From Casual Reading to Close Reading
Adnan Tahir, Pakistan
Adnan Tahir is an Assistant Professor (Humanities) at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Wah, Pakistan. He has a vast experience of teaching English as a Second Language, Technical & Research Writing and Business Communication at various levels, along with the experience as a teacher trainer. His research interests include teacher socialization and professional development, English for business purposes and adult education.
Email: adnantahirqureshi@gmail.com
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From the author
Introduction
Statement of the problem
How the present situation developed
Preliminary statement of the central idea
The main theme thrust (important definitions)
Examples to support definition
Close reading and other forms of reading
Logical argument
A general misperception
Preferable solution
Disadvantages of rejecting the proposed solution
Advantages of adopting the proposed solution
In the end
Bibliography
The article has been written using the rhetorical headings to suggest how we can organize our writing.
As opposed to casual reading which may be identified as a practice to have an offhand view of the writing and running through the text, the term close reading may be defined as the sense of meaningful, profound and detailed reading practice. Close reading describes the careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text. Such a reading places great emphasis on the particular over the general, paying close attention to individual words, syntax, and the order in which sentences and ideas unfold as they are read.
So many readers of today’s reading class when read the newspaper, just go speedily, skimming the news, read only the headlines and leave the rest of all. The news on television channels is also heard in the same haste. Books are also read casually and thus become unknowable even after passing through the whole of the text. Even the students take their syllabic texts just as a tool to get through the examination only. These days reading habit has not been a significant activity; the readers do not have any concept of close reading to deeply comprehend and critically analyze the text they want to know.
The matter of concern is to identify whether we want to be good scanners vor we need to be good readers. In fact the trend of close reading needs to be set for reasonable understanding of the texts. The present-day reader is a casual reader; he does not think it worthwhile to go into the depth of the text he wants to engulf. He is satisfied having read hundreds of books superficially and collected the tips of information, which he proudly misperceives as the burdens of knowledge.
Viewing the causes, we see that the main issue of today’s fast life is time. The life is going on very fast. Mechanism of the new world has shortened the panorama of time world. A person has to do lots of jobs. How can you devote more than ten minutes for reading a 50 page newspaper? Moreover, all the published writings are not worth-reading. The articles without issues, essays without expressions, researches without newness, literature without language and books without purpose are scattered everywhere. You do not have the time to waste. Electronic media is pouring the oil on the fire by distracting the serious readers, detouring from close reading to superficial online surfing. Computer, internet, television and other kinds of electronic equipment have influenced the practice of close reading negatively. The unlimited information is available. You are confused what to select and what to read and find no way except collecting hazy information from the surface of the sea of knowledge. Hence, the habit of close reading is seldom in view and so we are deprived of the better understanding of knowledge.
The idea is to make readers realize the importance of close reading and critical understanding with the objective to make our reading habit more purposeful, directed and effective.
Close reading is a way to cultivate the reasoning and critical skills in the learners. Close reading is an advanced skill as it requires readiness of mind, acceptability of mood and concentration of brain. The term close reading thus does not mean to have some arduous and long reading; it is rather a practice to understand the concept, get the working ideas, absorb the emotional currents and appreciate the stylistic embellishment and finally reaching critical findings.
I want to quote an interesting episode here for my readers. Last week a regular newspaper reader of age about 55 years met me. Discussing a newspaper article on the issue of Afghan war, he expressed such irrational thoughts as the writer of the article never wanted to convey. He scolded the writer for writing against whereas the writer was, contrarily, more in favor and less in opposition of war. The fact was that the dear fellow read the article very casually and developed a misperception. The close reading could have helped him reaching the valid viewpoint.
Comparing close reading with other forms of reading, we can see that close reading enables a reader to recall the ideas while debating and discussing with other fellows. The form of knowledge induced by the close reading can be applied in practical life. Conversely, a casual reader gains nothing particular of his hasty reading. The libraries he has passed through do not benefit him in his practical life. A close reading adds to the strength of mind and thinking. It is like a deep rooted tree which can face the strong winds and heavy rains while casual reading is just like spreading of seeds on the hard land which can produce, if any, the sprouts and buds which can be tastily eaten even by small birds.
Generally speaking, it is a reality that for understanding the ideas better, avoiding ambiguities and complications, analyzing the opinions critically, inferring the unbiased conclusion and enjoying the text with full of its intellectual sophistication and emotional currents, one has to go deeply in the text, staying and receiving from every check post of knowledge (Major premise). Close reading is a skill that trains the willing readers in such a way that they, putting off their clothes, dive into a text to come up with the burden of knowledge, emotions, skills and information (Minor premise). It is therefore easily understandable that close reading, though less in quantity is more worthwhile than a huge amount of casual reading (Conclusion).
In fact, people are led by a common notion in understanding the purpose why authors write. They read not to seek knowledge or useful ideas but they read just to pass their time and so they read only what they want to read and understand only what they want to understand. This fallacy makes the skill of reading vague and meaningless. This attitude develops the habit of hasty and skimpy reading and partial understanding. Thus, the problem lies not only in practice but also in the perception of the casual readers.
So, what can we do? The need is to promote close reading habit among the readers. The readers must look at the things to understand, interpret and appreciate. They need to devote a regular time for reading. This punctuality and discipline will ultimately improve their concentration. To develop the habit of sound reading, a beginning reader can take a start from easily understandable writings. Then gradually, he can move towards complex readings with the condition that he will take the next chunk at least after, if not digesting, letting the previous one go down.
If we do not change our reading style, ultimately, the need of close reading will vanish from the readers’ community who come from a very selective and noble class of a society. The term ‘readers’ will be replaced with the ‘scanners’ void of any deeper and exact understanding of text. When such shallow readers become authors and speakers, one can easily estimate the disaster they will bring.
Optimistically, if we are inclined to change our reading attitudes and tend to acquire close reading habit, the same writings will become a great source of true knowledge and learning which now appear boring and useless.
To conclude, the reading behavior needs to be changed. We should realize that close reading is worthwhile. The reading skill is not an easy game but rather an art which requires learning and training. Writings will be useful only when they are read as they should be read - closely and critically.
Adler.M. and Van Doren, C. (1972). How to read a book. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Brummett, B. (2010). Techniques of close reading. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Connolly, F. & Levin, G. (1969). A rhetoric case book. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.
Murray, H. (1991). Close reading, closed writing. College English, 53(2), 195-208.
Paul, R. & Elder. L. (2006). The Thinker’s Guide to How to Read a Paragraph. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Stauffer, R. (1969). Teaching reading as a thinking process. New York: Harper.
Please check the Teaching Advanced Students course at Pilgrims website.
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