How to Study Non-Fiction Prose

1. NEVER read passively, just letting the words flow past your eyes, like the landscape on a long road trip. ALWAYS read with a pen in your hand actively marking the text, underling the key passages and identifying the main segments or topics of the essay.

2. For every separate individual essay that you read, write a set of notes in a notebook or on a computer file.

Marking the text and taking notes separate from the text are indispensable forms of work you will have to do in order to do well in this class. Here's why:

Educational psychologists have accumulated massive evidence decisively demonstrating that unless you produce some kind of definite, articulated response to what you read or hear, you will not assimilate it or retain it. It just goes in one ear and out the other, like a breeze rippling the surface of the water, leaving no permanent impression behind.

I watched an alcoholic neighbor plant a garden once. He put in a lot of work planting the flowers, but then he went on a binge and forgot about them, didn't water them, and they all died. Reading without marking the text and taking notes is like that: if you don't follow through, you lose the initial effort. It's not a matter of "I'll just quickly read this and get something out of it; a little is better than none at all." Sometimes, a little isn't appreciably better than none at all. Without the second step (taking notes), the first step (reading) often produces little or nothing in the way of knowledge gained.

Here below are some more detailed guidelines on how to mark the text and how to take notes separate from the text:

Marking the Text

a.) When marking the text, you can also use a highlighter to mark thesis statements and key formulations. I do that sometimes, but I always also use a pen because you can also write notes in the margin of the book, and you do need to write notes in the margin of the book, actively reflecting on what you are reading.

b.) When you are marking a text, pay special attention to formulations like "The main conclusion arrived at in this work is____________." If you can't answer a question that asks you to fill in that blank, you've been wasting your time reading.

c.) Identify any major divisions of topics or segments in the essay. Think of the text as an animal you are dissecting in a biology class. What are its parts? Does it have a head, a tail, segments in the middle?

d.) Mark any bulleted or numbered lists. Count the items in the list. Compare them. Be ready to transcribe them, in highly condensed form, when you take notes separate from the text.

e.) If a writer says something like, “There are three main points I’d make on this topic,” and then goes on and has separate paragraphs devoted to “The first point I’d make is X,” and “The second chief point is Y,” and “Finally, we see Z,” underline or circle the topic heading and then write “1”, “2” and “3” in the margin of the book next to each paragraph. When you take the notes, list those with highly condensed phrases to indicate the three points and the main topic under which they are organized.

f.) I often find it helpful to swear in the notes I’m taking. You might be too polite for that, but perhaps you could write marginal notes like “Bul*s**it!” or “Yeah, sure, when it’s a cold day in H*ll,” or just something mild like “You lying bast**d!” Or you can express more positive feelings, like “I wonder if this guy is married?” or “Finally, my soul-mate!” The point is, get involved. Say what you think. Express yourself. Respond.

g.) Ask questions. Register any uncertainties or doubts you have. Note fuzzy places in the argument, where you really aren’t sure what someone is saying. Ask about these in class. They make good discussion topics.

f. Note comparisons with other essays. “Oh, yeah, this is just what so and so said 100 pages back, but in different words.” Or, “Ah, but so and so said something completely different on page 92. What is the basis of this disagreement? What evidence or assumptions support these different contentions? Which is more plausible?” This too makes a good discussion topic in class.

Taking Notes Separate from the Text

a.) For each essay, write the name of the author and the title of the essay. This will help fix it in your mind and separate it from a bunch of other essays. Then, concisely summarize the main point of the essay. Many of my quiz questions will basically ask: “What is the main argument of this essay?” If you have already formulated that answer, you'll be able to answer it on the quiz.

b.) For each essay, note the major segments or main topics of the essay. Basically, outline the essay, but just hit the main structural segments. Don’t get lost in detail. That’s the whole point: to identify what the main segments or topics are, to separate them from the detail.

c.) Telegraphically transcribe bulleted or numbered lists (that is, jot down identifying words or phrases for each item).

d.) Jot down any questions or comments you’ve made.

e.) If you have fresh thoughts, ideas or general reflections stimulated by your response to the essay, write those down. Those are gold. Those are the seeds from which good papers spring.

One final note: it’s not about memorizing lists of things--names and dates. It’s about actively responding to what you read so that you actually assimilate it, not passively, but critically, thinking about it as you go.