- 1. ENGLISH COMPOSITION 101 / Ris / Summer 2011
CRITICALREADING CRITICAL WRITING
2. GOALS
The process of reading closely and thoughtfully can help you
practice the following:
- Recognizing relevant information 3. Prioritizing that
information 4. Matching author strategies to purpose and
audience
Avoiding Distraction to Read More Closely
- Choose your environment as one where reading can occur with the
least amount of distractions 5. Less audio and visual input has
been shown to facilitate retention of information
Any Distractions Are Still Distractions
*
Food
Friends and Family
Pets
Worries
* In Germany, beer is part of a food group
6.Annotating to Read Closely
- Underline Important Words Or Responses To Questions 7. Circle
Or Highlight Words Or Claims You Dont Understand 8. Ask Questions
Or Make Comments in the Margin 9. Add Notes That Make Connections
With The Course, With Other Texts, And With Ideas About The
Significance Of This Text
WRITING RESPONSES
10. Writing as Mountain Climbing
- You may be uncertain about how to begin 11. The beginning may
be easy, but the journey gets more difficult the further you go 12.
You may feel that once you start, theres no turning back 13. You
can easily lose sight of your goal 14. It may feel like a very
lonely venture 15. If you get lost, you may not know how to find
your way back to known territory
Getting Started
- Start enough ahead of schedule that you can complete your work
and have time for revision 16. Read the assignment carefully and
know what you need to do 17. Take a few notes or outline your
response to be sure you include the material requested
Moving Ahead
- Dont be afraid to write shitty first drafts (see Anne Lamott,
Bird by Bird) 18. Complete your draft and put it aside for an hour
or more 19. Re-read your work.Is it:
Complete?
Well-stated?
Responsive to the questions asked?
20. Continuing the Journey
Make a wrong turn?
- Remind yourself of your goal by re-reading the assignment 21.
Recheck and/or modify your notes or outline to take into account
new or changing goals 22. Remember that writing = thinking and new
thoughts can be valuable
Almost There!
23. Completing the Journey
- Print your work to read and revise a hard copy 24. Read it
aloud:pay attention to sentences and movement from idea to idea 25.
Have someone read it and tell you what youre saying OR explain your
goals and ask if you have achieved them 26. Revise or edit again,
checking for focus, organization, support, and mechanics.
Remember:Its the Process
- Be willing to continue to revise & re-vision (See the
portfolio process, SG 25-26) 27. Help each other improvesaying
everything is good doesnt help us understand what needs work (see
peer review, A&B 498-505) 28. Ask, and if you still dont
understand, ask again