main idea, but you will need to read the article itself to discover how the thesis and main points are developed or supported. If an abstract is not available, see if the conclusion summarizes the points made in the article. Not all conclusions will summarize the article, some will point to further research and possible solutions, but if the conclusion does summarize the article, you can use it to get a sense of the articles' purpose and main idea.

2. Be aware of the writing style of the field.
   Many academic articles in the humanities and sciences begin with an explanation of previous research on the subject and then turn to an element that has been overlooked or misinterpreted. The thesis of such an article will generally follow the revelation of this unexamined element, pointing out its significance in the understanding of the subject.

   The thesis, or central claim, of a humanities article can usually, but not always, be found after the introductory material; but the thesis of a scientific article may be found more often at the end of an essay, when the hypothesis stated earlier in the article has been proven or disproved. And some literary criticism articles will begin by introducing biographical information about an author and then turn to the connection between the author's life and work in the thesis.

   Also be aware that patterns for creating sentence unity (developing the logical and coherent progression of ideas) in academic articles in the sciences often differ from those in the humanities. In the sciences, the majority of paragraphs in most academic articles are chained--the new information (usually stressed at the end of a sentence) becomes the old information (or familiar idea) in the beginning of the following sentence, thereby, creating topic threads throughout the paragraph.

   The following chained paragraph was written in an essay about the civil rights movement for a Women's Studies course. Note how the new information of one sentence becomes the old information for the sentence that follows, creating a chain, or topic thread, throughout the paragraph:

   The global recognition of the civil rights movement in the South can be attributed, in part, to the involvement of news media. Television news programs covered the speeches of Black Southern ministers as well as the events of the civil rights movement. Accounts of Southern civil rights protests and trials, such as the NAACP supported Briggs vs. Elliot case were also published by large newspapers, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Tennesian. And such recognized newspapers as these, published the now infamous syndicated daily column "My Day" in which the author, Eleanor Roosevelt, once denounced the Daughters of the American Republic (DAR) for their racist attitudes and announced her own resignation from the organization.

   In contrast, most academic articles in the humanities, particularly history and English, consist primarily of blocked paragraphs. In blocked paragraphs, old information is continually built upon by new information so that paragraphs resemble blocks of information focused on a single topic, or set of closely related ideas.

   

   To illustrate blocking, we have revised the above chained paragraph about the media's influence on the world's recognition of the civil rights movement. And to create focused, blocked paragraphs, we have started a new paragraph where the topic shifts. Note, in the following two paragraphs, how the new information in the topic sentences become the old information in each following sentences.

   The global recognition of the civil rights movement in the South can be attributed, in part, to the involvement of news media. Television news programs covered the speeches of Black Southern ministers as well as the events of the civil rights movement. And when the television stations aired the footage of water hoses being turned on the protesters, including the children, the civil rights movement in the South gained national attention as viewers as far away as Washington state witnessed the nonviolent protesters treated with extreme brutality.

   Television's airing of civil rights events was reinforced by newsprint sources. Large newspapers, such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Tennesian, published accounts of Southern civil rights protests and trials, such as the NAACP supported Briggs vs. Elliot case. But perhaps the most extensive use of newsprint media can be attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt who wrote a daily column My Day in which she once denounced the Daughters of the American Republic (DAR) for their racist attitudes and announced her own resignation from the organization.

   Recognizing these patterns of sentence unity can help you follow the logical progression of ideas in a difficult paragraph and can help you more easily identify important information. Understanding other patterns of paragraph development--comparison and contrast, classification and division, cause and effect, definition, process, narration, and example--and patterns for ordering ideas, such as problem-solution, question-answer, and general to specific, will also help you navigate through difficult material. Information about these patterns can be found in the chapter concerning paragraphs in your handbook.

3. Watch for the thesis, and take note of topic sentences. The thesis will give you an idea of the purpose and main idea of the article, whereas the topic sentences will reveal the major points of the article. Remember that the topic sentence of a paragraph may occur in the first sentence, the last sentence, or both. Information beyond the topic sentences will include the minor points, details, and examples that support the major points.

4. Watch for transitions, conjunctions, and repeated words. Transitional words and phrases, conjunctions, and repeated words link sentences together and indicate the relationship between ideas. Transitional words and phrases may show contrast, similarity, chronology, and the like. And transitional paragraphs link ideas, indicate changes in perspective or shifts in topic, and help create a unified and coherent article.

5. Write a summary of the article in your notes or journal. Summarize the article in your own words, adding any examples or details that will help you remember what you have read. You can then refer to this summary when writing a research paper or preparing for an exam.

1. Have a pen in hand. You will want to underline difficult words and important information in the reading and may want to take notes, so have your pen handy. Since pencil fades with time and wear, a pen is best.

2. Quickly read through the essay or chapter. Quickly read over the essay or chapter, only underlining difficult words. Scanning, or previewing, the reading will give you some sense of the main idea and structure of the reading. Once you have finished reading the essay or chapter, look up the words you have underlined and write the definitions in the margins where the word appears or in your notes.

3. Read the essay or chapter again, noting key points. During this reading, plan to go through the essay or chapter more slowly, paying attention to major points.

   Perform the following tasks during second or third readings.

4. Annotate in the margins or take notes of important information. If you own the book, annotate any important passages in the margins, indicating the thesis, major points, points that you agree or disagree with, and examples or details that you find interesting. Devise your own system for annotating and make a legend of your marks in the front or back cover of the book for future reference. You might use one star for fairly important information, two stars for major points, and smiley faces for amusing or interesting statements or examples. Or, you might write keywords in the margin, using a summary of the point (e.g., end of socialism, 1st cause of global warming) or a comment of your own (e.g., "right on," "says who?" or "so what?"). If the book belongs to the library, you can take notes and indicate your comments in the margins of your page. Remember to write in your notes the page number where the information is found.

5. Outline the structure of the essay or chapter. In your notes, write down the thesis and major points of the reading. Look for headings and topic sentences that indicate major points and shifts in topic. You may also want to note the type of examples or details that author uses to support major points. If you own your book or have a photocopy of an article/essay, you may also want to mark where the thesis and main points occur in the margins of the reading.

6. Read for evidence and credibility. An author is credible if his or her claims are supported by sufficient and accurate evidence. Consider how the author supports claims.

   • Does the author support claims with such data as statistics, observations, or personal information?
   • Does the author offer sufficient and accurate data?
   • Does the author indicate how the data was obtained?
   • Does the author reveal any personal experience that adds to his or her credibility?
   • Is the author credible? Why or why not?

7. Distinguish between facts and opinions. Make a note of the statements of fact (reliable information that can be verified) and statements that are opinions (judgments or inferences). How do you know?

8. Look for logical fallacies. Logical fallacies can be accidental slips in logic or can be methods for deceiving the audience. Refer to your handbook for definitions of the various types of logical fallacies that may occur in reasoning.

9. Look for concessions to other points of view. If the author is arguing a for a particular position, look for indications that other points of view are valid. A good argument acknowledges other perspectives. If the author does acknowledge other points of view, note how the author treats or portrays the opposition. Does the author use sarcasm or personal attacks? Or, does the author acknowledge, at least, partial validity of the opposition's view?

10. Identify the audience and purpose of the reading. The purpose of the essay or chapter may be to amuse, inform, explain or instruct, move or persuade, or convince. To discover the purpose of the reading, consider how the author presents information.

    • Is the author arguing a position or merely offering information about a subject?
    • Is the author trying to move the audience to action or merely trying to convince them of an alternate perspective?
    • Is the author instructing the audience about how to perform a task or explaining a concept?
    • Is the author pointing out the absurdity of a situation or trend?
    • Does the language befit the subject or is it exaggerated or in contrast to the subject?

    Consider who the author has intended as the audience of the essay or chapter. If the audience is not clearly stated in the reading, consider the type of language used (Is the reading full of slang? jargon? regionalisms?), the examples and evidence presented (Is the evidence specific to a certain profession or can it be understood by readers who are not trained in the subject area?), and any hints about the audience's education level, gender, ethnicity, values and beliefs, etc.