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What We Read For |
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We read for various reasons, or purposes. Our purpose determines how we read and what we pay attention to. When we read the newspaper, we might want a general idea of what’s going on in the world. We might skim the whole paper, reading articles that attract our attention. If we want a deeper understanding, we might read every article thoughtfully from beginning to end. We might just want to know who won the ballgame, in which case we’d pull out the sports section and go to the scores. Maybe we’re only interested in the comics. In this class, we will read for various purposes. Generally when we read in school we read for content. In science, we may read an article on the environment to learn, to gather information. In art history we read about various periods in art so that we get an understanding of the generals and particulars. In history we read both to learn particulars and increase our general understanding. In this class we will be reading for content, for literary experience, and for an understanding of the choices authors make when they write. We’ll read fiction (stories), non-fiction, and poetry. Reading for content of an essay or longer work of non-fiction might include understanding someone’s point, or argument, or in fiction it might include understanding where and when a story takes place, who the characters are and what motivates them, what is happening, and what the themes of the work are. Reading for experience: especially in works of poetry and fiction, the author’s purpose may have been that the reader will have a particular experience. When we read, we may be looking for an experience that changes how we see or feel things, even if we can’t put that into words. In this class we will also read in order to
understand the choices the author has made in terms of structure,
word choice, and use of language that help to enhance the meaning or the
effect -- the impact -- of the work. This might include: |
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| Non-Fiction rhetorical strategies |
Fiction symbolism |
Poetry symbolism |