LEARNING TO READ

VISUALLY
CCCP APPROACHES | TERRI SENFT | TERRI.SENFT@NYU.EDU

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THE
PROCESS
THREE IMPORTANT PHASES

the

summary

the
close read

READ YOUR ARTICLE THROUGH

HI G HLI GH T V OCABU LAR Y

HIGHIGHT SUBHEADS

focus especially on understanding conclusion

MARK
the
UP
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HIGHLIGHT EXAMPLES

HIGHLIGHT ARGUMENTS

66

UNDERLINE CLOSE READ MATERIAL

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OPEN UP BLANK WORD DOC
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COPY PASTE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS.
part 1
SUMMARY

Be sure to leave white space between highlights.

Be sure to include page numbers on highlights.

REMOVE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS

& TURN THE TEXT RED.
The red text will help remind you which writing is the author's.

GO TO AUTHOR'S CONCLUSION
RESTATE IT IN BLACK TEXT.

If some of the authors words are important enough to quote

verbatim here, put them in quotation marks, and add a page number .

yellow highlight
removed

restating
conclusion

SUMMARY
5

GO THROUGH ALL RED MATERIAL.

IS ANY RED MATERIAL REPEATING
ARGUMENTS YOU RE-STATED IN
THE CONCLUSION?
ELIMINATE IT.
IS ANY RED MATERIAL MAKING A
NEW ARGUMENT?
RE-STATE IT IN BLACK.
6
Use the same technique discussed in step #4.
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PHASE

part 2

68

the PHASE
WHEN YOU ARE SATISFIED,
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REMOVE ALL AUTHOR'S RED WORDS,
part 3
SUMMARY

LEAVING ONLY

YOUR OWN TEXT.

RE-ARRANGE YOUR SENTENCES

UNTIL YOU LIKE YOUR SUMMARY.
Hint: many people like to begin their summaries with the
conclusion material.

6
5

OPEN UP NEW WORD DOC.

W R IT E UP 2 S E NT E N CES OF
BACKG R OU N D ON AUT HO R/ T E X T

CLOSE
the
READ
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consult a scholarly resource for this.

COP Y P AS TE SU M MAR Y W O RK
use material generated for summary doc.

COP Y P AS TE SE CT IO N S UB HE AD S
Use material generated for reading doc.
Leave space between subheads.

COP Y P AS TE VO CABU LARY W I T H IN

AP PR O PR IAT E S E CTI ON SU B HE A DS
Leave space between vocabulary words for definitions

phase

part 1

CLOSE
the
E X PLA IN TH E P UR PO SE OF E A CH
READ
S UB- H EA DIN G .
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one or two sentences should suffice for each.

DEFINE EVERY PIECE OF

VOCABULARY.

consult a scholarly resource for this and footnote when necessary.

COP Y P AS TE AR GU ME N T S U N D E R
AP PR O PR IAT E S UB HE ADS .
UN D ER E ACH SU BHE AD, CO N N E CT
AU T HOR 'S E X AM PLE S T O YO U R R E S TA TE M E N T OF T HE IR ARG U M E N T S .
a few sentences per argument/example is fine.

phase

part 2

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CLOSE
the
RE T U RN TO OR IG IN AL R EAD I N G
READ
DO CUM E N T.
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11

12

COPY PASTE TEXT YOU UNDERLINED

TO CLOSELY READ.

GI V E A LL T HI S M AT E RI AL R E D F O N T .
this will help you delineate it from your language during the close read.

13

G IV E AN "E N G LIS H TO EN G LI S H
T RA NS LAT I ON " OF TH E R ED T E X T
You want to go sentence by sentence, paragraph by
paragraph, page by page, noting throughout where you are.
Here it is okay to juxtapose the author's words in red (or
italics, or whatever) with your translations.

part 3

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15

16

17

CLOSE
the
READ
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ARE THE EXAMPLES IN YOUR CLOSE

READ PAGES WORTH A PHOTO OR
TWO? PROVIDE THEM.
DO THE EXAMPLES NEED UPDATING
OR COMPLICATING? PROVIDE IT.

IS T HE RE VO CABU LARY HE R E
W O RT H E MP HAS IZ IN G ,
E X PAN D IN G O R CO MP LICAT I N G ?
DO IT .
HO W AN D W HY D O YO U SE E T H I S
S ECT I ON CON N E CTI N G T O YO U R
OW N W O RK? SH OW US /T E LL U S .

phase

part 4

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RECAPPING
THREE IMPORTANT PHASES

the

summary

the
close read