Critical Reading Question #1
Page Location: Literacy Tools --> Close and Critical Reading -- > Critical Literacy --> Critical Reading Question #1
Based upon or directly from the work of Dan Kurland at http://www.criticalreading.com/
Reading What a Text Says: Restatement
The process of reading what a text says is concerned with basic comprehension by simply following the thought of a discussion. The focus is on understanding each sentence, sentence by sentence, and on following the thought from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph. There is no attempt to assess the nature of the discussion and no concern for an overall motive or intent. Restatement generally takes the form of a summary, paraphrase, or précis.
Restatements should avoid the same language as much as possible to avoid plagiarism and to show understanding. Reading what a text says is common under a variety of circumstances:
Answering this first question assumes that students can decode the words and read fluently enough to replicate the meaning intended by the author. To support the reading development of students who cannot decode or read fluently or comprehend sufficiently go to Reading Comprehension and find the appropriate assessments and interventions.
Summary means a short version containing the gist of something: a shortened version of something that has been said or written, containing only the main points. To read for summary, students need to have developed the following comprehension skills: determining important ideas, visualizing, synthesizing, fixing-up strategies, and asking questions. They need to know how to use the ideas with using the same language (paraphrasing and using synonyms)
The process of reading what a text says is concerned with basic comprehension by simply following the thought of a discussion. The focus is on understanding each sentence, sentence by sentence, and on following the thought from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph. There is no attempt to assess the nature of the discussion and no concern for an overall motive or intent. Restatement generally takes the form of a summary, paraphrase, or précis.
Restatements should avoid the same language as much as possible to avoid plagiarism and to show understanding. Reading what a text says is common under a variety of circumstances:
- when learning the definitions and concepts of a new discipline,
- when there is agreement on the facts of a situation and their interpretation,
- when a text is taken to offer a complete and objective presentation, or
- when the word of a specific author or source is accepted as authoritative.
Answering this first question assumes that students can decode the words and read fluently enough to replicate the meaning intended by the author. To support the reading development of students who cannot decode or read fluently or comprehend sufficiently go to Reading Comprehension and find the appropriate assessments and interventions.
Summary means a short version containing the gist of something: a shortened version of something that has been said or written, containing only the main points. To read for summary, students need to have developed the following comprehension skills: determining important ideas, visualizing, synthesizing, fixing-up strategies, and asking questions. They need to know how to use the ideas with using the same language (paraphrasing and using synonyms)