You will gain perspective on the author’s point of view, what the author considers important. Table 5.1 Anatomy of a Textbook Textbook FeatureĪ section at the beginning of a book in which the author or editor outlines its purpose and scope, acknowledges individuals who helped prepare the book, and perhaps outlines the features of the book. Why did the author choose to cover certain ideas and to highlight specific ideas with graphics or boldface fonts? What do they tell you about what will be most important for you in your course? What do you think your instructor wants you to get out of the assignment? Why? How about tables? What kinds of information do they show? Are there bold or italicized words? Are these terms you are familiar with, or are they new to you? Are you getting a sense for what is important in the chapter? Use the critical thinking skills discussed in Chapter 3 “Thinking about Thought” as you think about your observations. What is the chapter title? Is the chapter divided into sections? What are the section titles? Which sections are longer? Are there any illustrations? What are they about? Illustrations in books cost money, so chances are the author and publisher thought these topics were particularly important, or they would not have been included. This is why it is so important to learn to define where to invest your efforts. What parts of a reading assignment should you pay special attention to, and what parts can you browse through? As we mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, you will be expected to do a considerable amount of reading in college, and you will not get through it all by reading each and every word with a high level of focus and mental intensity. Remember that you are not merely reading-you are reading for a purpose. Think of your reading assignment in relation to the large themes or goals the instructor has spelled out for the class. Your first step in any reading assignment is to understand the context of what you are about to read. Now it is time to develop a plan of attack for your assignment. ![]() Doing this exercise once per textbook will give you a great deal of insight throughout the course. Has the instructor said anything about the book or the author? Look at the table of contents how does it compare with the course syllabus? What can you learn about the author from the front matter of the book (see Table 5.1 “Anatomy of a Textbook”)? Understanding this background will give you the context of the book and help define what is most important in the text. Start by thinking about why your instructor has chosen this text.
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