Reading Exercises
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General Instructions for
Reading Exercises
For most of your reading exercises, I am asking you to use a “What? Why? So
what?” heuristic. Begin by
choosing a brief passage from the assigned reading.
Choose no more than five lines; your selection may be only a line or two.
Select a passage that seems particularly striking to you.
Perhaps it seems central to a theme, perhaps the language seems
compelling, or perhaps you are puzzled and confused by the passage.
You are not working with a strict formula here, so your choices are broad
indeed.
- Once
you have selected the passage, copy it onto your page. The passage itself is
the “what.”
- Now
consider your chosen lines as authorial choices.
Why did the author make these choices?
- So
what? What difference do these
choices make to your understanding of the text.
Reading Exercise 1 (in class R 8/22)
Select a brief passage from Gilgamesh.
Remember the passage is the “what.”
Now explain why you think the author(s) of Gilgamesh chose
these particular words and/or images. Consider
lexical meaning of the words, but consider associations and sound as well.
Finally, so what? How do
these meanings, associations, sounds, etc. affect the meaning you make?
Use the exercise we worked through in class as a model. Keep in mind that I am not interested in your discovering a
“right answer.” I am interested in seeing you actively engage the text.
I want to see evidence of your reading and interpreting skills.
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