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
PrefacePreface to the StudentAn Overview of the TextSequence of SkillsThe Characteristics of Good ReadersOnline Learning CentersBecoming a First-Rate ReaderCollege Reading AssignmentsHow to Read This Textbook (and other Textbooks)Getting the Most out of This Text*Some Thoughts on E-ReadersPart I reading for Understanding: Practice in Basic Comprehension SkillsChapter 1 Building a Foundation: Vocabulary, Annotating, Paraphrasing, and SummarizingImproving Your VocabularyVocabulary in PerspectiveDaily Reading and Vocabulary Improvement- A Personal SidenoteFurther Suggestions for Vocabulary ImprovementUsing the DictionaryUsing Context CluesAnnotating- Reading with a Pencil in Your HandWriting ParaphrasesChapter ExercisesSelection 1: Michele Simon, from Appetite for ProfitSelection 2: Steven Shapiro, “Cancer World”Selection 3: Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each OtherPractice Essay: Laura Hillendbrand, from Seabiscuit: An American LegendWriting SummariesChapter 2 Reading for the Main Idea and Author’s PurposeMain Idea in ParagraphsMain Idea and Controlling IdeaPlacement of the Main IdeaImplied Main IdeasLevels of Support—Major and Minor Supporting DetailsThe Author’s Purpose and Modes of DiscourseNarrationDescriptionExpositionPersuasionMixed Modes of DiscourseChapter ExercisesSelection 1: Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American MealSelection 2: David Orr, “Verbicide”Selection 3: Tim Butcher, from Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American MealPractice Essay: Bill Buford,"Among the Thugs"On the WebOn DVDChapter 3 Reading Between the Lines: Making Accurate InferencesFacts and InferencesDefinition of InferencesInferences in the Real WorldProblems with InferencesUsing Evidence to Make InferencesMaking Open-Ended InferencesMaking Inferences in LiteratureMaking Inference with Visual MaterialCartoonsGraphs and ChartsChapter ExercisesSelection 1: “Good Idea” UtneSelection 2: Jan Yoors, The Gypsies Selection 3: Diane Ackerman, The Natural History of the SensesPractice Essay: Gregory David Roberts, "The Standing Babas" from ShantaramPractice Short Story: Edward P. Jones, “The First Day”Part 2 Discovering Meaning: The Importance of FormChapter 4 Methods of Paragraph DevelopmentModes of Discourse and Methods of Development ComparedMethods of Paragraph Development—The First GroupFacts and StatisticsExamples and IllustrationProcessComparison and ContrastContrast in TextbooksMethods of Paragraph Development—The Second GroupCause and EffectCause and Effect Relationships in Visual MaterialAnalysis and ClassificationAnalysis in TextbooksDefinitionDefinition in TextbooksAnalogyCombination of MethodsChapter ExercisesSelection 1: Sam Harris, The End of FaithSelection 2: Daniel Duane, Caught Inside: A Surfer’s year on the California CoastSelection 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 LibraryChapter 5 Patterns of Paragraph OrganizationPatterns of Organization DefinedChronological OrderSpatial OrderDeductive OrderInductive OrderCoherence in ParagraphsAchieving Coherence: TransitionsAchieving Coherence: Repetition of Key Words and PhrasesAchieving Coherence: PronounsChapter ExercisesSelection 1: Greg Critser, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the WorldSelection 2: Barry Glassner, from “What Made America Fat?” The Gospel of FoodSelection 3: Edward O. Wilson, “The Power of Story”Practice Essay: : Henry Petroski, “Design Rising”On the WebPart 3 Discovering Meaning: The Importance of LanguageChapter 6 Language and Its Effects on the ReaderDenotation and ConnotationConnotation and SynonymsConnotation and Levels of LanguageConnotation in ReadingHow Denotation and Connotation Work TogetherDenotation and Connotation in Nonfiction ProseConnotation in FictionFigurative LanguageMetaphors and SimilesFigurative Language and the ImaginationFigurative Language and InferencesUses of Metaphors and SimilesPersonification*Figurative Language and Poetry*Figurative Language and PoliticsConnotation and Our Perception of the IssuesHow Word Choice Influences Our Perceptions—The MediaLanguage Misused and AbusedClichésCode WordsJargonEuphemismsPolitically-Correct LanguageSneer WordsDoublespeakChapter ExercisesSelection 1: Mark Spragg, from Where Rivers Change DirectionSelection 2: H.G. Bissinger, “Sisters” Friday Night LightsSelection 3: Margaret Atwood, “The View from the Backyard”Practice Essay: Brian Doyle, “Joyas Voladoras”On the WebPractice Short Story: Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”Chapter 7 Tone, Point of View, and AllusionsPoint of ViewAn Overview of ToneCommon Varieties of ToneTone in TextbooksA Special Case: SentimentalityTone in Nonfiction ProseTone and Mood in FictionTone Continue: More Difficult VarietiesWitIronySarcasmCynicismSatireParodyAllusionChapter ExercisesSelection 1: Sissela Bok, Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and RevelationSelection 2: Gerald Durrell, “The Life and Death of Cholmondeley”Selection 3: Ian Frazier, from On the RezPractice 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 CriticallyChapter 8 Elements of Critical Reading- Analyzing ArgumentsA Definition of Critical ReadingThe Reader’s ResponsibilitiesDeveloping a WorldviewTwo World Maps—Two WorldviewsAnalyzing the Structure of ArgumentsThe Test of a Good ArgumentTaking Arguments ApartThe Question of AuthorityIdentifying ClaimsIdentifying Claims in EditorialsUnstated AssumptionsThe Importance of Definition in ArgumentsEvaluating EvidenceThe RefutationAnalyzing Visual ImagesCharts and GraphsPhotographsChapter Exercises: Evaluating EditorialsSelection 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 ArgumentsTwo Types of ReasoningInductive ReasoningDeductive ReasoningAnalyzing the Component Parts of Arguments Analyzing the Component Parts of Arguments Analyzing a Current Issue—The Problem with Plastic Shopping BagsPutting It All Together: Analyzing an Opinion Piece Problems with ArgumentsHasty or Unqualified Generalizations and StereotypingIncorrect SamplingAppeals in ArgumentsEmotional AppealsAppeal to AuthorityAppeal to FearAppeal to PatriotismAppeal to Pity or SympathyAppeal to PrejudiceAppeal to TraditionOther Manipulative AppealsBandwagon AppealFlatteryJust Plain FolksName CallingRidiculeTestimonialTransferLegitimate Appeals in ArgumentsLogical Fallacies: Part IAd Hominem ArgumentBegging the QuestionCause-Effect FallaciesEither Or FallacyEvasionLogical Fallacies: Part 2False AnalogyOversimplificationRationalizationRed HerringSlippery SlopeTwo Wrongs Make a RightSummary of Emotional Appeals and Logical FallaciesDetecting BiasBias or Point of View—What’s Acceptable and What’s NotIdentifying Point of View in Two EditorialsPaul Krugman, Against Learned HelplessnessKathleen Parker, Eat, Drink and Watch OutConstructing a Worldview of Your OwnCHAPTER 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 ArgumentsAnalyzing AdvertisementAnalyzing Public Service AnnouncementsAnalyzing Editorial CartoonsEvaluating Political SpeechesBarack Obama’s Political Stump Speech*Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream”Evaluating WebsitesReading Blogs
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