Chapter 46 Writing Topics: Rules for Writers

Chapter 46 Writing Topic: Rules for Writers

Reading this chapter I found it included the basic guidelines for active reading. These included deciding on what kind of text you are reading, on looking for contradictions and inconsistencies, on rereading while making note of the central ideas. Questions to ask while reading include what is the authors' purpose, who the author is writing for, what questions the writer is answering and how these answers are supported.
In writing a summary you might want to start with making an outline of your reading. An outline is used to sum up central points. Included in your outline will be the main idea and key points. Analyzing looks at how the text makes the point it wants to get across. It is the writers’ judgment about the text, their point of view.
Examples are given for written texts and visual texts. Different types of texts for different subjects need to be looked at in different ways. Summaries and outlines are an effective way to look at written and visual texts in all disciplines.
This was a good review for me on the technique of outlining materials. I often forget to pay attention to the topic sentences but, instead look at the body of the paragraphs. In the future I will make sure I note the thesis of the written text and each topic sentence given, especially those leading to a shift into a new topic. This will help me understand the text as a whole.