Melczarek

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Melczareks Rulesfor reading and interpreting
literaturein his classes
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Slow your read
For assigned texts, test questions, everything
slow down. Read too quickly and you miss details,
mistake words, etc. This class is about reading
for analysis and thought, so be ready to devote
some time to it. You may think that you can read
quickly and catch details, but the likelihood is
that youre dead wrong. Even if that got you by
in high school, this isnt high school. We call
the first time you read a text the
plot-readingyou read to familiarize yourself
with the plot, characters, all the basics. Then
starts the real reading, called rereading.
After the plot-reading, youre not distracted by
the plots newness, but can pay attention to
smaller details or bigger structures that you
missed the first time through. You read the text
differently because you already know what
happens. You can hang on to your initial reaction
from the plot-reading, but subsequent readings
supersede it.
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Take notes as you read
Want to remember what you read? Take notes --
make character lists who, related how to whom,
details -- track the plot what happens when
and to whom -- mark passages that stand out to
you for any reason, then any we discuss in
class -- summarize each paragraphs
idea/content in the margin -- look up all
unfamiliar words in the OED at least on the
second reading, record their definitions, and
then reread those passages with those definitions
in front of you
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TAKE NOTES BOTH IN THE TEXT ITSELF AND ON
SEPARATE PAPER/DOCUMENT
Correlate the two sets of notes -- notes in the
text itself show you exactly where on the page
youre talking/thinking about, the specific
material itself -- notes on separate paper or in
a separate document allow you to expand on
whatever you wrote in the text itself, and should
point you to that page/section of the text (so
remember to write down page, paragraph, first few
words, etc) Taking these double notes helps you
to think, but also makes writing your papers
easier since you will already know what
quotations you want to use to illustrate your
argument, and where you can find them
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Write in the text
Write in the text itself so you can find material
on the page, and on blank paper for your own
notes to expand on whats in the text. Correlate
your own separate notes to the text itself. Get
used to writing in your text (especially if its
a PDF). If youre concerned about selling back
the book at the end of the semester, ask yourself
How does the money Ill get back from selling
this book stack up against how much it cost me to
register for this class, and the grade I could
get in this class? Is as little as 4 from book
buyback worth it, compared to the A-grade I could
have gotten if I had just written in the book
instead?
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The Internet is not your brain.
Dont look up commentaries about the text on the
internet. Im not grading you on your use of the
internet. You didnt pay the internet to take
this class for you. I can usually spot an
internet-derived interpretation or response to a
question . . . frequently because its completely
stupid, if not factually wrong. Do you know who
wrote that material on the internet? Then why
would you trust it? Do you walk up to random
strangers on the street and ask them to do your
assignments for you and still expect to get an A?
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The answer is not on my face, but in the text
and your notes.
If I ask you questions in class, especially basic
plot/reading questions, dont just stare at me. I
wont provide the answer Im not a vending
machine. Instead, look in your texts (that you
should write in) or your notes (that you took
while reading). Answering questions in class
counts toward class participation, and also
smacks your brain and gets you to think. Youre
here to learn and think, so do it. (My questions
will of course presume that you have, indeed,
read the days assigned text to start with. I can
tell when you havent read from the answers you
give. I can also tell when youve pulled
potential answers from the internet.)
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The text ALWAYS wins.
Interpretations can vary wildly from each other,
but all have one thing in common it works only
if there is material in the original text to
support it. If I ask your interpretation of
something, you must qualify your response by
finding what you base your interpretation on in
the text itself. Be ready to point to a page, or
an image, or a statement. If theres no textual
basis or evidence to support your interpretation,
then the interpretation is invalid. Remember also
to keep in mind when a text was written,
especially if your interpretation hangs on a
specific wordwords change meaning over time, and
what a word means now is not necessarily what it
meant when the writer wrote . The text. Always.
Wins. Always.