Reading Non-fictionAdapted from Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst
1- What is non-fiction?
Text where the author purports to tell about the real world, a real person, idea or
belief
Factual?Real?True?
Key word: PurportReader’s Job:• Question text – the evidence – the assumptions• Question author• Question our understanding of the topic• Accept our view may change
Big Questions
• What is the author trying to prove?
• Do I believe them?
• And so what, what changed, challenged or confirmed what I already knew?– Has your understanding been sharpened or refined?
Finding the thesis• COULD BE:• Cause and effect• Alternative explanation or reason• Arguing for what needs to be done/most important
• What is the thesis in The Matthew Effect?
Am I Convinced?Logic or Theory
• Sequence:– This then this then this
• Underlying assumptions
Evidence
• Single story or anecdote• Numbers and Statistics• Quotes
How does Gladwell convince us?
Finding the logic: Layout the sequence
• Find the causes and effects
• May need to make your own chart
Jan-Mar birthda
y
Early succes
s, height
& strengt
h
Elite player
Finding the logic: Extreme Language
• “By the time the players have reached their midteens the very best of the best have been channeled into an elite league” p 16
• “But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of …” p 19
Finding the logic: Contradictions• “Personal explanations of
success don’t work” p 19– Weren’t we told work hard and
you can do anything?
• “Our notion that it is the best and the brightest who effortlessly rise to the top is much too simplistic” p 30– Contradicts what he expects
the reader believes
Evaluate the evidence:ANECDOTE
• Single story
TREND
• Cross-section• Time series
Evaluate the evidence:Check the data
• Why these numbers?• What is the source?• Used as evidence or
illustration?• Background detail or
important?
Evaluate the evidence:Who said that?
• Expert?• Personal report?
• Reliable? Motivations? Conflict of interest?
• Why chosen?
• What do you need for academic reading?
√
Taking Notes
• Outline• Double Journal
• Always include Bibliographic info and page numbers!
For example• Outliers:The Story of Success, Malcom Gladwell (2008)
• P19 “Personal explanations of success don’t work…invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies”
• What are the advantages, opportunities and legacies? And how do we know that they are general and not just specific to an individual?
Contrasts or Contradictions
Ideas that contradict what is in text or contradicts whatyou already think
Why has the author pointed this out?
Look in Chp 1 section 2
Extreme or Absolute LanguageWhy?• Just an
expression• Exaggeration• Working too
hard to convince us
• Showing us how bad something is
Look in Chp 1 section 2
Numbers or Statistics
• Why these numbers?• What is the source?• Used as evidence or illustration?• Background detail or important?
123#
9 out of 10
Look in Chp 1 section 3
Quoted WordsPersonal Perspective
Voice of Authority
Others’ Words
Why this person?
What did it add?
Do I believe it?
“Quote”
Look in Chp 1 section 4
Word Gap• Italicized or bold• Defined in text• One you don’t know• Foreign Phrase• Know it but not how it is
used here
• Is it lingo or jargon?• Descriptive?• Key idea for understanding?• Part of the main idea?
Look in Chp 1 section 4
Writing a SummaryGet in all the critical info:• Who in what article?• What did they say?
• Why do they believe it?• AND why does author think we should care?
Summary template• [source] The general argument made by Gladwell in
chapter one __(Chapter name)_____________, is that _______________.
• [details] More specifically, X argues that _______________. • [evidence: reasoning, data, etc] She/he writes, “
____________.”• [explain to the reader why your example is a good one] In
this passage, X is suggesting that _______________. • [So what – why are the author and you spending time on this]
This matters because _______________.
Big Themes• What is the author trying to prove?
– The thesis, assertion or big idea
• How is the author doing this?– Citing studies, stories/anecdotes, data, logic or more opinions
• So What: What changed, challenged or confirmed what I already knew?– Has your understanding been sharpened or refined? What questions have
been raised? Do you agree or disagree with the author?