Page 66 - Computer Basics - Research

v. Numbers of other pages in the margin—to indicate where else in the book the author makes
the same points, or points relevant to or in contradiction of those here marked; to tie up the
ideas in a book, which, though they may be separated by many pages, belong together.
vi. Circling of key words or phrases—This serves much the same function as underlining.
III. 3 Level: Analytical Reading (59-188)
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A. 7 Factors to Consider When Dealing with this Level
1. Pigeonholing A Book—Classification of all the components of a book understudy
a. Rule #1: You must know what kind of book you are reading, and you should know this as early
in the process as possible, preferably before you begin to read (60).
2. X-raying a Book—Reading to find the fabric (fundamental Structure) of a book.
a. Rule #2: State the unity of the whole book in a single sentence, or at most a few sentences (a
short paragraph, [75-76]).
b. Rule #3: Set forth the major parts of the book, and show how these are organized into a whole,
by being ordered to one another and to the unity of the whole (76).
c. Rule #4: Find out what the author’s problems were (92).
3. Coming to terms with an author—The author’s Bio
a. Rule #5: Find the important words and, through them, come to terms with the author (98).
4. Determining an author’s message—Why did he write his/her book?
a. Rule #6: Mark the most important sentences in a book and discover the propositions they
contain (120).
b. Rule #7: Locate or construct the basic arguments in the book by finding them in the connection
of sentences (120).
c. Advanced Rule #7; Find if you can the paragraphs in a book that state its important arguments;
but if the arguments are not thus expressed, your task is to construct them, by taking a
sentence from this paragraph, and one from that, until you have gathered together the
sequence of sentences that state the propositions that compose the argument (129-30).
5. Criticizing a book fairly—The overriding goal for analysis should not be focused on contradicting and
confuting; “nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and
consider” (139).
a. Rule #9: You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty, “I understand before you can say
any one of the following things: “I agree,” “I disagree,” or “I suspend judgment” (142-43).
6. Agreeing or Disagreeing with an author
IV. 4 Level: Syntopical Reading (309-419)—Reading multiple books to zero in on solutions for the drawn-out
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problem.
A. Five Steps in Syntopical Reading
1. Finding the relevant passages— “in syntopical reading, it is you and your concerns that are primarily
to be served, not the books that you read” (316). Therefore, “you aim to find the passages in the
books that are most germane (relevant) to your needs” (317).
2. Bringing the authors to terms— “Thus it is you who must establish the terms, and bring your authors
to them rather than the other way around” (318). In a nutshell, it means that readers should build
their terms, which should help them to grasp all of their authors, to figure out their problems (319).
3. Getting the questions clear— “we are faced with the task of establishing a set of neutral
propositions as well.” The best way to do that is to structure some questions that shed more light on
our problem and locate which of our authors appears to be answering those questions (319).
4. Defining the issues (320).
5. Analyzing the discussion (321).

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