As you probably know by now, reading for learning is much different than reading for pleasure. Reading to learn is much more active and includes practices such as highlighting/underlining, looking up and then writing down definitions to new words, writing notes in the margins or in a notebook, asking questions, making connections between texts, etc. This handout intends to build a bit on what you know and to help you as you begin reading for English 102.
To start with, a solid, unified understanding of what “analysis” is might be helpful. The short explanation/definition is that analysis involves breaking a subject into its parts and seeing how they might be related. However, really thorough, smart analysis goes beyond dissecting and reconstructing the obvious; good analysis strives to make meaning by uncovering unstated assumptions about things. It "reads between the lines" in order to discover what is only being hinted or suggested. It aims to make explicit (overtly state) what is implicit (only suggested).
This is one of those things that is easy to say, harder at times to do. Yet, like most things, repeated practice will help you develop some of the habits of analytical thinking, reading, and writing. Here are some suggestions:
When given the task of analyzing a text (“text” can be defined in a lot of ways. For right now, let’s use the word to refer to written work), a good way to start is by evaluating the author and where the text first appeared--who is this person? What qualifies him/her to write on the subject? Where did the text first get published? What can you learn about that original publication? How old is the text? Is the publisher affiliated with a particular ideology (conservative? liberal? religious? etc.). Is the original source an academic journal that is peer reviewed before publication, or is it something else?
Consider the title carefully--what does it tell you? For example, Edward Said presents an essay with a seemingly simple title, yet the punctuation he uses changes the message that the title delivers: “Clashing Civilizations?” Here, the question mark has considerable impact because it calls into question the premise that civilizations do, in fact, clash.
Skim before actually reading. Look at any headings and graphics; read the first few and last couple of paragraphs. Once you have skimmed, form a set of questions that you look to answer as you read. Some good, general questions are: “How does the author support the ideas in the introduction and conclusion?” “What are the main ideas?” “How much does the text rely on emotion? Logic? Authority (expert opinion of the author as well as others)?”
Read the text using the active reading skills you have developed as a college student (see 1st paragraph) and look for the answers to the questions you developed while skimming. An essential question to always ask is, “What is the author’s main point?” Find places that suggest a main point and then look at all those places as a whole--do they point at a bigger understanding of the text?
A really important and very hard strategy is to read first without judging. Be aware of those little voices in your head that lead you to prejudge and tell them to hush.
Sometimes it is tempting to think a text is boring. Your challenge in this case is to find what is NOT boring. Often, "boring" means that the ideas are beyond your initial comprehension.
These next couple of questions are perhaps hard to answer: “What has the author left out of the discussion?” At this point, though, you engage the real work of analysis--making explicit what is only implied. Everyone leaves something out. Doing so is not necessarily a flaw: there could be very legitimate, logical reasons to leave stuff out. Your objective, though, is to consider what first, and then possible reasons why. A second question is to ask, “What assumptions does the author seem to be making about the reader and the subject in general?” Assumptions are not necessarily bad, but they can leave some ideas implicit.
Also consider any personal experience or knowledge from other sources you have that somehow connect with the ideas in the text. While you may think doing so is irrelevant, it is not. What a reader brings to the experience is crucial!
Good analysis is the product of a recursive process, which means that you ALWAYS need to read more than once and look for how your understanding might change based on new ideas that arise. Keep an open mind, even with the most difficult or contrary texts. Keep looking at what is there and at what seems to be missing.
If you find yourself either agreeing or disagreeing, always seek to explain why. How valid beyond your own frame of reference is your reaction?
A good suggestion is to talk about the text. Talk with others who have read it (study group, anyone? I strongly urge you to set them up!), but also try to explain it to someone who has not.
A final idea, and one that has much merit, is to write about what you read. Write not only about the literal level of a text but also about connecting ideas, questions and doubts you may have. Writing, after all, makes you smarter:).