SQR 4

Brenda Carmona
ENG 1320/1301. 161
Trang Phan
9/20/10

Christian Haas and Linda Flower "Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of meaning". College Composition and Communication, Vol. 39, No. 2 (May, 1988), pp.167 – 183 National Council of Teachers of English

SQR 4

Good readers are known as by having large vocabulary, reading quickly, and are able to do well at comprehension tasks. Critical thinking is very important it involves more than just carefully reading or identifying. Strategies for constructing meaning are three-part coding sheme distinguished between content, function/feature, and rhetorical reading strategies. Content strategies has to do with knowing what the text is about or trying to say. Function/feature strategies is dealing with the main points, examples, and introduction. Rhetorical Strategies is taking a step beyond the text. For example what is the authors purpose , the context, and effect on audience. Student readers do not build rhetorical representations of the text. Experienced readers use the rhetorical strategies to help construct content, and vice versa. We must be able to construct and understand the meaning, and must have strategies to do so. Some students were found less successful at using the rhetorical strategies when reading others writing.

Question: (a) What does it mean to have "rhetorical" reading strategies? (b) Do you already practice this method of reading?

Response: (a) "Rhetorical strategies take a step beyond the text itself." What it means is that as a reader we have to think about what we are reading and make connections with our previous knowledge in order to get a better concept of what we are reading. We have to be extremely carsful to what we are reading in order to being able to comprehend the text as better as possible. This concept is mainly used by experienced readers, but sometimes I use it to.
(b) I do use this method when we dont get a clear idea of what we are reading and we can go back and reread it so we can understanding of it. Sometimes when we have to summarize a text or something like that, we have to read and put it into our own words so we can understand it, if not just at least have an idea of what that is talking about.