Reading Literature

Reading a work of literature is a must if you were studying literature. The reading process surely will need some effort. Moreover, literary works need to be read in close reading method. You have to make lots of note during the reading. Sometimes it helps when you write a note about the work before  you read(preassumption) then make another one during the reading and another as the conclusion after you finish reading it. 

One of reading process is called active reading which will help you to interpret the text and organize your ideas. There are three strategies which can be used to help you become an effective reader: previewing, highlighting and annotating. Those strategies can be used together depend on how you read and respond towards the works.

1.       Previewing

It can be said as taking general information about the work. You may begin from physically distinctive elements such as its title, formating structures-paragraphing, capitalization, italics and punctuation. You can begins by identifying stylistic and structural features of a work.

 What will I get when i read this work? What do I expect when I read the title? Such simple questions may lead you to make previewing because it provides questions to be asked later.

2.       Highlighting

It is a method which used by marking the text to identify key details and to note relationships among ideas. What should I highlight during the reading? You may mark the repeated words or phrases from a pattern.  Here are some experiments you can apply (1997: 19):

a.       Underline important ideas that you should read again

b.      Box or circle repeated words, phrases, or images

c.       Put question marks beside confusing passages, unfamiliar references or words that need to be defined.

d.      Draw lines or arrows to connect related ideas or images

e.      Number incidents that occur in sequence

f.        Set off a long portion of te text with a vertical line in the margin.

g.       Place stars beside particularly important ideas

3.       Annotating

It is a method when you make marginal notes on the page. The notes may define new words, identify allusions, identify patterns of language or imagery, summarize relationships, list a work’s possible themes, suggest a character’s motivation or examine the possible significance of particular images or symbols (1997: 21).

Most of all, you have to write your ideas after reading the work in papers so that you may begin making a mind map about the work. Happy reading ^^

Reference:

Kirszner, Laurie G. and Mandell, Stephen R. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 1997. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. United States of America.