Thursday, July 31, 2014
How to Read Literature Like a Professor Prompt #2
Rereading is an essential part of reading and analyzing texts whether or not an understanding has been reached upon the first read through. When reading, there is always room for improvement after the first read through of a text because rereading offers the chance for a deeper understanding and realization of the themes and the strategies that the author employs. I am a firm believer that a text will always offer more upon a second and third read than it did upon the original read through. No matter the size or type of the text there are always rhetorical strategies and specific details that are hidden within a text that are not always caught upon the first read.
Throughout my middle and high school years, I was the type of student that would skim a story or an article, get the main points, and that would be enough for me. Rereading never seemed necessary until I found myself surrounded by complicated literature in AP English in 11th grade. It was a struggle to train myself to become a student that takes the time to go back and comb through a text but there was no other way to survive in an AP class than to become a more well rounded student. As a student that frequently rereads I can analyze a text layer by layer and pick patterns that I would not be able to see by just skimming. Now looking back at the content of that course, I can clearly see that gaining the skill of rereading helped me out exponentially.
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I agree with you that rereading is an extremely crucial tool. No matter how great or experienced you are as a reader, it is highly unlikely that you will manage to catch, notice, and realize all of the rhetorical strategies within a text. There are entirely too many to focus on in one read through. It requires various attempts to decipher all the tools and elements that a writer might have hoped you picked up on. Like you said, you have to read a text layer by layer. Only then will you have a chance to properly take away what you were meant to and help yourself “exponentially,” as you so perfectly put it.
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