Critical Reading and Writing Strategies for given topics-
1. America 1960-1970 Notes on Urban images and Theory, Kenneth Frampton
2. "Learning from pop" Casebella 359-360 (December 19710), Demise Scott Brown
Critical reading is one of the most effective ways to improve your performance in a history class. Actively using critical strategies when you read helps you better engage with the text by enabling you to privilege those background details or pieces of information that are likely to be more important for the purposes of this class. Will this turn your reading into an extremely difficult task? No. In fact, reading your assignments actively will actually save you time, since you will be directing your attention to specific aspects of the text from the getgo, which will also help you analyze it better and retain the important information longer.
There are some steps that you can use to critically engage with the texts you are being assigned:
1. Do your initial "background checks"
FIRST TRICK:
Prepare yourself to read the assigned texts by familiarizing yourself with each author (who was this person? What is he/she
famous for?). Notice the date when each one of your texts was published (is the author likely to provide a "current" or an "old"
take on the problem he/she discusses?), and reflect on this reading's location within the course-("why would we be asked to read
this text in the first week, or in the context of this week's particular topic"? Is the instructor likely assigning the text as a provider of
"background" information, or is there some crucial new idea, argument, or position that I need to be able to identify?) A suggestion
here-always check what the week's topic is before you start reading, so you know what kind of ideas or arguments to look for in
the text.
SECOND TRICK:
Try to figure out if this text constitutes a primary source (a document that expresses the author's impressions or perspectives on an
issue, typically written during the historical moment that is being examined in class) or a secondary source (a work that analyzes
the information contained or the views expressed in primary sources and often situates them in their historical or intellectual context).
By doing this, you'll know whether you need to read the text as a historical document or as an interpretation provided by others at a
later time. Also: notice the title of the article assigned, and examine the word choices that the author makes-do the titles hint at
some interesting argument that challenges or supports other texts we've read in class? Are there any terms that you might want to
look for and define as you read?
2. Do not underline; instead, annotate as you go
Instead of underlining, which is a passive way of highlighting information without establishing a reason for its importance, develop an
annotation strategy that will make efficient use of signs, for example: adding an asterisk to the left of the text might identify key
issues, underlining a word could mean it needs to be looked up in the dictionary, adding a question mark could identify the places in
the argument that are unclear, and an exclamation point might mean something that you'd like to bring up in discussion section. Add
notes at the margins when you think they are appropriate so when you go back you have a record of your thoughts and not just a
series of highlighted lines that you would need to read again to understand.
3. Keep your purpose in mind as you read
Keep the questions assigned for your response papers (the four sentences in your rhetorical analysis) in the back of your mind as
you follow the author's argument. Ask questions that you will attempt to answer as you move through the reading: Why would we
read this particular article for a discussion on "x" topic? Why does this author use the very strong word "x" to make a point about "y"?
Given that, at this point, you've already done your background checks, you'll likely know by now that this is, for example, a very
conservative author. If that's the case, you might want to ask yourself, how does this article's viewpoint compare to those of liberal
authors you've read in the course?
4. Distill the information
At the end of your reading try to identify the main claim and the rhetorical strategies used by the author before you start writing your
rhetorical analysis. Think about the relationship between these texts and others in the course. Think about the ideas in the text and
those that have been explored in lecture. Avoid immediately jumping to summarizing or paraphrasing the author's work, and instead
make sure you give yourself some time to think through the content until you feel you have something to say about it (however
minimal). Bring your thoughts down to a few clear, rhetorically aware, and well-constructed sentences. Now use your thoughts in
discussion section in order to aid your own and your classmates' learning! In advance, thank you for contributing to this collective
learning effort; the care you take in crafting thoughtful responses will likely make this course more enjoyable and productive for
everyone.