Transcript Chapter 8: Beyond the Paragraph: Reading Longer Selections From this chapter, you’ll learn 1.how to apply what you know about paragraphs to longer readings. 2.when.

Chapter 8: Beyond the Paragraph: Reading
Longer Selections
From this chapter, you’ll learn
1.how to apply what you know about
paragraphs to longer readings.
2.when longer, multi-paragraph readings do or
do not require a strategy completely different
from the ones used for paragraphs.
3.how longer readings sometimes imply the
main idea in much the same way paragraphs
do.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.1 What are the similarities between reading
individual paragraphs and longer, multi-paragraph
selections?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Both single and multi-paragraph readings generally focus on one
central idea.
Both move back and forth between general and specific levels of
thought.
Both make use of introductions that pave the way for the main
idea.
Both sometimes restate the main idea at the end.
Both employ transitional devices that help readers follow the
author’s train of thought.
Both sometimes imply rather than state the overall main idea.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.1 What are the Differences?
1. Thesis statements govern longer readings in much
the same way topic sentences do, but thesis
statements can extend beyond a single sentence.
2. Because a writer can tackle more complex
material with more space, major details are entire
paragraphs rather than single sentences.
3. Longer readings often have titles, and the titles
frequently introduce the topics.
For sample thesis statements
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 The Key Difference: The Importance of
Developing Double Vision
• The major difference between reading a single
paragraph and a longer, multi-paragraph
selection is this: With multi-paragraph readings,
you have to keep an eye on how the overall main
idea is developed paragraph by paragraph.
However, you also have to understand each
individual paragraph in its own right.
• Put another way, you have to figure out how the
overall main idea controls the individual
paragraphs and how the individual paragraphs
develop the main idea of the entire reading.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Reading with Double Vision
Let’s look more closely at an essay,
paragraph by paragraph, in order to
illustrate how maintaining double
vision works. Here’s the opening
paragraph of an essay on the
influence of fictional heroine Nancy
Drew. Note how the title already
gives you a strong clue to the main
idea:
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Reading a Multi-Paragraph Essay
Paragraph 1
At Eighty Plus Nancy Drew Is Still a Role Model
When Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to the Supreme Court in
2009, she was widely quoted for a number of reasons. Not the least
among them was her reference to Nancy Drew mystery stories as a
source of inspiration for her while she was growing up poor, diabetic,
and fatherless in New York City. The fictional Nancy Drew, who first
appeared in print in 1930, apparently made the young Sotomayor
think she could overcome any obstacle if she set her mind to it. As it
turns out, this is a lesson that more than one famous woman learned
from the intrepid heroine of Caroline Keene’s mystery series. The
writer and feminist icon Gloria Steinem has cited Drew’s influence as
has the mystery writer Nevada Barr and former presidential candidate
Hillary Clinton. Now it appears that a new generation of girls are being
inspired by the adventures of Nancy Drew.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Paragraph Analysis
•
In the opening paragraph, there are two major clues
that signal what overall main idea governs or unifies
the paragraphs that follow:
1.
The title suggests that the reading will focus on the current
influence of Nancy Drew books.
2.
The last sentence picks up on the immediacy of the title to suggest
that Nancy Drew’s influence continues into the present.
This is a three-paragraph reading, so if paragraph 2 continues the
train of thought begun in the last sentence of paragraph 1, we can
be sure that that last sentence expresses the main idea of the entire
reading.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Reading a Multi-Paragraph Essay
Paragraph 2
In 1995, Megan Gaiser, now CEO and president of Her
Interactive, decided to make computerized, interactive
adventure games for girls. Gaiser was convinced that girls
were not, as many in the media claimed, “computerphobic.” From Gaiser’s point of view, what girls needed
were computer games pitched to their interests and
experiences. The Nancy Drew crime series seemed a
natural for Her Interactive, and Gaiser went on to develop
an award-winning line of PC games that featured Nancy
going around the world to fight crime. Gaiser’s instincts
were apparently on target, and Nancy Drew games have
become so popular, Her Interactive has launched another
series called Nancy Drew Dossier.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Paragraph Analysis
• Paragraph 2 develops its own main idea—that Megan Gaiser
guessed correctly when she assumed girls would play
computer games if the content appealed to them. Because
the content she chose were mystery stories featuring Nancy
Drew, we can see that the second paragraph’s main idea
dovetails nicely with the overall main idea of the reading:
Even today, Nancy Drew exerts an influence over girls.
• Given what we know about the main idea of the entire
reading and the main idea of paragraph two, we can also
make a prediction about paragraph 3: It will explain how
interactive games featuring Nancy Drew further develop girls’
self-esteem much as the Nancy Drew novels of the past did.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Reading a Multi-Paragraph Essay
Paragraph 3
What’s interesting about the success of Nancy Drew even in
the age of the computer is the response young girls of
today have to the series’ heroine. Like the young fans of
the past, girls today are taken with Nancy’s fearless spirit
and lust for adventure. Her independence and ability to
overcome obstacles inspires them in much the same way
that they inspired the young Sonia Sotomayor. In a poll
taken by Her Interactive, three quarters of the young girls
who responded (about 850 were polled) said they liked the
Nancy Drew games because Nancy was so smart,
resourceful, and independent. These are precisely the
qualities mentioned by women in their fifties and sixties,
who read the Nancy Drew series at a time when interactive
computer games had barely found their way to the drawing
board. Somehow Nancy’s appeal, at least among girls, has
survived for generations.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Paragraph Analysis
What’s the main idea of paragraph 3?
a. Girls today admire Nancy Drew even more
than young girls of the past did.
b.Popular with young girls for more than three
generations, Nancy Drew still exerts a strong
influence over young female fans.
c. In the end, when time is taken into account,
Nancy Drew may prove more popular than
Harry Potter.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Reading a Multi-Paragraph Essay
When it comes to a multi-paragraph essay,
though, you’re not done when you
understand the main idea of a single
paragraph. You still have to figure out what
that paragraph contributes to the overall main
idea of the reading. So what does paragraph 3
contribute?
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.2 Making Connections Between
Paragraphs
Now it appears that a new generation of girls
are being inspired by the adventures of Nancy
Drew.
Paragraph 3 more specifically explains how girls
are being inspired.
Like the young fans of the past, girls
today are taken with Nancy’s fearless
spirit and lust for adventure.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
A Word to the Wise
Once you understand not just the overall main idea of the
reading but also how the main ideas of the individual paragraphs
lead back to that controlling main idea, you’ve understood the
reading. Reading longer, multi-paragraph passages requires you
to grasp the same reading from two perspectives: (1) understand
how the overall main idea, expressed or implied, dictates the
content of the remaining paragraphs and (2) see how those
remaining paragraphs work to develop or prove the overall main
idea.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.3 Implied Main Ideas in Longer
Readings
While textbook readings are very likely to state the
main idea controlling the entire reading, the same is
not true for essays or editorials, where writers often
make their point implicitly, by means of suggestion,
rather than explicitly, or directly. If by the third or
fourth paragraph* you don’t find a statement that
seems to be developed beyond a paragraph, you
need to think about inferring one.
*If the reading is a good deal longer than seven or eight paragraphs, then the thesis
statement might be delayed as well. This suggestion applies mainly to shorter readings.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8. 3 Here’s the first paragraph of a five-paragraph reading.
Which sentence or sentences look as if they could function as a
thesis statement?
Do you really want to look for romance on Craigslist?
Pretty much everyone who uses it agrees. Craigslist, the free Web
classifieds offering everything from used bikes and laptops to apartment
rentals and antiques, is a godsend. There’s nothing that can’t be found on
Craigslist, and that even includes romance. Scan the “Missed Connections”
section, for instance, and you’ll spot ads like these: “I was wearing a black
suit and a blue tie. You were walking along West 45th. I told you you had
the legs of a dancer. You smiled at me but said you were in a hurry. Your
last words were, ‘Too bad, I can’t chat.’ If you meant what you said, can
you get in touch with me here?” And who knows, maybe the guy in the
black suit and blue tie did get the response he wanted. For him at least,
posting on Craigslist may have been the right thing to do.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8. 3 Does this paragraph continue the same train of
thought?
Paragraph 2
Certainly, many people insist that using Craigslist to date is a
modern and efficient way to make new contacts. Their advice is
simple: Be smart about how you go about it. For instance, meet
initially in public places. Don’t give out all your contact
information right away, and start off by letting a friend or two
know where you are when you meet someone you’ve met through
a Craigslist posting. In other words, just take care, and you’ll find
what you’re looking for. As a contributor to a web site called “The
Frisky” wrote, “I met a perfectly respectable guy on Craigslist. He’s
a corporate lawyer with great manners and a varied background.
You certainly can meet nice people through Craigslist. Just don’t
be an idiot about how you go about it.”
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8. 3 What about this next paragraph? Is the reading going in the same
direction or switching gears? If your answer is no, where does the
reading start to shift?
Paragraph 3
Like the woman who found a “corporate lawyer with great
manners,” many others think it’s safe to use Craigslist to look for
dating partners. In fact, there are numerous tip lists on the web
explaining, step by step, how to use Craigslist to find the guy or
gal of your dreams. Yet while looking for romance via Craigslist
may have supporters, there are others who insist there’s just no
“safe” way to use Craigslist for dates. Those wary of using
Craigslist for romantic encounters point to the murders of George
Weber and Julissa Brisman, both of whom met their killers
through Craigslist ads. Weber and Brisman were far from idiots,
but they lost their lives anyway.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8.3 Where do you see the author’s train of thought going now?
Paragraph 4
While many of the men or women answering ads may be
perfectly delightful people, the murders of Brisman and Weber
highlight the fact that Craigslist does not vet any of the people
who submit or respond to ads. Thus it’s perfectly possible for a
psychopath to slip through the safety net, because, in point of
fact, no safety net exists. It’s also true that those who are
mentally disturbed enough to commit murder don’t have the
word “murderer” written on their forehead. Sure, meet them for
a drink or coffee in a public place before you go out, but it’s
unlikely that they will give themselves away in one short meeting,
and when they do reveal themselves, it just might be too late.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
8. 3After reading the final paragraph of the selection, can you
answer this question: What’s the author’s implied message or
point?
Paragraph 5
One of the most successful serial killers of all time, Ted
Bundy, was smart, charming, well-mannered, and wellspoken. He also confessed to thirty murders and estimates
of his true victims run as high as one hundred. When Bundy
was trolling for victims, Craigslist didn’t exist, but if it had, he
most likely would have used it. Consider that the next time
you are thinking about looking for love through Craigslist.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
A Word to the Wise
In longer readings where the main idea is
implied, the opening paragraphs may differ
strikingly from the ones ending the
selection. However, it’s the later
paragraphs, rather than the earlier ones,
that usually decide the author’s message.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
Finishing Up: Beyond the Paragraph: Reading
Longer Selections
You’ve previewed the major concepts and skills introduced in Chapter 8.
Take this quick quiz to test your mastery of those skills and concepts, and
you are ready to read the chapter.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
Finishing Up: Beyond the Paragraph: Reading
Longer Selections
1.With longer readings, what does the title
usually do?
2.Should readers expect longer readings to
focus on several key ideas rather than one?
3.Why do you need double vision when reading
a multi-paragraph selection?
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
Finishing Up: Beyond the Paragraph: Reading
Longer Selections
4. How are topic sentences and thesis
statements similar? How are they different?
5. At what point should you start considering
the need to infer an implied main idea for a
multi-paragraph reading?
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
Brain Teaser Challenge
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009
Here’s a scratch outline for a brief paper. Of the main ideas shown for the
paragraphs supporting the thesis statement, which two would you eliminate
and why?
Thesis statement: A new study suggests that happiness can be contagious. In
other words, if we are around people who are happy, we start to feel happy too.
Supporting Main Ideas:
1. An additional study reveals that pet owners experience less anxiety and
live longer than non-pet owners do.
2. In the study, American researchers tracked close to 5,000 people to
answer this question: “Does your happiness depend on your actions
and thoughts or the actions and thoughts of others?”
3. The study showed that being around happy spouses was important but
being around happy friends of the same gender was even more
important.
4. Money did not seem to play as significant a role in making people happy
as being around other happy people did.
5. Almost every study on the effect of children on marriage suggests that the
arrival of a child does not enhance marital happiness.
Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009