Being structure sound 3 ppsx

Making Observations

Making observations means looking carefully at the

text and noticing specific things about how it is written.

You might notice, for example, the point of view the

author has chosen. You could also notice:

■ Particular words and phrases the writer uses

■ The way those words and phrases are arranged in

sentences and paragraphs

■ Repeated word or sentence patterns

■ Important details about people, places, and things

When you make observations, you can then make

valid inferences. As a matter of fact, you did this in Les￾son 11 when you made assumptions about how the

writer wanted to be perceived based on the point of

view he or she used.

Observations and Inferences

Inferences, as you may recall, are conclusions based

on reason, fact, or evidence. Good inferences come

from good observations. The observations are the evi￾dence for the inferences. Good inferences—ones based

on careful observation—can help you determine

meaning, as they helped Sherlock Holmes solve crimes.

To be better readers, then, we need to be more like

Sherlock Holmes: We need to be better observers. In the

story “The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier,” Sher￾lock Holmes tells a client: “I see no more than you, but

I have trained myself to notice what I see.” You don’t have

to be Einstein to be a good reader; you just have to train

yourself to notice what you see.

Observing Diction

Test your observation skills on these two sentences:

A.The town’s new parking policy, which goes into

effect on Monday, should significantly reduce

traffic congestion on Main Street.

B.The town’s draconian new parking policy, which

goes into effect on Monday, should significantly

reduce traffic congestion on Main Street.

You don’t need Sherlock Holmes’s magnifying

glass to see the difference between sentence A and sen￾tence B: B uses the words draconian and new to describe

the parking policy, while A uses only new. (Go back to

Lesson 3 if you’ve forgotten what draconian means.)

Now that you have noticed this, why is it important?

1. What does sentence B tell you that sentence A

doesn’t?

a. what type of policy is being discussed

b. how the writer feels about the policy

c. when the policy begins

The answer is b. Both sentences tell you that the

policy is a new parking policy, and both say that the

policy goes into effect on Monday. But sentence B,

because it adds the word draconian, tells you how the

writer feels about the new policy: He doesn’t like it. His

opinion is implied through his choice of the word dra￾conian. Rather than directly saying, “I think the policy

is very severe,” the writer suggests or implies that this is

the way he feels.

–DICTION: WHAT’S IN A WORD?–

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