HOW TO READ ESSAYS YOU MUST ANALYZE
(http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/essays.html) |
Take
a pencil in your hand.
Read
the essay over once, quickly, looking for the main idea, for what the essay is
about in general, and for what the author seems to be saying. Don't get bogged
down in details. (If you come to an unfamiliar word, circle it but go on
reading).
Check
the meaning of unfamiliar words. If they seem to be key words, i.e., if the
author uses them more than once, scribble a brief definition at the bottom of
the page or at the end of the essay.
Now
re-read more slowly and carefully, this time making a conscious attempt to
begin to isolate the single most important generalization the author makes: his
thesis. Follow his line of thought; try to get some sense of structure. The
thesis determines the structure, so the structure, once you begin to sense it,
can lead you to the thesis. What is the main point the author is making: Where
is it? Remember, examples or "for instances" are not main points.
The
thesis is the generalization the author is attempting to prove valid. Your job
then is to ask yourself, "What is the author trying to prove"?
Another
way of identifying the thesis is to ask you, "What is the unifying principle of
this essay"? Or "What idea does everything in this essay talk about"? Or "Under
what single main statement could all the subdivisions fit"?
If
the author has stated his thesis fully and clearly and all in one place, your
job is easier. The thesis is apt to be stated somewhere in the last few
paragraphs, in which case the preceding paragraphs gradually lead up to it, or
else somewhere right after the introduction, in which case the balance of the
essay justifies the statement and refers back to it. Sometimes, however, the
author never states the entire thesis in so many words; he gives it to you a
piece at a time. Never mind. You can put it together later.
When
you think you have grasped the main point, the whole essay goes to prove,
underline it and write thesis in the margin. If you find you have several
possible theses, don't panic; they all fit together somehow. One or more will
probably turn out to be supporting the thesis rather than part of it.
Now
re-read for structure. You are looking for the main divisions of the essay.
There will (probably) be an introduction: draw a line clear across the page
after the introduction and write into in the margin. Now tackle the body of the
essay. You are already pretty sure what the main idea is. What are the main
points the author makes in leading up to his thesis, or in justifying it?
You
will find in a longer essay that you are now dealing with groups of paragraphs,
all having to do with the same subdivision of the main subject. Draw lines
between the main groups and give the groups labels. In an essay about how to
take an English I final, for instance, you would undoubtedly find a group of
paragraphs all of which could be labeled "preparation", and another group that
could be called "typical exam questions". Under each group there would be
sub-groups: under "preparation" there might be "reviewing essay", "memorizing
terminology", etc.
Occasionally,
you will find a paragraph that doesn't seem to accomplish much. Some
paragraphs, for instance, are purely illustrative: the "for example" type of
paragraph. Some are just comments or impressions by the author. The "that
reminds me" type. A third very common type is the transitional paragraph, which
just takes you rather gracefully from one point to another. When you come
across a paragraph like one of these, label it in the margin.
Within
each structural subdivision find out what points the author is making. (In the
essay about the English 1 final, find out specifically what the author says to
do in order to prepare for the exam.) In other words, identify the topic
sentence of each important paragraph. Underline the sentence. Sometimes the
topic sentence is at the beginning of the paragraph and sometimes at the end.
Sometimes the topic is not stated but is only implied
You
now have the skeleton of the author's argument and should be able to follow his
reasoning. If you are still having trouble, try scribbling a word or two in the
margins and summing up the paragraphs as if you were annotating a textbook. In
the essay about the English 1 final, for instance, you might write "Mark up
textbooks" in the margin after one paragraph, and "but not too much" after the
next. You can also underline key transitional or structural words or phases
like "but", "however", "moreover", "on the other hand", "nevertheless".
Now
write out , at the beginning or end of the essay, a thesis statement for the
essay. Remember, the thesis was his guiding PURPOSE? What audience did he have
in mind? What assumptions did he make i.e., what did he take for granted his
audience already knew, or already believed, or both? Is his audience hostile or
friendly?
Finally,
and very important, consider two other questions: WHY did the author write
this, and for WHOM? What audience did he have in mind? What assumptions did he
make, i.e., what did he take for granted his audience already knew, or already
believed, or both? Is his audience hostile or friendly?
If
you know you are to be examined on the rhetorical techniques the author uses,
now is the point to go on a deliberate hunt for them after you have thoroughly
understood the essay.
Adapted
by permission of RSSL, University of Maryland
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